“Lee Jung-hoo (25, Kiwoom Heroes) stood shoulder to shoulder with Mike Trout (32, LA Angels) and Mookie Betts (31, LA Dodgers).”
On the 23rd, the Japanese media’Yomiuri Shimbun’ analyzed the Korean baseball team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and selected Lee Jung-hoo as one of the players to pay attention to. The media introduces Lee Jung-hoo as ‘an outfielder that attracts attention in the United States’ and ‘he will challenge the major leagues after finishing this season as the KBO League MVP last season. He is the son of Lee Jong-beom (current LG Twins coach), who also played an active part in Japan, and has recorded a batting average of 30% for 6 consecutive years in the KBO league,’ he explained.
The Yomiuri Shimbun also emphasized that Lee Jung-hoo, along with Trout and Betts, was listed among the best 3 WBC outfielders for 2023 selected by MLB.com, the official major league homepage, in the middle of this month.
MLB.com, at the time of writing Lee Jeong-hoo, said, ‘Lee Jung-hoo may not be the best compared to the rest of the outfielders competing in this year’s WBC. However, it is clear that he is the most intriguing player among the players this year. The 25-year-old outfielder won MVP last year with a batting average of .349, an on-base percentage of .421, a slugging percentage of .575 and 23 homers in 142 games.’
Then, ‘Kiwoom allowed Lee Jung-hoo to advance to the major leagues through the posting system after the 2023 season. The WBC added, “It will be an international stage for Lee Jung-hoo to introduce himself to the world.”
In this regard, the Yomiuri Shimbun said, “MLB.com introduced Jung-Hoo Lee as the best outfielder of the tournament along with American captain Trout and 2018 American League MVP Betts. He is a highly anticipated player, and he stands out following Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels) in the next free agent market.
In fact, Lee Jung-hoo is receiving a lot of attention even before the start of the tournament. When Lee Jung-hoo joined the Korean national team training in Arizona, USA, scouts from 9 major league clubs came to watch. 먹튀검증
Lee Jung-hoo is preparing for the WBC and big league challenge with the goal of enduring the situation where the eyes of the world are focused. He said, “What agent Scott Boras told me was, ‘All evaluations are over now. Even if the scouts come, you have nothing more to show. Rather, look at your mentality to see if you can fight well in that situation.’ No matter how many people come, there is no consciousness or tension,” he said calmly, expressing his intention to move forward as he has been doing.
Meanwhile, the Yomiuri Shimbun cited the Keystone combination of Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres) and Tommy Edman (28, St. Louis Cardinals) as Korea’s greatest strength. This is because the two were recognized for their top-notch defense in the major leagues. He added that left-hander Kim Gwang-hyeon (35, SSG Landers), who is called the “Japanese killer,” is still alive on the mound.
The media said, ‘Japan’s biggest rival in the first round of the WBC Group B, which will be held from March 9th, will be Korea, which has been playing a great game. We have never faced each other in 2017 and 2013, so we will face each other for the first time in 14 years (since 2009).”