"I expected it to explode, as expected." daily NHK commentator Lee Jung-hoo's praise, the whole world goes wild
"I expected it to explode, as expected." daily NHK commentator Lee Jung-hoo's praise, the whole world goes wild
Blog Article
Japanese magazine "Number" recently had an interview with Takehiko Kobayakawa, a commentator for NHK. While talking about Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kobayakawa praised Lee Jung-hoo, who is on his way to the best season for the San Francisco Giants.안전놀이터
Lee Jung-hoo wore the San Francisco uniform through a six-year, $113 million (about 160.9 billion won) mega contract ahead of the 2024 season. Despite not showing a proper "showcase" due to an ankle injury in 2023, Lee Jung-hoo crossed the Pacific Ocean after being evaluated as the third-largest Asian player after Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Dodgers) and Masahiro Tanaka (Yomiuri Giants).
However, last year was a very challenging year for Lee. Just 37 games after the regular season began, he ended the season by colliding with the fence and undergoing shoulder surgery while playing defense to catch a home run hit. While local media in the U.S. were mostly concerned about Lee's condition or lamented about his injury, as San Francisco moved away from fall baseball and the season was nearing its end, more and more doubts began to arise.
Nevertheless, Lee Jung-hoo was not shaken, and he is showing off his skills properly this year. As of the 21st (Korea time), Lee Jung-hoo is flying high with a batting average of 0.333 OPS of 0.982 with 27 hits, three home runs, 14 RBIs, 19 runs and 3 steals in 21 games. In particular, he did not produce a hit on the 21st, but he produced a hit in five consecutive games starting with a showdown with the Philadelphia Phillies on the 16th, and on the 17th against Philadelphia, he is the first player in the Major League to hit a 10th double, ranking first in the overall big league.
Lee Jung-hoo's performance has given rise to a cheering squad called "Hoo Lee Gans," Lee's fan club, at Oracle Park, San Francisco's home ground. And just like last year, Lee is dominating the No. 1 ranking in uniform sales, beating countless players in his team. It is not just that. U.S. media are praising him.
The U.S. "Yahoo Sports" said, "Lee Jung-hoo entered the realm of Willie Mace this season. "Lee Jung-hoo is the first batter since Mace in 1964 to hit .350 or higher in 14 games, producing more than 12 long balls," he said, exuding praise on Lee's early performance in the season. Mace is a legend who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as he played in a total of 3,005 games in the Major League with 1909 hits, 660 homers and a 0.301 OPS of 0.940.
In the meantime, Japanese commentator Kobayakawa also gave a thumbs up to Lee Jung-hoo for his performance. In 1983, Kobayakawa was nominated by Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the second round of the rookie draft. In his first season after his debut, he played in 112 games with 105 hits, 16 homers, 59 RBIs, and a batting average of 0.2803 OPS, acquiring the title of "Rookie of the Year," and after 13 seasons with Hiroshima, he moved to the Yakult Swallows, where he played in 1,431 games, recording 1,093 hits, 171 homers, 626 RBIs and a batting average of 0.273 OPS of 0.810.
"Lee entered the Major League last year with the brilliant modifier 'Korea's Ichiro', but Lee had to spend a disappointing season as he failed to display his skills due to his injury," Kobayakawa told Japanese magazine 'Number'. However, when Lee covered this year's spring camp, he expected Lee to burst out. And as expected, Lee is leading the batting average of over 330 as of now."
At this point, the world is paying attention to Lee Jung-hoo as he is performing more brilliantly than Ohtani.