Where will the end of ‘1.1 billion new history’ Lee Jung-hoo… Walk the legend path at the age of 25
Where will the end of Lee Jung-hoo (25, Kiwoom Heroes) go? He is proudly walking the path of a legend at the age of 25.
Kiwoom announced on the 20th that it had agreed on an annual salary of 1.1 billion won this year with Lee Jung-hoo. It was an increase of 350 million won (46.7%) from last year’s annual salary of 750 million won. Lee Jung-hoo is the first player in the history of Korean professional baseball to exceed the annual salary of 1 billion won with a single-year contract, excluding special cases such as free agency, multi-year contracts, and returning to overseas players.
He has never been treated to this extent by a 7th-year player in the history of the KBO League. The highest annual salary for the previous 7 years was 550 million won received by Kim Ha-seong (28, San Diego Padres) of Kiwoom in 2020. Lee Jeong-hoo set a record that will not be broken for a while by raising this amount exactly twice.
Lee Jung-hoo has never been less than the best. He received an annual salary of 230 million won in 2019, an annual salary of 390 million won in 2020, an annual salary of 550 million won in 2021, and an annual salary of 750 million won in 2022.
Lee Jung-hoo was different from his rookie days. After graduating from Whimoon High School, he joined Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom) as the first player in 2017 and scored 179 hits that year, setting the record for the most hits by a high school graduate. In 1994, he changed the record of LG Kim Jae-hyun (134 hits) in 23 years, announcing the birth of a superstar, and swept the rookie of the year at various awards ceremonies that year. Since 2018, he has proven his worth by winning the Golden Gloves every year.
Last year was a year in which Lee Jung-hoo’s talent exploded all at once. Hits (193), batting average (0.349), on-base percentage (0.421), slugging percentage (0.575), and runs batted in (113) ranked first in five categories and won five batting crowns. Lee Jung-hoo, who had an incredible performance in his 24-year-old season, won the regular season MVP for the first time in his life.
This year, at the age of 25, I am looking at a higher level. Lee Jung-hoo plans to finish this season safely and advance to the US Major League with the posting system. After leading Kiwoom to win the Korean Series this year, he is drawing a picture of heading toward the stage of his dreams in a glorious way.
The news of Lee Jung-hoo’s major league challenge is showing great interest not only in the United States but also in the Japanese media. MLB.com, the homepage of the Major League, predicted that Lee Jung-hoo would stand shoulder to shoulder with the next big players in the free agency market, such as Manny Machado (31, San Diego) and Ohtani Shohei (29, LA Angels).
MLB.com said, ‘Lee Jung-hoo’s career batting average of 0.342 ranks first in KBO history (more than 3,000 at bats). He expressed, “If you liked Vladimir Guerrero’s (47) ability to produce hits by hitting the ball wherever it came, you will fall for Lee Jung-hoo.” Guerrero is a legendary hitter inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The American media predicted that the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which will be held in March, will be the stage for Lee Jung-hoo’s major league showcase. It was also introduced that if Korea advances to the championship round (semifinals), it will be an opportunity to watch Lee Jung-hoo in the United States. 헤라카지노
Until now, Lee Jung-hoo has always shown more than that whenever he wondered, “Is this the end?” Lee Jung-hoo, who has achieved almost everything that he could achieve in his early 20s in Korea, will be able to write history again as a world-recognized player by moving to the major leagues from next year.