Claudio Caniza, a striker for the Argentine national soccer team who had long hair, was called the “son of the wind.” Caniza could run 100 meters in 10.2 seconds. In Korea, Lee Jong-beom, who recorded 73 steals in his debut season, earned the same nickname.
As his father is the son of the wind, Lee Jung-hoo became the “Grandson of wind.” A U.S. journalist picked Lee Jung-hoo’s nickname, which has yet to debut, as the coolest one. Ironically, Lee Jung-hoo ended up playing at the famous San Francisco stadium due to strong winds. Lee Jung-hoo has to fight the wind at Oracle Park, where home runs are not good due to headwinds from the sea.
When the Boston Red Sox signed a five-year, 90-million-dollar contract with Masataka Yoshida of Japan a year ago, there was a controversy over “overpay.” However, Lee Jung-hoo won a six-year, $113 million contract that exceeds Yoshida. It is the first 100-million-dollar contract as a batter who played in an Asian league. Yoshida had 135 home runs and a slugging percentage of 0.538 before moving to the Major League. Lee Jung-hoo had 65 home runs and a slugging percentage of 0.455. In the Japanese league, where Yoshida is considered a higher level, he has displayed better slugging capability.
Is San Francisco panic buying because it was embarrassed to miss Ohtani?
Nevertheless, there are two main reasons why Lee Jung-hoo got a better contract than Yoshida. As a corner outfielder (left fielder or right fielder), Yoshida has much lower defense and lacks speed. On the other hand, Lee Jung-hoo has above average speed and is capable of wide center field defense. There are more ways to contribute to the team than Yoshida.
Second is me. While Yoshida moved to the Major League at age 29, Lee Jung-hoo moved to the Major League at age 25. Unlike Yoshida, Lee Jung-hoo has room to grow. Kim Ha-sung (age 25) and Ryu Hyun-jin (age 26) have already proved that they can develop while facing higher-quality players in the Major League. 랭크카지노
However, there are controversies in the U.S. over whether it was right to give more than 100 million U.S. dollars to Lee Jung-hoo, whose number of home runs (65) he recorded in the KBO League over the past seven years is similar to that of Aaron Judge (62 in 2022). To Lee, 100 million dollars will be a huge burden as well as high expectations.
The San Francisco Giants, to which Lee Jung-hoo joined, is one of the most prestigious baseball teams in the Major League. His eight World Series championships rank second in the National League, which is one more than the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his overall win rate of 0.536 is second only to the New York Yankees. However, his best years were in New York until 1957. In 1958, San Francisco moved to the West with the Dodgers. However, its popularity and performance were lagging behind those of the Dodgers. After the relocation, while the Dodgers had five World Series championships until 1988, San Francisco had never won one. The same was true with Barry Bonds in 1993.
In 2000, San Francisco opened Oracle Park. Bonds hit a home run that flew a long ball and plunged the ball into the sea behind the right-handed stands, becoming a representative scene of the Major League Baseball. However, Bonds was an icon for only a short period of time. When he set a new homerun record, controversy over banned substances began. Bonds retired due to backlash, and the only batter who was able to break through the wind at Oracle Park disappeared.
Buster Posey, who appeared in 2010, was a great success. Posey became the Rookie of the Year and presented his first World Series victory in 56 years. When Posey collided with a runner in 2011, and suffered a serious injury, Major League Baseball established rules to prevent a collision between catchers. In 2012, Posey became the batting champion for the first time in 70 years as a National League catcher, and San Francisco won again. When he added his third win in 2014, Posey’s San Francisco was called the “Miracle of Even Seasons.”