Jung Hoo Lee

Jung Hoo Lee
Lee in 2019
San Francisco Giants – No. 51
Outfielder
Born: (1998-08-20) August 20, 1998
Nagoya, Aichi, Japan[1]
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Professional debut
KBO: April 1, 2017, for the Nexen Heroes
MLB: March 28, 2024, for the San Francisco Giants
KBO statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.340
Home runs65
Runs batted in515
MLB statistics
(through August 15, 2026)
Batting average.276
Home runs19
Runs batted in109
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams
Career highlights and awards
KBO
International
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  South Korea
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2018 JakartaTeam
WBSC Premier12
Silver medal – second place2019 TokyoTeam
Korean name
Hangul
이정후
Hanja
李政厚
RRI Jeonghu
MRI Chŏnghu

Jung Hoo Lee (Korean: 이정후; born August 20, 1998) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes.

Lee won the KBO League Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 and the KBO League Most Valuable Player Award in 2022. He won five consecutive Golden Glove Awards from 2018 to 2022. Lee has also played for the South Korea national baseball team at the 2019 WBSC Premier12, 2020 Summer Olympics, and the 2023 and 2026 World Baseball Classic.

He is the son of Lee Jong-beom, a star player in the KBO league and with the nickname "Son of the Wind,"[2][3][4] earning the younger Lee the moniker "Grandson of the Wind."[5][6]

Early life

Lee was born on August 20, 1998, in Nagoya, Japan, when his father was playing in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons.[7] After his father signed with the KIA Tigers in 2001, the family moved to Gwangju, South Korea. They moved to Seoul in 2012 upon his father's retirement where Lee was enrolled in Whimoon Middle School and then Whimoon High School, a prestigious sports-focused high school.

It is said that his father was initially against his son becoming a baseball player and tried to introduce him to other sports,[8] but eventually gave in on the condition that Lee batted left-handed, despite being naturally right-handed. Upon doing this, he began to look up to Japanese star Ichiro Suzuki, who was also a right-handed thrower/ left-handed batter, and picked the number 51 as his jersey number to honor him.[9] In a profile of his father, a 7-year old Jung-hoo was already attracting attention for his natural skill and commitment to the sport.[4]

Professional career

Nexen / Kiwoom Heroes

The Nexen Heroes selected Lee in the first round of the 2017 KBO League draft (held in 2016) as an infielder along with Kim Hye-seong, his future teammate and friend. Following spring training, Lee was included on the team's Opening Day roster at age 18 without playing in the KBO Futures League - the KBO minor leagues. Converted into an outfielder, Lee became the first rookie out of high school to appear in every game for a KBO team. He finished the season batting .324/.395/.417 with two home runs, 47 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and 179 hits, which set a new rookie record for hits. At the conclusion of the season, Lee was voted KBO League Rookie of the Year Award.[10]

Lee in 2018

In 2018, Lee suffered a shoulder injury and was sidelined for 6 weeks but still improved on his rookie numbers with a slash line of .355/.412/.477 with six home runs and 57 RBI by the end of the season. He also ended third in the league in batting average. In 2019, his slash line was .336/.386/.456 with six home runs and 68 RBI while he was voted the MVP of the 2019 playoffs for the first time.

Lee won another Golden Glove Award in 2020[11] while his batting line was .333/.397/.524, with 15 home runs, 101 RBI, and an OPS of .921.

In the 2021 season, Lee batted .360/.438/.522 with 7 home runs, 84 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, an OPS of .959 and while leading the league in batting average. On October 25 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park, Lee hit for the cycle against the Samsung Lions.

During the 2022 season, Lee played in 142 games and hit .349/.421/.575 with 23 home runs, 113 RBI, a 5.1% strikeout rate, and a career-high OPS of .996. He became the youngest and fastest player in KBO history to reach 1,000 hits at 23 years old in 747 games, a record previously held by his father who achieved the feat in 779 games. After the season, he won the KBO League Most Valuable Player Award.[12] while placing first in the league in batting average, hits, RBI, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. He also received the playoff MVP once again.

In 2023, Lee became captain of the Heroes and played in 85 games for Kiwoom, while hitting .319/.407/.456 with six home runs and 45 RBI. On July 25, 2023, it was announced that Lee would undergo season–ending surgery after suffering a fractured ankle.[13] On December 4, Lee was officially posted to Major League Baseball (MLB) by the Heroes.[14]

San Francisco Giants

On December 14, 2023, Lee signed a six-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.[15][16] The Giants also had to pay a posting fee of $18.825 million to the Heroes.[17] Lee hit his first home run in MLB on March 30, 2024, against the San Diego Padres in Petco Park. Family members, including his father, were in attendance to witness the event. Lee suffered an injury to his left shoulder after crashing into the wall trying to catch a flyout ball on May 12, and the Giants announced that he would undergo season–ending labrum surgery on May 17.[18] In 37 games for the Giants, Lee hit .262/.310/.331 with two home runs and eight RBI.

In 2025 with the Giants, Lee played in 150 games and slashed .266/.327/.407 with eight home runs, 55 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He led the team in batting average, base running value, strikeout rate, doubles (31), and triples (12). On September 26, he hit his 12th triple of the season which landed him in 3rd place for the most triples in all MLB (2nd in the NL) and tied the record for the most triples by an Asian player in a season, previously held by Ichiro Suzuki.[19]

On May 14, 2026, Lee hit an inside–the–park home run off of Emmet Sheehan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the first player to record an inside–the–parker at Dodger Stadium.[20]

International career

Lee's first appearance for the South Korea national baseball team was at the 2016 U-18 Baseball World Cup, as South Korea won the tournament. Lee then went on to represent the national team in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship, where South Korea placed 2nd overall.

