Entering his second year as outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, Lee Jung-hoo said Monday he would love nothing more than to stay healthy in 2025.
Lee left for the U.S. on Monday to prepare for his second season in Major League Baseball. Lee was limited to just 37 games as a rookie in 2024, due to a shoulder injury he suffered while trying to make a leaping catch at the outfield wall at Oracle Park in San Francisco on May 12.
Lee, who signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the Giants in December 2023, finished his rookie campaign with a .262/.310/.331 batting line, two home runs, eight RBIs and two steals.
Lee, the 2022 regular-season MVP in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the Kiwoom Heroes, batted .340 in seven seasons in Korea, the highest lifetime batting average in KBO history among batters with at least 3,000 plate appearances.
Because of his season-ending injury, Lee didn't have enough of an opportunity to demonstrate his bat-to-ball skills in 2024. Now that he's back to full health, Lee said he wants to prove he belongs in the majors.
"First and foremost, my goal is to play the full season without getting hurt," Lee told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "And hopefully, I can help the team get to the postseason, too."
Lee said the Giants sent a team trainer to Korea to work with him and help him follow the rehab schedule. Having done plenty of work in the gym, Lee said he is itching to get into some baseball action on the field.
"I am so grateful for the way the team has taken care of me," Lee said. "I want to go back out there and help the team the best I can. I can tell you I am 100 percent healthy now."
Lee, who missed a big chunk of the 2023 KBO season with a foot injury, said he also had to overcome the mental block of spending so much time on the sidelines.
"I think I've been able to mature precisely because I've gone through such challenging times," he said. "I think I am in a really good place now. I feel a bit more composed than before last season."
And maintaining that composure will be key, said Lee, who admitted he tried to do too much at times last season.
Lee said he is also not putting any pressure on himself to deliver on his sizable contract after missing so much time last year.
"I think professional ball players have to prove their worth every season. It's the same in Korea," Lee said. "And I am not feeling added pressure because of that. I just want to play in as many games as possible and help the team because I didn't play much last year."
Though the sample size was admittedly small for Lee last year, he did not drive the ball or get the ball in the air as much as expected. He said he has identified what caused such an issue.
"I am in the process of addressing that problem, and if it all goes well, I should be able to start driving the ball better," Lee said. "Even though I only played a little bit last year, I still think I showed something noteworthy. For now, I am going to stick to what I've been doing all along."
Lee said he is also looking forward to going up against his former Heroes teammate and good friend Kim Hye-seong, who signed with the Giants' bitter National League West rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Jan. 3.
Lee and Kim were both drafted by the Heroes in 2016 and spent seven seasons together. Lee had a far more illustrious career in the KBO -- he won the Rookie of the Year in 2017 while Kim only played 16 games then.
Lee said he had stayed in touch with Kim throughout the negotiating process and congratulated Kim on joining the 2024 World Series champions.
"We've been playing together since the days of the youth national team. I have nothing but great memories of playing with him," Lee said. "I am so happy to see us both play in the U.S. at the same time. It feels surreal."
When their two teams collide, the two Korean players will have to put their friendships aside, given the longstanding animosity between the California clubs.
"Fans will boo players on the other team during introduction," Lee said. "In the KBO, we usually have a lot of fans for the visiting team and the mood is fairly neutral. In the majors, it's a lot more partisan, and I think it's going to be fun for Hye-seong."
Last year, Lee went head-to-head against another ex-Heroes teammate and close friend, then San Diego Padres shortstop Kim Ha-seong.
Kim is a free agent now. Though the Giants were linked to Kim early in the offseason, they ended up signing another shortstop, Willy Adames, a move that seemed to have ruled out the possibility of a Lee-Kim reunion by the bay.
"I just hope he signs a good contract and plays well for his new team, wherever he may go," Lee said. "I hope to hear some good news from his end soon." (Yonhap)