San Francisco entrance ceremony Introduce yourself and convey your determination in English “Adapting to the new environment is your homework… “I will do my best to help the team win”
Lee Jung-hoo (25), the ‘Grandson of the Wind’, gave his first greeting wearing the San Francisco Giants uniform.
Lee Jung-hoo attended the San Francisco induction ceremony at Oracle Park in California, USA on the 16th (Korean time).
Lee Jeong-hoo, wearing an orange tie symbolizing San Francisco, cautiously began his speech by saying, “Hello Giants,” with a somewhat flushed expression.
Even after the first greeting, Jeong-hoo Lee continued to introduce himself and express his gratitude in English.
“My name is Jeong-hoo Lee. He made himself known, saying, “He was called ‘the grandson of the wind’ in Korea,” and said he was grateful to the team owner’s family and his agent, Boras, who recruited him.
“I am also grateful to my father and mother. I am happy that I was able to achieve my dream of playing in the Major League. I came here to win. I will do my best for my colleagues and fans. “Let’s go Giants,” he continued his pre-prepared English greeting for quite some time.
Lee Jeong-hoo, who delivered a heartfelt greeting, although not fluent, was given a big round of applause by Farhan Zaidi, president of San Francisco’s baseball operations division, and agent Scott Boras.
After finishing his greeting, Lee Jeong-hoo, president of Zaidi, gave a big round of applause. I wore the San Francisco uniform and hat that was given to me. He then asked the on-site reporters, “Handsome?” and made them laugh by asking if he was handsome.
Lee Jung-hoo, who debuted in the KBO League as a first-round pick for Nexen Heroes (now Kiwoom) in 2017, posted this post: He took on the big league challenge this winter through the system (private competitive bidding).
Lee Jung-hoo was a member of San Francisco’s team that showed such proactiveness that general manager Pete Putilla personally visited Korea to see him last October.
Lee Jung-hoo’s contract with San Francisco was first announced through local media on the 13th. And on the 15th, the club revealed the details of the contract.
The club signed a six-year contract with Lee Jung-hoo worth a total of $113 million (about 147.3 billion won). After the 2027 season, an opt-out is included to cancel the remaining contract and become a free agent.
Lee Jung-hoo received $5 million (approximately KRW 6.5 billion) as a signing bonus. He receives an annual salary of $7 million (approximately 9.1 billion won) next year, his debut season, and $16 million (approximately 20.8 billion won) in the 2025 season. The annual salary was set at $22 million (28.7 billion won) each for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.If Lee Jung-hoo does not opt out, the salary will be $20.5 million (approximately 26.7 billion won) each for the 2028 and 2029 seasons. You will receive an annual salary of Lee Jeong-hoo, who pointed out that “adapting to a new environment is the biggest task,” expressed his determination, saying, “It is important to set a goal for next year, but I will make adaptation a top priority and do my best every day.” ◆The following is a Q&A with Lee Jeong-hoo. -Why did you choose San Francisco? “As a fan who has been watching MLB since I was young, San Francisco is a team with a long history and many legendary players who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. They had won a lot recently and were my favorite team. “I am honored to be selected by such a team and to play for such a historic club.”- What do you need to prepare for when coming to the major league? “Adapting to a new environment is a big task. You have to adapt to new pitchers, environment, and baseball stadium. In Korea, you always travel by bus, but (in the big leagues) you travel by plane, and the time difference is different. I think I need to prepare well so I can adapt to these things quickly.”-What are you looking forward to ahead of the first season? “Early this year, I toured an American baseball stadium during Kiwoom’s spring training. This was my first time coming to Oracle Park since then. “I’m looking forward to it because it’s my first time at every stadium.” -Is there anything you learned from your father, Lee Jong-beom? “I didn’t learn anything from a baseball perspective. From my father, I learned character and things that could help me grow into a good person. He learned how to act when a player is doing well.” -What are you looking forward to playing at Oracle Park? “In Korea, I played in the dome stadium (Kiwoom’s home stadium), so it’s nice to play in the natural grass home stadium. The famous splash hit (a home run in which a batted ball falls into the sea outside the walls of Oracle Park) is expected at this unique baseball stadium. -I had ankle surgery, but what is my physical condition? ”That part has completely recovered 100%. There are many people who helped me during my rehabilitation, so I have to show a good performance next season for them as well. “- I met Ha-seong Kim (San Diego Padres) as an enemy. Did you talk about it after signing the contract? ”Ha-seong played as a teammate in Korea, and he was my spiritual support. From the time his older brother was in Korea, he gave me a lot of good words, which helped me dream big. He is surprised and excited to face each other after leaving behind the days when they played together. “ – When introducing yourself to your fans. ”He’s young. Because I am young, I think my prime has not yet arrived, and I think I can further develop my skills here. He is a player who always strives to become a player who can bring victory to our team, and is ready to do his best and pour everything in to help our team win.”- What kind of player are you in attack and defense?”I’m embarrassed to say it with my own mouth. I hope fans will evaluate it if we show it starting from next year’s opening game. “-Your contact ability is good. ”Ever since I was young, when I thought about what I could do better than others, it was guessing well. You have to be able to make a full swing, not just hit it. A strikeout means walking away without doing anything, but if you hit the ball on the ground, you never know what might happen. I think I’ve gotten better at contact because I’ve thought that way since I was young. -How did you get the nickname ‘Grandson of the Wind’? “His father’s nickname during his active service was Son of the Wind, and when he was born, he naturally became the grandson of the Wind. “When I was playing in Korea, the phrase ‘grandson of the wind’ was a bit cringy, but it was cool when I said it in English.” -Is he faster than his father? “My father is really fast. He can win now. “If you ask him to play at his age, he will never win.” – He said he came to San Francisco when he was young. “When I was in the third year of middle school, I came to play for the national team. He came to play.” -What do you usually do when you’re not playing baseball?
“I like watching Netflix and YouTube. “I like to sleep at home most of the time and eat delicious food.”
-How did Director Putilla feel when he went to Korea last October?
“I never thought about it, but I felt like I had received a big gift. I was grateful, and the fact that they came to Korea and watched me play remains a happy memory.”
-What is your goal for the first season of the big league next year?
“I think I’ll have to tackle it first. Setting a goal is important, but I will make adaptation my top priority and do my best every day. Because it is important for the team to win, I will play for the team to win.”
-I changed my swing to advance to the big leagues this year, but the results were not good.
“I think that if you want to do well, you shouldn’t be afraid of change. Through that process, I came to think that my swing and mechanism were good. “I didn’t make the grade, but experiencing something like that for the first time served as an opportunity for me to mature, and my belief in myself became stronger.”
-Director Bob Melvin, who worked with Ha-seong Kim in San Diego, came to San Francisco.
“When Ha-seong heard the news, he congratulated me and the most he said was, ‘It’s great to be able to play baseball under a good manager.’”
-San Francisco What do you know about the club’s history?
“There are many famous players, but there is Willie Mays. I don’t know much about old baseball, but we won championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and Buster Posey was at the center of it.”
-Why did you wear uniform number 51?
“The player I first saw when I started playing baseball was Ichiro Suzuki. He was my favorite player, so I wore this uniform number (like Ichiro) since I was young.”
- There is Shohei Otani on the rival team, the LA Dodgers.
“I will work hard. (Laughs) I will work hard.” 스포츠토토맨