Watch Video of Jung Hoo Lee Getting Beer Showered By His Teammates On His First MLB Home Run

In his very first at-bat in the major leagues, Jung Hoo Lee did something very unexpected. He failed to make contact.

Watch Video of Jung Hoo Lee Getting Beer Showered By His Teammates On His First MLB Home Run

He fouled off a four-seam fastball thrown by Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres after swinging at the opening pitch of the San Francisco Giants’ season. Then he saw a curveball that was dump-in.

Next, he glanced down the middle at another four-seamer. Afterward, he strolled towards the dugout. Lee didn’t have time to enjoy his first major-league hit until a little later that day. He was picked off first base by Darvish.

In a video that has been shared on social media, Lee can be seen stating “I love you” while sitting in a shower cart, just before his colleagues throw beer at him.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, he added through translator Justin Han that the shower was “everything,” meaning more than just beer.

Even though the former Korean Baseball League player was able to retrieve the home run ball, trading three signed balls and a cap for it was hardly a nostalgic occasion.

After that, the Giants (2-1) defeated the Padres 9-6, thanks in part to Lee’s home run that came in during a six-run inning that was finished off by a grand slam by former Mets outfielder Michael Conforto.

Viewed as one of the best players in South Korea, the Giants wagered $113 million over the winter to guarantee that Lee would be more than just a decent major-league center fielder with respectable bat-to-ball ability.

They regarded him as a game-changer with remarkable zone awareness and contact skills who would be granted diplomatic immunity. But this is baseball’s Major League. This is a league so provincial that it refers to its championship game as a World Series, despite the fact that its worldwide exoticism is confined to Toronto’s concession stands and poutine.

Lee would need to confront an implicit haughtiness, regardless of the Giants’ level of confidence in their assessments or his own ability. And if he struggled at the outset, that arrogance would be accompanied by inflated confirmation bias.

“He’s incredible,” Conforto told the Chronicle of Lee, who is 4-for-12 in three games. “We love watching him hit. Everybody’s watching when he’s up there, just his discipline, his desire to play, his ability to stay on pitches, stay to the middle of the field and obviously we saw a little bit of power — a lot of power if he gets the right pitch. Everybody was fired up. That was a cool, cool moment for me and the rest of the guys.”

Who is Jung Hoo Lee’s father?

His father, Jong Beom Lee, also known as “Son of the Wind” from his own KBO games, was present in the grandstand and relished the occasion, rejoicing in the home run with great delight. With great excitement, Lee’s teammates showered him with back pats and hand slaps.

Where was Jung Hoo Lee born?

On August 20, 1998, while his father was a player for the Chunichi Dragons in the NPB, