Japanese media paid attention to the actions of Lee Jeong-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes)
who attempted to enter the major league through the posting system.
Japanese media ‘Cococora Next’ said on the 5th, “The Major League Winter Meetings will open on the 4th in local time in the United States. 카지노사이트랭크
The leaders of each club, scouts, and agents will gather in one place and complex negotiations will take place,” and “This off-season will be Otani’s first meeting.
The progress of big players such as Shohei, Break Snell, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are attracting attention.
Lee Jeong-hoo, who is expected to advance to the major leagues, is also attracting quite a bit of attention,” the report said.
On the afternoon of the 4th, Lee Jeong-hoo’s former team, Kiwoom Heroes, said, “Lee Jeong-hoo’s posting (private competitive bidding) notice to the American Major League (MLB) will be announced on December 4th, Eastern time,” and “We hope to recruit Lee Jeong-hoo starting the day after the posting notice.
We will begin full-scale negotiations for 30 days with 30 major league clubs,” the official announced.
Kiwoom general manager Ko Hyeong-wook said, “We support Lee Jeong-hoo’s future as he is qualified for posting and takes on the challenge of heading to a bigger stage,” and conveyed the message that he hopes the player will smoothly reach a contract with a big league club.
The 30 MLB teams can negotiate a contract with Lee Jung-hoo from 8 a.m. (US Eastern time) the day after the posting until 5 p.m. on the 30th day. Accordingly
the start of negotiations for Lee Jeong-hoo’s entry into the MLB will be at 8 a.m. on the 5th, Eastern time (10 p.m. on the 5th, Korean time).
The negotiation expiration date is 5 p.m. on the 3rd of next month
Eastern time in the United States (7 a.m. on the 4th of next month, Korean time).
On the afternoon of the 5th, the KBO was notified by the Major League Secretariat that it had announced its intention to post about Lee Jeong-hoo and LG Twins pitcher Ko Woo-seok to 30 big league clubs.
In accordance with the Korea-US player contract agreement, major league clubs interested in recruiting Lee Jeong-hoo and Ko Woo-seok can begin negotiations with the two players starting at 8 a.m. on December 5 (UTC). The contract deadline is January 3rd of next year at 5pm (Eastern US time).
If Lee Jeong-hoo does not sign with a major league club within the designated period, the posting will end.
In this case, Lee Jung-hoo cannot be posted until November 1st of next year
but considering the interest in Lee Jung-hoo in the United States, a ‘jackpot’ contract is expected to be a strong possibility.
The Japanese media is also watching Lee Jeong-hoo’s moves with interest.
He gave Lee Jeong-hoo a high evaluation, comparing him to Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki.
Coincidentally, it is also known that the player Lee Jeong-hoo admired most during his youth was Ichiro.
‘Cococora Next’ said, “Lee Jeong-hoo, the treasure of Korean baseball, is now 25 years old.
Because he has a lot of room for growth and potential
it is inevitable that various teams will compete to recruit him in the posting,” and “Already signed by the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and San Diego Padres.
the New York Mets, etc. are known to be showing interest.”
He also said, “Lee Jung-hoo is a genius called ‘Korea’s Ichiro’ for his outstanding baseball sense. In the 2022 season
he won two awards as the batting leader and the RBI leader
and was even named MVP of the regular season,” according to the American baseball site ‘MLB Trade Rumors’.
It is expected that Lee Jung-hoo will sign a five-year contract worth a total of $50 million (about 65.6 billion won).
American super agent Scott Boras signed a contract with Lee Jung-hoo,” he said.
Another Japanese media outlet, Sports Hochi, also said, “Korea’s Lee Jung-hoo and Go Woo-seok have completed their posting applications with the goal of advancing to the Major League.
Lee Jung-hoo is the son of Lee Jong-beom, who played for the Chunichi Dragons.
He has been selected as an outfielder in the KBO League for five consecutive years until last year.
I won the Golden Glove,” he said.
Sponich Annex’ also said, “According to American media reports
many teams, including the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, and New York Yankees
are interested in recruiting Lee Jung-hoo,” and added, “Lee Jong-beom boasts quick feet and sophisticated hitting.
He will be selected as the 2022 KBO League MVP.
It went up,” he said.
Lee Jeong-hoo graduated from Whimoon High School in 2017 and began his professional career by joining Kiwoom Heroes as a first-round pick.
Until his amateur days, he was more famous as the son of his father
Lee Jong-beom, but after he entered the KBO league
Lee Jung-hoo himself became one of the brightest figures in Korean baseball history.
