Last winter, the San Francisco Giants signed Jung-hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million deal. However, the 25-year-old injured his shoulder in May, ending his season. According to Yonhap News Agency‘s Jee-ho Yoo, Lee is healthy and ready to take the field again.
Only three players born in South Korea played in the big leagues last season. Despite the great talent the Korean Baseball Organization has to offer, the league can be considered underrepresented in Major League Baseball. Lee, Hye-seong Kim, Ha-seong Kim, and Rob Refsnyder, will represent their country in MLB in 2025.
In the KBO, Lee was a great player for the Kiwoom Heroes. He slashed .340/.407/.491 in seven seasons. He also hit 65 home runs in the KBO. Last season, in 37 games for the Giants, the centerfielder had two home runs, eight RBIs, and a .262 batting average. Although a small sample size, he showed he could be a productive hitter in MLB and ranked in the 97th percentile for arm strength. Lee was one of the best players during his time in the KBO and he is hoping to translate his success to the Giants.
“First and foremost, my goal is to play the full season without getting hurt,” Lee said, according to Yonhap News Agency. “And hopefully, I can help the team get to the postseason, too.”
Lee was the 2022 KBO MVP, a five-time KBO Golden Glove Award winner, and a two-time batting champion. In MLB history, only 13 players born in Korea have had a career that lasted more than five years.
The significance of players like Lee and Kim finding success in the big leagues is that it will get more attention on KBO players. Additionally, it will establish a track record of players finding success in MLB after coming over.
Like the KBO, Nippon Professional Baseball also has talented players who transition to MLB. The difference is that Japanese-born players have found more success in MLB, opening the door for more NPB layers to have an opportunity. There have been 41 Japanese-born players who have had careers longer than five years.
