Lee Jung-hoo (26) of the San Francisco Giants, who is taking his first steps in the Major League Baseball, seems to have adjusted to his sociability already. He is already learning Korean to his teammates.
NBC Sports Bay Area, a U.S. media outlet, said on the 24th (Korea Standard Time), "Lee Jung-hoo has formed a relationship with his San Francisco teammates who will play with him this year," adding, "Some players have decided to learn Korean."
That was Mike Yastremski, a 34-year-old outfielder. Mike Yastremski, the grandson of legendary outfielder Karl Yastremski, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame, posted a batting average of 0.241 with 88 homers, 261 RBIs, 305 runs scored, and an OPS of 0.788 during the five seasons with the San Francisco Giants. Yastremski, a key right fielder, plays right next to Lee Jung-hoo, who will play in the center field.
In order to facilitate communication with Lee Jung-hoo, whom he will become friends with, Yastremski learned simple Korean from Lee. "I try to practice each Korean word every day," Yastremski said. "The most important thing is to ask Lee how he says 'calm down' or 'relax'." In fact, he is said to have learned the word "Shwibta" from Lee himself.
Already, Yastremski seems to have fallen for Lee Jung-hoo. He even said, "Lee Jung-hoo is fantastic. I'm a huge fan." "Like President Farhan Zaidi said, we should try to make him feel more comfortable," he said. "Lee Jung-hoo is a member of our team, just like any other player. He is really energetic and fun, and I want to be with others."
Lee's own efforts also play a part. "Lee wants to know his teammate and wants to have dinner together. It's great to be able to experience that kind of passion," Yastremski said.
Of course, the most important thing is baseball itself. "Baseball is a universal language. We all understand baseball, and that's great," Yastremski said. "The more we play together, the more familiar we are with where we want to play and how we like to play." Seeing Lee from the side, he said, "He looked gentle and beautiful."
Lee's outgoing personality will likely help him adjust to the team. "I usually have difficulty adjusting to the team after looking around," San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said, referring to Lee's personality. However, Lee is someone who anyone can talk to and talk to easily. So far, everything is good."
Earlier on the 18th, Lee Jung-hoo met with reporters and said, "I don't think there's anything like that," adding, "I was surprised to come here at first, when I went to work and left work like this, I didn't feel like I was in the Major League yet, but I felt like I was training with foreign players. To that extent, even though they are major league players, they seem to be friendly and comfortable."
While talking with Lee, his teammates and club staff passed by him frequently. Whenever such a situation occurred, Lee greeted him first, and sometimes they greeted him first. When asked about his teammate who was welcoming him, Lee replied, "He is very welcoming to everyone." He said, "He just came," adding, "He is the one who is in good shape. He is the one who ran towards the opponent's dugout when I was playing for the Cincinnati Reds."
"The player" is pitcher Amir Garrett, who was a member of Cincinnati on July 31, 2019, when he rushed to the opponent's dugout during the ninth inning of a pitch against Pittsburgh, causing a banch clearing. Yasiel Puig, a former teammate of Lee Jung-hoo and Kiwoom, was also involved in this. Lee Jung-hoo showed interest in his opponent to the point where he even remembers his teammate's past.
In December last year, Lee signed a six-year, $113 million contract with San Francisco that includes opt-out conditions after the 2027 season ended. Only four players, including Lee, received contracts worth more than 100 million dollars in total in this FA market. This shows that they have high expectations for Lee.
Lee Jung-hoo joined the Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom) as the first KBO League rookie draft pick in 2017, and has played steadily for seven seasons, posting a batting average of 0.340, 65 homers and 515 RBIs, 581 runs scored and 69 steals in 884 games, and a slugging percentage of 0.407 with an OPS of 0.491. He ranks first in batting average among active players with over 3,000 at-bats in his career. Thanks to such performance, San Francisco was also able to pay a huge amount of money.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin said that Lee Jung-hoo's deployment as a cleanup hitter would be "shocked" if he did not play as the first hitter in the opening game. "It is important to create in-play batting. It is good to see Hyundai baseball with more strikeouts. You never know what will happen if you throw a ground ball even if you don't get a strong pitch," he said.
BY: 사설토토