Lee Jung-hoo (26, San Francisco Giants) started as the first batter and center fielder in the 2024 Major League Baseball Arizona Diamondbacks match held at his home stadium (Oracle Park in San Francisco, California) on the 21st (Korea time), and led his team San Francisco to a 7-3 victory by scoring two hits, two RBIs, and two runs in five times at bat. In the bottom of the first inning, he hit a superior solo home run against opposing ace Jack Gallen, and in the eighth inning, when he led 5-3, he hit a wedge left-handed double with one out and second base, scoring an additional RBI.
Lee Jung-hoo extended his hitting streak from the game against the San Diego Padres to 11 games, breaking the record for the most Korean Big Leaguer’s debut season ever. It was all the more meaningful because it was a home run against Gallen, the Arizona ace and third-ranked player in the National League Cy Young Award last season (2023). San Francisco faced Gallen six times in the past two seasons, and gave up four wins. It scored five runs in five innings on the day. He had only three hits in 16 at-bats for a 0.188 batting average, but he had a hit when additional runs were needed on the day.
What drew attention as much as home runs, extended hits in consecutive games, and timely hits in scoring is that Lee Jung-hoo showed his unique exciting contact ability.
In the bottom of the eighth inning when Lee hit a timely hit, he had a showdown with Arizona bullpen pitcher Miguel Castro. Castro is a pitcher who uses 46.7 percent of sinkers. The average speed of his pitches is 95.3 miles (153.4 kilometers/h).
When he was a member of the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO League, Lee Jung-hoo was like Lee Yong-gyu, a senior player in the team and master of ‘cut (hitting that intentionally fouls a pitcher’s ball). After the ball count of 1 ball to 1 strike, he made five consecutive fouls from the third to fifth pitches. Notably, the third, sixth, and seventh pitches were balls that went down the course (based on left-handed hitters). Lee retreated so far that his two feet fell off the ground, but hit the ball down the course. Castro’s seventh pitch was 95 miles (152.9 kilometers/h). He eventually targeted the outer changeup for the ninth pitch to make a hit to the left-handed game.
Domestic baseball fans are not unfamiliar with Lee Jung-hoo’s swing on the day. That was the case against LG Twins-Kium held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on June 18, 2022.
In the bottom of the third inning, when he was the first batter, Lee Jung-hoo swung while his body was floating and hit the ball in a four-seam fastball (142 km/h) that was low in the course of the game against opponent team starter Lim Chan-kyu with a ball count of 2 balls to 2 strikes. The result was a hit to the right.
Generally, the batter avoided hitting when he thought he would be hit by the ball, but Lee Jung-hoo made an in-play hit by throwing a bat. At the time, commentators and casters couldn’t hide their admiration for the stunt. Commentator Park Jae-hong said to the caster, asking for explanation, “This could be hitting while avoiding.” Many Internet users commented on the video. The sentence, “Where should I throw a pitcher?” was well received.
Lee Jung-hoo showed a similar scene in the MLB. Considering the height of his feet off the ground and the width of his feet falling backward, the match against Castro against Arizona was even bigger on the day. The difference is that he became a hit in the KBO league, and he shook the pitcher with consecutive cuts in the MLB, eventually making a hit with his swing.
Local broadcasters also mentioned Ichiro Suzuki, a Japanese legend who had a total of 3,089 hits in the MLB alone. I have already introduced the story of Lee Jung-hoo, who idolized Ichiro since he was a child and even gave him the same number (51). He summoned an Asian batter who played in the MLB while watching him hit the ball to the bat under any circumstances. Lee’s at-bat in the eighth inning against Arizona on Monday left an impression as strong as the first inning when he hit a home run.
At a game against Arizona on Tuesday, Lee got on base twice with four balls and a walk without a hit. Choo Shin-soo (currently SSG Landers) and Kim Ha-sung (San Diego Padres) had to postpone their challenge to the most consecutive games (16) held by Koreans. Judging from Lee’s swing at bat in the eighth inning on Sunday, it seems that it is only a matter of time before he achieves a new record.
BY: 토토사이트