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Jung-hoo Lee
South Korean baseball player (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jung Hoo Lee (Korean: 이정후; born August 20, 1998) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes.
Lee won the KBO League Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 and the KBO League Most Valuable Player Award in 2022. He won five consecutive Golden Glove Awards from 2018 to 2022. Lee has also played for the South Korea national baseball team at the 2019 WBSC Premier12, 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
He is the son of Lee Jong-beom, a star player in the KBO league and with the nickname "Son of the Wind,"[2][3][4] earning the younger Lee the moniker "Grandson of the Wind."[5][6]
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Early life
Lee was born on August 20, 1998, in Nagoya, Japan, when his father was playing in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons.[7] After his father later signed a contract to play for the KIA Tigers once again in 2001, Lee was raised in Gwangju, South Korea. The family later moved to Seoul in 2012 following his father's retirement where Lee was enrolled in Whimoon Middle School and subsequently Whimoon High School, a prestigious sports-focused high school.
It is said that his father was initially against his son becoming a baseball player and tried to introduce him to other sports, but eventually gave in on the condition that Lee bats left-handed, despite being naturally right-handed. After this condition, he began to look up to Japanese player Ichiro Suzuki, who was similar to him as a right-handed thrower/ left-handed batter, and picked the number 51 as his jersey number to honor him.[8] In a profile of his father when Lee Jung-hoo was seven years old, he was already attracting attention for his devotion to baseball and his skill at the game.[4]
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Professional career
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Nexen / Kiwoom Heroes
The Nexen Heroes selected Lee in the first round of the 2017 KBO League draft (held in 2016) as an infielder along with Kim Hye-seong, his future teammate and friend. Following spring training, Lee was included on the team's Opening Day roster at age 18 without going through the KBO Futures League, the KBO minor leagues. Converted to an outfielder, Lee became the first rookie out of high school to appear in every game for a KBO team. He finished the season batting .324/.395/.417 with 2 home runs, 47 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and 179 hits, which set a new rookie record for hits. At the conclusion of the season, Lee was voted KBO League Rookie of the Year Award.[9]
In 2018, Lee suffered a shoulder injury and was out of the game for 6 weeks but still improved with a slash line of .355/.412/.477 with 6 homeruns and 57 RBIs by the end He ended 3rd overall in the league for batting average.
In 2019, his slash line was .336/.386/.456 with 6 homeruns and 68 RBIs and was voted the MVP for the 2019 playoffs for the first time
Lee won another Golden Glove Award in 2020[10] with a batting line of .333/.397/.524, 15 home runs, 101 RBIs, and OPS of .921
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In the 2021 season, Lee batted .360/.438/.522 with 7 home runs, 84 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, OPS of .959 and was first in the league for batting average. On October 25 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park, Lee hit for the cycle against the Samsung Lions.
In the 2022 season, Lee played in 142 games and hit .349/.421/.575 with 23 home runs, 113 RBIs, 5.1% strikeout rate, and career high OPS of .996. He became the youngest and fastest player in KBO history to reach 1000 hits at 23 years old in 747 games, a record previously held by his father who achieved the feat in 779 games. After the season, he won the overall KBO League Most Valuable Player Award.[11] along with placing first in batting average, hits, RBIs, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. He also received the playoff MVP once again.
In 2023, Lee became captain of the Heroes and played in 85 games for Kiwoom, and hit .319/.407/.456 with 6 home runs and 45 RBIs. On July 25, 2023, it was announced that Lee would undergo season–ending surgery after suffering a fractured ankle.[12] On December 4, Lee was officially posted to Major League Baseball (MLB) by the Heroes.[13]
San Francisco Giants
On December 14, 2023, Lee signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.[14][15] The Giants also had to pay an additional posting fee of $18.825 million to the Heroes.[16] Lee hit his first home run in MLB on March 30, 2024, against the San Diego Padres in Petco Park. Family members, including his father, were in attendance to witness the event. Lee suffered an injury to his left shoulder after crashing into the wall trying to catch a flyout ball on May 12, and the Giants announced that he would undergo season–ending labrum surgery on May 17.[17] In 37 games for the Giants, Lee had hit .262/.310/.331 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI.
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International career
Lee represented South Korea at numerous international tournaments.
Lee's first appearance in the international stage was at the 2016 U-18 Baseball World Cup, as South Korea won the tournament. Lee then went onto represent the national team in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship, where South Korea placed 2nd overall.
In the 2018 Asian Games, Lee delivered the winning RBI against Taiwan on November 17.[18][19] He also played for Team Korea at the 2019 WBSC Premier12 tournament, and led the tournament with five doubles. Lee went on to represent South Korea at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic as well.
Endorsements
Lee has been listed in the top 10 the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 List in both 2024 and 2025 at #6 and #7 respectively
He is also the Korean brand ambassador for brands such as Adidas, Red Bull, and USANA along with luxury brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, and McLaren.
McLaren Seoul told the press that "Lee was selected as the right person to embody the 'Bold McLaren' spirit with the spirit of challenge that constantly strives based on his exceptional skills and determination" with the car brand CEO gifting him a McLaren 750s supercar as a congratulatory present on his debut in the MLB.[20]
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See also
References
External links
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