Confidence... Visualization of entering a big club
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 5th, "We have been informed by the Major League Baseball (MLB) secretariat that it has announced its intention to post Lee Jung-hoo and Ko Woo-seok (LG) to 30 local clubs." Since the MLB secretariat has announced it to 30 clubs, it can negotiate with big league clubs from 8 a.m. on December 5 to 5 p.m. on January 3, 2024, Eastern time in the U.S.
Lee Jung-hoo declared his challenge to MLB at the end of last year. This year, he had bad luck, including an ankle injury, but he has fully recovered. Even before the announcement of his entry to MLB, many big league clubs visited KBO League stadiums to watch Lee Jung-hoo play. This year, a high-ranking official of the so-called "big club" crossed the Pacific Ocean to watch Lee Jung-hoo play.
Scott Boras, the "Devil's Agent" who helps him enter the MLB, expressed strong confidence, saying, "More than half of the teams in the big leagues are inquiring about Lee Jung-hoo." New York Posto also added, "20 out of 30 teams are showing interest." It may be only at the "level of interest," but rumors are also circulating in local media that he will sign an MLB guarantee contract for up to $90 million.
MLB's official social networking service (SNS) also drew attention by exposing his performance in a graphic manner, along with the topic "Where is Lee Jung-hoo's destination?" He emphasized that he is an "outfielder who is young and has excellent contact skills and has good defensive skills," including the fact that he was a rookie of the year in the KBO League. Several trends are leading to a scenario in which he enters MLB with "the best contract ever."
Not only MLB.COM, but also reporters who have a long career in covering the big leagues agreed on SNS, saying, "San Francisco, New York Yankees, and San Diego are closely watching Lee Jung-hoo." Since there are even voices referring to the New York Mets, it seems that big league clubs, except for the Los Angeles Dodgers, are playing the so-called game of wit.
Lee Jung-hoo is watching Kiwoom senior Kim Ha-sung in Game 5 of the Korean Series between the 2023 KBO League LG Twins and the KT Wiz at Jamsil Stadium. Reporter Kang Young-jo kanjo@sportsseoul.com
The winter meeting began in Nashville, Tennessee, on the 4th, but Lee Jung-hoo's future is expected to be decided later. Although active sales continue, Lee Jung-hoo has already been classified as a big fish, so it is highly likely that the Boras division will negotiate with the ground. However, it is expected that which team really wants Lee Jung-hoo will be determined. Of course, the ransom is also expected to be specified.
The Yankees, called the "Empire of Evil," are the highest by name. There is a designated hitter system, and even if Lee Jung-hoo enters, it is a team with outfield composition that can be played as the main player. It is fun to imagine Aaron Judge and Lee Jung-hoo running around Yankee Stadium in the same uniform. Yankees' Finest Life uniform is like a symbol of MLB.
At the time of the 2017 KBO League Rookie Draft, Lee Jung-hoo (Hwimungo), who was first selected by the Nexen Heroes (現kium Heroes) and wore a professional uniform. The person who puts on the uniform is Koh Sung-wook, the general manager of the Kiwoom Heroes, who was the team leader of Nexen's scout team at the time. (Sports Seoul DB).
San Francisco is also quite aggressive. Notably, the San Francisco Giants has consistently sent officials to the KBO League to analyze Lee Jung-hoo's strengths and weaknesses for a long time. Like other clubs, the scouting report for Lee Jung-hoo has already been completed. The key is the "money game," and some local analysts say that San Francisco is highly likely to offer an annual average of 10 million dollars.
If Lee Jung-hoo goes straight to the big league, the original team becomes a team that threatens Gwangju Ilgo's stronghold. MLB once had a joke, "Is Gwangju Ilgo the only high school baseball team in Korea?"
It was a joke that Kang Jung-ho joined Pittsburgh following the "Three Musketeers of Gwangju Jeil High School" who played as big leaguers in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Seo Jae-eung, Kim Byung-hyun and Choi Hee-sup. In fact, it is also famous for an episode in which an MLB official visited the baseball team to analyze the system of Gwangju Jeil High School.
The Heroes are Kang Jung-ho's hometown and the team where Park Byung-ho (current KT) and Kim Ha-sung (current San Diego) played. If Lee Jung-hoo joins the big league, it will be called the Big League Military Academy because "Heroes" will be displayed in the KBO league history.