Lee Jung-hoo (25) of Kiwoom Heroes gained confidence to enter the major leagues thanks to the good evaluation of San Diego Padres Darvish Yu (37).
Lee Jung-hoo, who won the league MVP with 5 batting crowns last season with a batting average of .349 (193 hits in 553 bats), 23 homers, 113 RBIs, and an OPS of .996 in 142 games last season, announced his advancement to the major leagues after the end of this season. The World Baseball Classic (WBC) has become a good showcase for entering the major leagues.
The Korean national team recorded 2 wins and 2 losses at the WBC,스포츠토토 finishing in 3rd place in Group B in the first round. It failed to advance to the quarterfinal tournament, resulting in a disappointing result of being eliminated in the first round of three consecutive tournaments. Nevertheless, Lee Jung-hoo’s performance shone. Lee Jung-hoo showed off his hot hitting feeling by recording a batting average of 4.29 li (6 hits in 14 at-bats), 5 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.071 in 4 games.
Lee Jeong-hoo, who modified his batting form ahead of an important season, said, “There are still too few at-bats to say that my batting form is perfect. I hit more than 3,000 at-bats with my original form, but with my current form, I only entered about 30 at-bats. Of course, I don’t think it’s been credited yet. So he wanted to play a lot in the WBC, and he wanted to join the exhibition game early,” he said, saying he was not satisfied yet.
Regarding the good results of the WBC, Lee Jung-hoo said, “I can’t say that I hit well against Czech or Chinese pitchers. I wanted to meet strong pitchers in this tournament, and in fact, the game against Japan was the only game where I could meet such strong pitchers. So many people say it’s a showcase, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. Even if I was out in the game against Japan, I hit a good ball and I think the preparation came out well. I think it can be called a small achievement.”
Lee Jung-hoo, who is already receiving attention from the major leagues, actively interacted with Japanese players who entered the major leagues at this tournament. This season, he exchanged bats with Masataka Yoshida, who signed a 5-year, $90 million contract with Boston, and Darvish Yu, who plays in San Diego with Kim Ha-seong, commented on Lee Jung-hoo’s Instagram, “I’m waiting for the day we can play together.” also did Lee Jung-hoo met Darvish in the match against Korea and Japan and hit a timely hit with 1 RBI in the second at-bat.
Lee Jung-hoo said, “Yoshida and I have the same agency. So, the original plan was to meet in Japan. Darvish was resting at home yesterday when he suddenly got a comment that startled him. First of all, a player who is playing as the first starter in the major leagues gave me a good word, which motivated me and gave me confidence,