Lee Jung-hoo has established himself as the team’s starting outfielder since his first year of debut.
He appeared in all 144 regular league games and hit hard with a batting average of 0.324 (179 hits in 552 at-bats), 2 home runs, 47 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and an OSP of 0.812.
He not only broke the record for the most hits in a single season by a KBO high school rookie hitter
but also won the Rookie of the Year title.
Lee Jeong-hoo became a ‘monster’ as the years passed.
As if laughing at the ‘sophomore jinx’, he continued his growth with a batting average of 0.355 (163 hits in 459 at-bats)
6 home runs, 57 RBI, 11 stolen bases in 109 games in the 2018 season, his second year, and an OPS of 0.889.
This year, he participated in the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, won a gold medal
received special military service exemption, and even won the Golden Glove in the outfield category.
Lee Jung-hoo surpassed himself in the 2019 season as well.
In 140 games, he had a batting average of 0.336 (193 hits in 574 at-bats)
6 home runs, 68 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.842
solidifying his position as the league’s top left-handed hitter.
He even improved his slugging ability, which was assessed as lacking in the 2020 season. In 140 games
he hit a double-digit home run for the first time in his debut with a batting average of 0.333 (181 hits in 544 at-bats)
15 home runs, 101 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.921.
In the 2021 season, with a batting average of 0.360 (167 hits in 464 at-bats) in 123 games, 7 home runs, 84 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.959, major detailed statistics excluding home runs and stolen bases hit career highs.
By winning the title of batting champion, he and his father Lee Jong-beom (1994 season MVP, batting average 0.393, 196 hits, 19 home runs, 77 RBI, 84 stolen bases)
made a wonderful history as the first father-son batting champions in professional baseball in Korea, the United States, and Japan.
Lee Jung-hoo became more of a monster in the 2022 season.
In 142 games, he completely dominated the KBO League with a batting average of 0.349 (193 hits in 553 at-bats), 23 home runs, 113 RBIs, 5 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.996. He rose to prominence by winning the batting title for two consecutive years and even holding the regular league MVP trophy.
Lee Jeong-hoo had the misfortune of being on the operating table due to an ankle injury as soon as the second half of the regular season began this season, but his performance was top-tier in the KBO league with a batting average of 0.318 (105 hits in 330 at-bats), 6 home runs, 45 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.861 in 86 games.
Lee Jeong-hoo’s experience in all major international competitions under the Taegeuk flag since his professional debut is also an element that can appeal to major league clubs. He performed well in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12 with a batting average of 0.385 (10 hits in 26 at-bats), 4 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.061, and was selected as one of the best 11 players in the competition.
He also played a key role in the national team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In particular, he left a strong impression by hitting a double against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Japan’s special pitcher, in the semifinals against Japan.
He also hit hard at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March of this year with a batting average of 0.429 (6 hits in 14 at-bats), 5 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.071. In the Korea-Japan match, he showed off his prowess as an international hitter by hitting a timely hit against Japan’s ace Yu Darvish.
An interesting point to watch is whether Kiwoom can produce another big leaguer. Kiwoom already has a precedent of sending three players to the United States through the posting system.
Kiwoom transferred Kang Jung-ho to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 2014 season, Park Byeong-ho to the Minnesota Twins after the 2015 season, and Kim Ha-seong to the San Diego Padres after the 2020 season.
Kang Jung-ho crossed the Pacific Ocean with Kiwoom receiving a posted transfer fee of $5,020,150 (approximately 6.52 billion won), and Park Byeong-ho received a posted transfer fee of $12.85 million (approximately 16.86 billion won).
In the case of Kim Ha-seong, he signed with San Diego after the revision of the posting contract agreement between the KBO and the Major League Baseball office in 2018. If the contract size is less than $25 million, the transfer fee is 20% of the contract amount. If it is in the range of $25 million to $50 million, the transfer fee is 17.5% of the amount exceeding $25 million and $5 million, which is 20% of the $25 million1 standard point in this range.
If the contract size exceeds $50 million, the transfer fee is 15% of the amount exceeding $50 million and $50 million is divided into two sections: $5 million, which is 20% of the first $25 million, and $4,375,000, which is 17.5% of the remaining $25 million. It is the sum of all three.
As Kim Ha-seong signed a four-year contract with San Diego worth $28 million (about 36.3 billion won), Kiwoom earned $5.52 million (about 7.2 billion won) in posting money.