The U.S. media focused on the matchup between Lee Jung-hoo (25) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (25).
MLB.com, CBS Sports and other media outlets reported on the 13th (Korean time) that "the San Francisco Giants signed Lee Jeong-hoo to a six-year, $113 million (approx. 14.86 billion won) contract with an opt-out after the fourth year of the deal."
Lee "Grandson of the Wind" Jung-hoo has a career batting average of 0.340 over seven seasons in the KBO. In 2022, he won five batting titles (batting average, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage) with a .349 batting average, 23 home runs, 113 RBI, 193 hits, a 0.421 on-base percentage, and a 0.575 slugging percentage, and was named the KBO League MVP for the 2022 season.
Lee is particularly good at making contact. In 2023, he struck out just 5.9% of the time. His contact rate is over 90%. His swinging strike rate has been in the low-to-mid 2s in recent years. 온라인카지노
San Francisco took note of Lee's ability to make contact and gave him a massive $113 million contract. But there are also concerns. The Giants paid too much money for a hitter who hasn't had a single at-bat in the major leagues based on his performance in the KBO.
SFGATE, an American media outlet, highlighted the matchup between Lee and Yamamoto to dispel the skepticism. Yamamoto represents Japan and is considered the biggest free agent pitcher in this year's free agency class. He is a specialty pitcher who is expected to sign a huge contract worth more than $300 million.
"It's unclear how Lee will translate his performance in the KBO to the major leagues," the outlet said on Friday, "but San Francisco has reason to be excited (about the signing). Lee battled well against Yamamoto."
"Lee has fought Yamamoto twice at the national level. In their most recent meeting, at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Lee went 2-for-3 against Yamamoto." "We can see hope for Lee against Yamamoto," he added. Along with the article, the media outlet posted a video of Lee and Yamamoto facing off.
Meanwhile, Lee is scheduled to undergo a medical test on the 15th. If he successfully passes the medical, he is expected to announce an official contract with San Francisco.