Before the 2024 seaosn, the San Francisco Giants gave Le Jung-hoo a six-year, $113 million deal. The team also paid a $18.825 million posting fee to the Kiwoom Heroes. Over a full year later, Lee is showing fans why the Giants believed in him.
His contract was the largest deal given to an Asian-born hitter coming to Major League Baseball. However, his first year with the Giants was not what he and the team expected. A shoulder injury in May ended his season. He finished his rookie season in MLB with a .262/.310/.331 slash line, two home runs and eight RBIs. Lee had suffered a season-ending ankle injury in 2023 for the Heroes, so season-ending injuries in back-to-back seasons were cause for concern.
However, 2025 has been a different story for Lee. He is starting to look like the player who won the KBO MVP Award in 2022 and was making a push for another in 2023. He is slashing .276/.326/.444 with six home runs and 31 RBIs. He is second on the team in RBIs, fourth in home runs, second in hits and first in doubles. He has been a key player for the Giants at the plate and has made 53 starts in center field.
Lee’s success is no surprise to KBO fans and should not be a surprise to the Giants. They clearly believed in him enough to give him a $113 million deal out of the gate. He comes from baseball royalty in Korea and lived up to the name while playing the KBO. His father, Lee Jong-beom, nicknamed “Son of the Wind,” was a six-time KBO Golden Glove Award winner, the 1993 KBO MVP Award winner, a 13-time KBO All-Star, the 1994 KBO batting champion, a four-time Korean Series champion, a two-time Korean Series MVP and had his number retired by the Kia Tigers.
Lee, who was nicknamed “Grandson of the Wind” in honor of his father, had high expectations when he made his KBO debut right out of high school in 2017. He won Rookie of the Year and went on to win five KBO Golden Glove Awards, the 2022 KBO MVP Award and two KBO batting titles. His success is now translating to MLB, even though he had to endure a rough start.
While he is helping the Giants chase a National League West title, he will soon have the opportunity to represent his country again. On the heels of an MVP season, Lee played great for Korea in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He went 6-for-14 with two doubles and five RBIs. Now, with MLB experience under his belt, he could be even better.
In 2023, Korea went 2-2 in pool play and failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Lee has already lived up to his family name on KBO soil, but his father made a huge impact for Korea in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He was named to the 2006 World Baseball Classic team when Korea reached the semifinals.
The way Lee is playing right now, he should be a key player for Korea in the 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic. While other Korean stars will be joining him, he may be looked at as the team’s leader after finding success in the world’s best league.
Photo: Jung Hoo Lee (51) can’t get to a ball hit for a double by Washington Nationals’ Nathaniel Lowe during the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
