Known to American fans as the “Grandson of the Wind,” Lee Jung-hoo (25-San Francisco Giants)’s baseball pedigree is in the spotlight. Naturally, his father, former LG coach Lee Jong-beom (53), continues to be a hot topic.
MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, named Lee as one of the “10 potential candidates for the 2024 All-MLB Team” in the middle infield category. The All-MLB Team was established in 2019 and recognizes the best players at each position in both major leagues. The final list is based on a combination of 50 percent fan and 50 percent expert votes, and is divided into a First Team of the best players and a Second Team of runners-up.
The fact that Lee hasn’t even made his major league debut yet and has been recognized as a potential All-MLB team candidate shows how much is expected of him. According to MLB.com, “Lee has very good contact ability and speed. Add to that the baseball pedigree of being the grandson of the wind,” emphasizing that he is the son of coach Lee Jong-beom, “and he can hit the ball in all directions, which could be an advantage at Oracle Park (San Francisco’s home ballpark) 토토사이트 with its deep outfield. He’s only 25 years old, and he’s a great defensive center fielder.
Striking out less was a key factor in Lee’s six-year, $113 million deal with the San Francisco Giants.
In his seven seasons in the KBO, Lee hit a career-high .343 average (.343) with 383 strikeouts and 304 walks. His walks far outnumbered his strikeouts, especially in his MVP season in 2022, when he hit 23 home runs and struck out just 32 times.
“To have a similar home run and strikeout rate, minus the walks, is a really impressive record in any league,” said San Francisco President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi at Lee’s induction ceremony. “Our scouts didn’t just look at the numbers. “Our scouts didn’t just look at his stats, they saw that his pitch recognition is very good. He recognizes pitchers’ pitches quickly, and we’re confident that that skill can translate to the big leagues.
Lee’s father, Lee Jong-beom, was also a strikeout-prone hitter during his playing days. In 16 seasons in the KBO, Lee struck out 634 times and walked 622 times. He had a career strikeout rate of just 9.0%. Lee Jung-hoo, who has his father’s blood in his veins, has an even lower strikeout rate of 7.7%. This ranks sixth all-time among hitters with at least 3,000 career at-bats.
Lee Jong-beom ranks 14th.
The American publication ‘The Athletic’ covered the news of San Francisco’s signing of Lee Jung-hoo on the 17th and also featured Lee Jong-beom’s coach. The media said, “Lee Jong-bum said that striking out was his least favorite thing to do as a player. He instilled the same sentiment in his son,” and added, “Lee Jong-bum was the best KBO player of his era, and at that time, the stage that the best Korean players could dream of was Nippon Professional Baseball. In 1998, when Lee was born, Jong-bum was playing for the Junichi Dragons. Now he can live vicariously through his son’s success at the highest level,” said Lee.
The Athletic also published a comment from coach Lee Jong-bum. “Three years ago, when my son was getting a lot of interest from teams and his agent, Scott Boras, I thought, ‘He could be in the major leagues,'” said Lee, who recalled, “He’s young, he’s fearless, he’s confident in his abilities. He’s young, fearless, and confident in his abilities, and thanks to that confidence, he can overcome any difficulty.” He believes in his son’s success.
He and his wife, Jung Yeon-hee, attended his son’s San Francisco signing ceremony at Oracle Park on April 16. He took a family photo at Oracle Park and was seen capturing his son on his cell phone during the press conference. Local reporters were also very interested in the father-son relationship, asking Lee three questions about Lee Jong-bum.
“Did you learn anything from watching your father play baseball?”
Lee laughed and said, “I didn’t learn anything baseball-wise,” before adding, “I learned how to be a good person in terms of character. I also learned how to behave when a player is doing well,” he said, adding that his father, a superstar of an era, gave him the right character education.
When asked where the nickname ‘Grandson of the Wind’ came from, Lee said, “My father’s nickname during his playing days was Son of the Wind. When I was born, I naturally became the grandson of the wind. When I was playing in Korea, 바카라사이트 순위 it was a little slurred, but when I say it in English, it’s cool,” he laughed. Before the press conference, Lee also introduced himself in English and said, “I’m the grandson of the wind from Korea.”
He was asked if he was faster than his father. “My father was really fast,” Lee said. I win now, but if we play at the same age, I will never be able to beat him.” Lee Jong-beom is the KBO’s all-time leader in career stolen bases (510) and holds the record for the most stolen bases in a single season with 84 in 1994. Lee Jung-hoo, who has 69 career stolen bases in seven seasons, is 13 short of his father’s mark.
Meanwhile, Lee will return home at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 19 through Incheon International Airport Terminal 2. He will be returning home in three weeks after leaving the U.S. on March 28 with the highest contract in Korean baseball history.
