He hit a home run due to suspicion that his fastball might have weaknesses. He answered the question by saying that it was the worst contract he could have made as a player, including hits in consecutive games, stolen bases, and walks. San Francisco Giants catcher Lee Jung-hoo, who is erasing all concerns one by one, proves that his ransom was not exaggerated.
At an exhibition game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona on Thursday, Lee had one hit, one RBI and one walk from two times at bat. At his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, Lee swung a 90.4-mile fastball that entered the second pitch with a ball count of 0-1 strike and grounded out to the second base against Colorado starter Dakota Hudson. However, he got on base at his second at-bat in the top of the second inning. Taking the batter's box with two outs and a runner on the second base, Lee picked up a high 87.5-mile slider in favor of 3-ball-1 strike and walked out. However, he failed to advance further as his follow-up batter Mike Yastremski stepped down to the plate due to an error.
Lee's hit came at the third batter's box at the bottom of the fourth inning with no outs and runners on the first and third bases. Lee Jung-hoo faced off Colorado's second pitcher Ryan Feltner, who pushed an 87-mile changeup across the outside of the strike zone even when his ball count was 0-2 strike, and hit a timely hit to the left field. Lee, who had his first RBI the previous day, finished the game by being replaced by pinch runner Chase Pinder after recording two consecutive RBI games.
In five exhibition games so far, Lee has posted a batting average of 0.462, a on-base percentage of 0.533, a slugging percentage of 0.769, and an OPS on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.302. He has one homerun, a double, two walks, and one more stolen base. He truly is a man of all ages.
His performance is terrifying as if he is showing signs of anxiety towards himself. The Astrological, a U.S. sports media outlet, picked Lee Jung-hoo as the runner-up in the worst FA contract on the 22nd of last month. The Astrological explained, "The worst criterion for selecting an FA is the contract terms rather than the skill of a player," but interpreting this means that six years and 113 million dollars are too much for an unknown Korean player who has not played a single game in the Major League. In particular, some pointed out that it is a player-friendly contract, as it can apply for an opt-out in the fourth year of his contract, despite the size of his contract.
However, Lee is proving once again that San Francisco's decision was not wrong through exhibition games. He has adapted to the Major League faster than expected, raising expectations for the regular season. Manager Bob Melvin, who nailed down Lee as the leadoff and center fielder even before the start of the spring camp, said, "It would be shocking if he does not play as the first batter in the opening game."
On top of that, Lee Jung-hoo showed that he can cope with the fastball of the Major League Baseball. NBC Sports Bay Area reported Lee Jung-hoo's challenge to the Major League in November last year, saying, "Lee Jung-hoo is from the KBO League, which is 88 miles about 141.6 kilometers slower than the Major League, where the average fastball speed is 93 miles about 149.7 kilometers. You can get a lot of strikeouts in the early adjustment process," but Lee Jung-hoo is not discouraged at all by the fastballs of major league pitchers exceeding 150 kilometers in this exhibition game. The fastball speed Nelson threw when he hit a home run against Ryan Nelson in Arizona on the 1st was 94.7 miles about 152.4 kilometers, and the next day, he answered the question that he would be weak in fastballs by connecting a 95-mile about 152.9 kilometers ball to a hit in the game against Texas. While striking out just once in 13 at-bats, he seems to be in line with Steamer's prediction of a 9.1% strikeout rate for this part at least. 토토사이트
Since moving to the Major League, Lee has proven himself by confidently confronting and breaking down prejudice against him. I can't wait for Lee's regular season.
