Not all of the columnists at The Athletic denied Lee's capabilities. They highly appreciated Lee's outstanding batting ability and his advanced age. However, there were also doubts over the fact that he invested a large amount of money, much more than 100 million U.S. dollars, far higher than market expectations for a player who had never played in a major league. It was not the Japanese professional baseball (NPB), but the KBO league, which was one level lower than the Japanese professional baseball. Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs) and Masataka Yoshida (Boston), who were called genius batters in Japan, also struggled in their first season, but it is still a debate whether it was worth paying Lee more than the two players who came from the KBO league.

However, Lee didn't care at all. "I didn't think much, I didn't think anything about it. Honestly, I didn't have a good feeling (because it was a good article), and I didn't have a bad feeling (because it was a bad article)," Lee said in an interview with "Spotiv News" after the report was released. "You just have to do well anyway, and I'm not the type to care about that. I didn't ask for the money, what can I do? They are doing their job, too. That's why I won't care much about it from now on." He said he only needs to prove his worth.

As soon as the exhibition game begins, Lee Jung-hoo proves his value and turns the U.S. skepticism one by one. Lee Jung-hoo played as the first center fielder in the "2024 Major League Demonstration Game"

 against the Texas Rangers at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona, on the 2nd (Korea time) and hit a hit again on the same day. Lee Jung-hoo, who started the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the 1st and hit two long balls, including his first home run in the exhibition game, started for the second consecutive day for the first time in the exhibition game and improved his condition.

Lee had no hit in his first two at-bats, but Gere hit in his third at-bat, continuing his hitting streak in pre-season games (three games). Lee's performance in exhibition games came to 0.444 with a batting average (four hits in nine at-bats), 0.444 with a on-base percentage, 0.889 with a slugging percentage and 1.333 with an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). It is a good start, considering that he has no experience in the Major League like other players. Moreover, Lee is significant not only in that he has good performance but also in that he is defeating the doubts that many people had about him.

◆ He hit in three consecutive exhibition games, and the U.S. also shed light on the "rich man of the wind."

When San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin wrote down the lineup card, he did not have to worry about the first space. Lee played as the starting center fielder on the day as well. He sat in the center field for three consecutive games. At the beginning of his team's spring training, Melvin said, "I will use Lee as leadoff and center fielder throughout this season." It would be a shock if Lee is not in the position at the opening game." There is no player in the team that suits this position better than Lee, and he also felt willingness to help Lee overcome his adaptation to the Major League head-on.

After Lee Jung-hoo, San Francisco's starting pitchers were Tyro Estrada (second baseman), Michael Conforto (left fielder), Jorge Soler (designated hitter), Wilmer Flores (first baseman), Patrick Bailey (catcher), JD Davis (third baseman), Nick Ahmed (striker), and Luis Matos (right fielder). With Jorge Soler, who joined the FA, playing as the fourth designated hitter again and being able to vaguely guess his position this season, many of the key players took part in the game. Texas, the winner of last year's World Series, decided to start in the order of Marcus Simian (second baseman), Leodi Taveras (middle fielder), Wyatt Langford (left fielder), Ezequiel Duran (striker), Sam Huff (first baseman), Blaine Cream (first baseman), Justin Foscue (designated hitter), Davis Wenzel (third baseman), and Elier Hernandez (right fielder). The lineup was a mix of key and non-mainstream players.

The Texas starting pitcher Lee Jung-hoo faced off on the day was also a face Lee Jung-hoo could remember. Adrian Sampson (33) was the starting pitcher. Sampson played in the KBO League as a member of the Lotte Giants in 2020. Back then, he had high expectations as an active major leaguer, but his personal history overlapped with his father's before the season, and his performance was lower than expected as he failed to raise his pitch and adjust to the KBO League. Sampson failed to renew his contract after winning 9-12 with a 5.40 ERA in 25 games at the time. He remains a disappointing player for Lotte fans.

In 2020, Samson played in LG (six games), Hanwha-SK (four games each), Samsung-Kt (three games each), KIA-Doosan (two games each), and NC (one game) and faced off with eight teams. However, he did not play in any of the matches due to his team's rotation with Kiwoom. In other words, Lee never had a chance to see Samson's performance. Samson returned to the U.S. to sign a minor league contract after 2020, and played as a substitute starter for the Chicago Cubs in 2021 and 2022. He pitched well with one win and two losses and a 2.80 ERA in 10 games (five starts) in 2021, and four wins and five losses and a 3.11 ERA in 21 games (nine starts) in 2022. However, he only played in the minor league last year due to injury, and sought to make a comeback in the Texas Rangers this year. Rather, the situation was more urgent for Samson.

Lee Jung-hoo failed to get a hit against Samson. At his first at-bat in the first inning, he hit a fly ball to center field. He came out as a leadoff hitter in the third inning, but missed the hit again, and only garnered a foul fly to the third baseman. After struggling, including a three-run homer at the Davis in the second inning, Samson allowed four hits (one homer) and one walk and three runs during the three innings.

Lee, however, was undaunted. Gear hit a hit in the third at-bat in the fifth inning, which could have been his last at-bat in the game. Lee took the batter's box in the fifth inning with no runners ahead 4-2.

BY: 안전놀이터