The San Francisco Giants were finally able to land a top talent in free agency after multiple failed attempts in the past offseason and the current one.
They signed center fielder Jung-Hoo Lee to a six-year, $113 million contract.
It’s the largest contract ever given to an Asian-born hitter coming to MLB.
The Giants tried with Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa last year and with Shohei Ohtani this offseason, with no success.
They are bringing Lee to America, and his numbers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) are nothing short of amazing.
MLB Stats made a graphic with some of the most impressive ones:
The KBO superstar is on his way to @MLB! pic.twitter.com/mpHtPhtCZ4
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) December 13, 2023
The 65 home runs aren’t that impressive, but everything else is.
Without being a true power hitter, he was able to drive in 515 runs in seven seasons, which is very good.
The batting average of .340 is, perhaps, the number that gets the most attention.
Many players in professional ball, no matter the country, dream about having a .340 batting average in a season.
This guy did it over seven campaigns in Korea, and that tells you everything you need to know about his incredible bat-to-ball skills.
This past season in the KBO, Lee showed that his plate discipline is also jaw-dropping: he walked in 12.7 percent of his plate appearances and struck out in just 5.9 percent of them.
That’s unbelievable, and gives him a nice batting average/OBP floor in MLB.
The power will be the hardest thing to translate, especially playing in the pitching-friendly Oracle Park.
Still, with his contact, on-base ability, speed, and defense, San Francisco likely won’t regret spending that money to bring him in to their roster.
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