We need to dispel local concerns in the U.S. to win
Lee Jung-hoo (25, Kiwoom Heroes), who has a reputation for not striking out a lot, is also being spotlighted in the United States. However, some said that Major League Baseball (MLB) would have difficulties in the early stages.
NBC Sports Bay Area, a U.S. media outlet, said on the 28th (Korea time), "The only concern about Lee Jung-hoo is Major League Baseball's fastball. "You can strike out more depending on your adaptation speed," he said.
The media had a time to introduce Lee Jung-hoo, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25) and Shota Imana (30), who are international FA that the San Francisco Giants can recruit. Kiwoom, his team, allowed Lee Jung-hoo to go overseas earlier this year, and applied for posting to the Major League Secretariat on the 24th. It is now the first step toward the United States.
San Francisco is a team that has consistently shown interest in Lee Jung-hoo. MLB Network, a sports channel that broadcasts major leagues across the U.S., reported on the 21st that "San Francisco and the New York Yankees are interested in Lee Jung-hoo." At the end of this season, general manager Pete Putila was seen visiting the Gocheok Sky Dome in person to watch Lee Jung-hoo's game, which made headlines.
An agent said through the U.S. media The Athletic, "President Putila didn't go to Korea to see Lee Jung-hoo's at-bat. But that will move Lee Jung-hoo's mind. Lee Jung-hoo was a superstar there, and there will be a chance to sign a team that treats him like a star player," he said.
NBC Sports Bay Area said, "Cody Bellinger is the best free agent center field resource this year in the offseason. However, Lee Jung-hoo may be better suited to San Francisco, he said. "San Francisco fell in love with Lee Jung-hoo and sent scouts three times," he said.
Lee Jung-hoo joined Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom) as the first draft pick in 2017 and played steadily for seven seasons, recording a batting average of 0.340 in 884 games, 515 RBIs, 581 runs and 69 steals, and a 0.407 slugging percentage of 0.491 OPS 0.898 in on-base percentage. He boasts the top batting average among active players with more than 3,000 at-bats in his career.
In the 2022 season, he won the MVP with a batting average of 0.349 23 home runs and 113 RBIs with an OPS of 0.996. What is particularly surprising is that he had only 32 strikeouts from 627 at-bats that year. Of the 142 games of the season, only two struck out more than two. Although the number of home runs more than tripled from seven in 2021, the number of strikeouts decreased by five from 37. The media was also impressed enough to include two exclamation marks, mentioning this.
However, the media also mentioned concerns. It is the speed of Major League pitchers faster than Korea. The media analyzed, "The only obstacle to Lee Jung-hoo is that he is from the 88-mile (about 141.6km) KBO League, which is slower than the big league with an average fastball speed of 93 miles (about 149.7km)." He then worried that he might strike out more in the early adaptation process. The media also said, "The level of the KBO League is considered to be between Triple A and Double A."
Despite this analysis, Lee Jung-hoo's challenge to enter the U.S. is taking place. Lee Jung-hoo's father, LG Twins coach Lee Jong-beom, attended the "2023 Hope-Adding Charity Baseball Competition" hosted by the Yang Joon-hyuk Baseball Foundation at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 26th and said, "Lee Jung-hoo will leave for the United States between the 27th and the 28th." According to Kiwoom officials, Lee Jung-hoo will wait for the results while training at a training center owned by U.S. agent Scott Boras.
30 MLB clubs can negotiate contracts with Lee Jung-hoo from 8 a.m. (U.S. Eastern Time) to 5 p.m. on the 30th day after the MLB Secretariat announces the posting, and if the contract is signed, the transfer fee under the Korea-U.S. player contract agreement must be paid to Kiwoom. If the contract is not reached by the expiration date of the negotiation, the posting will be terminated, and Lee Jung-hoo cannot be posted until November 1 of the following year.