Kiwoom Heroes manager Hong Won-ki smiled happily when he mentioned Lee Jung-hoo (25, San Francisco Giants). It is a huge loss of power for Kiwoom, but Lee Jung-hoo raised his value to the next level and wrote a new history in the Korean baseball league.
San Francisco officially announced a six-year, $113 million contract with Lee Jung-hoo. No U.S. media had expected Lee to sign a contract worth around 100 million dollars. San Francisco, however, laughed at foreign media’s prediction that the deal would range from 50 million dollars to 90 million dollars.
The FA is driven by market prices, not by regular prices. Manager Hong Won-ki also analyzed that Lee Jung-hoo’s mega-hit contract could have been influenced by Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Dodgers). However, it should be said that Lee Jung-hoo has been compensated for the sweat he has shed.
In fact, Hong Won-ki is a leader who has greatly influenced Lee Jung-hoo’s growth and advance to the Major League, even if he claims a stake in Lee Jung-hoo’s contract. Hong served as a defensive coach for several years before his appointment as coach in 2021. He had a great influence on changing the “striker Lee Jung-hoo” to “outfielder Lee Jung-hoo,” who joined the team in 2017.
Lee Jung-hoo suggested to former coach Jang Jung-seok that he should take on the outfielder rather than growing up as an infielder to be successful, and “History” began when former coach Jang Jung-seok also accepted. Lee Jung-hoo has steadily taken chances since 2017 due to the injury of his existing main players, and immediately became a new face of the team.
Hong Won-ki’s real big decision was in 2021, when he took over as the head coach. Lee Jung-hoo was a corner outfielder until the 2020 season. When Sohn Hyuk, head of the Hanwha Eagles, used Park Jun-tae, a Futures outfielder and a base coach with good defense, as center fielder.
However, manager Hong Won-ki fixed Lee Jung-hoo as center fielder as soon as he took the helm. As he played full time for two years, he laid the foundation for his advance to the Major League. Of course, only when he sees the center field can his value increase in the Major League. Some say that if Lee Jung-hoo had not proved his defense as center fielder, such keen interest in the Major League, and a mega contract with San Francisco would not have been easy.
In fact, the conversion to the outfield in 2017 was also affected by the short-distance throwing Yves. However, it is true that manager Hong Won-ki’s conversion to center field in 2021 has become a great move today. As Lee Jung-hoo gained enough experience as a center fielder, he was evaluated as one of the best in the league with his defensive skills alone. He was evaluated as a center fielder with such offense and defense.
Coach Hong Won-ki declined to comment. He just expected his favorite student to succeed in the Major League. Of course, those who know him well know his presence in the process of growing up.