In the 2018 Asian Games, Lee delivered the winning RBI against Taiwan on November 17.[21][22] He also played for Team Korea at the 2019 WBSC Premier12 tournament, and led all players at the tournament with five doubles. Lee went on to represent South Korea at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic as well. In 2026, he was chosen as the captain for Team South Korea in the 2026 World Baseball Classic leading the team to the quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years[23]

Endorsements

Lee has been listed in the top 10 the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 List in both 2024 and 2025 at #6 and #7 respectively.

Lee is a brand ambassador for Korean brands Paldo[24] and USANA.[25]

Lee is also a brand ambassador for foreign brands Adidas,[26] Tag Heuer,[27] and McLaren.[28]

Lee has modeled for photo shoots with Dior and Louis Vuitton.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 네이버 뉴스 라이브러리. Naver Newslibrary (in Korean). August 21, 1998. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Power rankings, top players, key storylines and more: Everything you need for KBO opening day". ESPN.com. May 4, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  3. ↑ Yoo Jee-ho (July 4, 2020). "2nd-generation KBO star wants to see more sons of ex-players thrive". Yonhap News Agency.
  4. 1 2 Chang Hye-soo; Limb Jae-un (April 25, 2005). "Kia Tigers outfielder invigorated after last season's slump, pay cut". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  5. ↑ "Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo takes lessons learned from legendary father to MLB". Yonhap News Agency. December 16, 2023.
  6. ↑ Kim Jin-hee (September 8, 2017). "[KBO] '바람의 손자' 이정후 "이종범 뛰어넘기보다 저 자체로 인정받고파…새로운 별명 공모합니다!"" [[KBO] 'Grandson of the Wind' Lee Jeong-hoo, 'Rather than surpassing Lee Jong-beom, I want to be recognized for who I am... I'm running a contest for a new nickname!']. Etoday (in Korean). Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  7. ↑ Spradling, Shawn [@Shawn_Spradling] (December 12, 2023). "Fun fact: Jung-hoo Lee is Korean. But, he was born in Nagoya, Japan" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  8. ↑ 김양희 (May 10, 2011). "이종범, 아들에게 띄우는 편지". 한겨레 (in Korean). Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  9. ↑ Guardado, Maria (March 11, 2024). "Jung Hoo Lee meets childhood idol Ichiro Suzuki". MLB.com. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Park, Baek end Dark Ages for local aces". The Korea Times. August 8, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  11. ↑ "(LEAD) Star catcher earns near-unanimous support for KBO's Golden Glove". Yonhap News Agency. December 11, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Lee Jung-hoo named 2022 KBO MVP". November 17, 2022.
  13. ↑ Anderson, R.J. (July 25, 2023). "KBO star Jung-hoo Lee expected to miss remainder of season with ankle injury ahead of MLB posting". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Jung Hoo Lee posted to MLB: Former KBO MVP could set new contract record for Korean player". cbssports.com. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Giants agree to six-year contract with outfielder Jung Hoo Lee". sfgiants.com. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Giants tout Korean star Jung Hoo Lee as 'absolutely perfect fit'". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  17. ↑ Baggarly, Andrew. "Breaking down the Giants' $132 million bet on Jung Hoo Lee: 'They paid for his ceiling'" – via NYTimes.com.
  18. ↑ Bachar, Zach (May 17, 2024). "Giants' Jung Hoo Lee to Undergo Season-Ending Surgery on Shoulder Injury". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  19. ↑ Yonhap (September 27, 2025). "Giants' Lee Jung-hoo ties MLB triple record by Asian player - The Korea Times". www.koreatimes.co.kr. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Lee adds to SF vs. LA lore with Giants' first inside-the-park HR at Dodger Stadium". mlb.com. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  21. ↑ "2018 아시안게임 야구 대표팀 선수 교체" (in Korean). Korea Baseball Organization. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  22. ↑ "Lee Jung-hoo delivers game-winning triple in sixth inning as South Korea nips Taiwan". The Japan Times. November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  23. ↑ Daily, The Chosun (March 16, 2026). "Koo Ja-wook Recalls South Korea's 17-Year WBC Quarterfinal Breakthrough". The Chosun Daily. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Paldo selects MLB player Lee Jung-hoo as model for spicy noodle soup 'For Men". Chosun Biz. Chosun Daily.
  25. ↑ Jung, Jin. "Yusana Signs Official Nutrition Sponsorship Agreement with Korean Basketball League and Suwon KT Sonicboom". The Asia Business Daily.
  26. ↑ "Lee Jung-hoo, "Grandchild of the Wind," will continue to accompany global sports brand Adidas". Maeil Business.
  27. ↑ "Lee Jung-hoo Used Signing Bonus to Gift Father TAG Heuer Watch". The Chosun Daily. Chosun Daily.
  28. ↑ "Baseball player Lee Jung-hoo (26, San Francisco Giants) has received a supercar worth 400 million wo.. - MK". 매일경제. February 10, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  29. ↑ Jain, Krutik. "Giants rookie Jung Hoo Lee shines in varied Louis Vuitton ensembles for magazine shoot". sportskeeda.
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