Lee Jung-hoo, 25, who wore his team uniform and cap at the San Francisco Giants’ joining ceremony, spoke to reporters and officials at the scene. He was full of confidence and confident about his success in the big league.
Lee Jung-hoo participated in the joining ceremony at Oracle Park in California on the 16th (Korea time) and expressed his feelings.
He found a seat with San Francisco club president Farhan Zaidi and agent Scott Boras and leisurely answered numerous questions from local reporters.
The genius hitter, who has played in the KBO League for seven seasons and ranked No. 1 in this category with the Rookie of the Year, MVP, five Golden Gloves, and a career batting average of 0.340 has vowed to advance to the Major League ahead of this season.
After the season, articles about Lee Jung-hoo’s future poured out from the local area, and among many teams, San Francisco was confirmed as his new team on the 15th.
San Francisco announced on its website, “San Francisco signed a six-year, $113 million (1484 billion won) contract with outfielder Lee Jung-hoo.”
He became the first Asian fielder to knock on the big league with the posting system. Masataka Yoshida’s record of 90 million dollars for five years used to be the highest.
Lee Jung-hoo joined the team on the day. Wearing an orange necktie symbolizing San Francisco, Lee showed a relaxed attitude with a smile all the time. His father, coach Lee Jong-beom, also joined the team. 온라인경마
Lee said in English, “Hello Giants, I’m Lee Jung-hoo. I’m the grandson of the wind. I’m from Korea. I’m grateful to the owner’s family, especially Scott Boras,” adding, “I came here to win. Let’s go Giants,” drawing applause.
President Zaidi thanked Lee Jung-hoo, Korean media, and his family members, including coach Lee Jong-beom, who visited the scene.
Moments later, Lee Jung-hoo, who was wearing the Giants’ home uniform and hat, shook hands with Zaidi. He then looked relaxed and asked, “Handsome?” for reporters at the scene. Lee recorded the moment of pride while taking pictures with his cell phone.
Then, an official press conference was held. “As a fan of MLB since childhood, I know that San Francisco has a long history and many legends who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. It is an honor to play for a club with a long history after winning a lot of championships recently,” Lee said.
Lee Jung-hoo, who is known to watch MLB hard, continued his words without hesitation when asked about San Francisco. When asked about San Francisco’s players, he said, “There are so many famous players, but I remember Willie Mace. The most memorable thing is Buster Posey, who led the team to the championship in 2010, 2012, and 2014.”
Asked if there was a player he met in San Francisco, he said, “I talked to Austin briefly while exercising in the morning,” adding, “When I was young, I liked Brandon Crawford because I was a shortstop.”
“In Korea, I played at Dome Stadium, and it’s good to play at Natural turf Stadium,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the most famous splash hit.”
He also asked questions about his father. Since Lee was rumored to be transferred to the club, he was mentioned as the son of Lee Jong-beom, the son of the wind. “My father used to be called the son of the wind when I was active, and I naturally became the grandson of the wind when I was born. In Korea, it was cheesy to say that he was the grandson of the wind, but it was cool to see him in English,” Lee said. “My father was really fast (when he was active). Now I can do that, but I don’t think I can win if I ask him to play at the same age.”
When asked what he learned from his father, he smiled and said, “I haven’t learned anything baseball,” adding, “My father learned about personality, things that can grow up as a good person, and how to act when you are good as a player.”
Lee remains a stranger there. There are also concerns that he may have invested too much money into Lee, who has no experience in the big league. Lee also picked adaptation and proof as the most important keywords.
“My homework is to adapt to the new environment with new pitchers, environment and ballpark. I used to travel by bus all the time in Korea, but I have to adjust to jet lag and travelling in an airplane. I will make preparations so that I can adjust quickly,” Lee said.
He added, “I think I have to try. It’s good to set goals, but it’s important to adapt first. I’ll put adaptation first. I’ll play for the team’s victory because winning is the most important thing.”
There was also a question about ankle surgery she underwent in July. “I can say that I am fully recovered. I will do my best next year even for those who helped me during my rehabilitation period,” Lee said.
When asked about the change in batting form, he said, “You shouldn’t be afraid of change to do well. Through this time, I thought I had something good in my mechanism and swing. It wasn’t just a bad time. I prepared well throughout the winter,” he said, adding, “I feel sorry that I didn’t get good results, but I experienced those times for the first time and became an opportunity to mature. My faith has become more solid to me.”
He was also asked about the high contact rate that boosted Lee’s value. “Rather than paying attention to contact, I was supposed to hit the ball well when I thought about what I was better than others from a young age,” Lee said. “Not only did I try to hit the ball, but I tried to hit it by swinging full swing. Strikeout is stepping down after failing to do anything, but I had no idea what would happen if I put the ball into the ground anyhow, so I trained with this in mind.”
Asked to introduce himself to fans of San Francisco and MLB, which are still unfamiliar, he said, “First of all, I’m young. I don’t think my heyday has come because I’m young. I think I can improve my skills here,” adding, “I’ll try to be a player who can always bring victory to my team, and I’m ready to do my best and give everything for my team’s victory.”
When asked to evaluate himself, he replied, “I’m ashamed to say it myself. If I show it to you from the opening day next year, the fans will evaluate it.”
He acted more confidently and relaxed than anyone else as if he wanted to show that he was worth it as he entered San Francisco with a lot of money. Every word he said made people clap and laugh. It was a time to read Lee’s confidence ahead of a new challenge.
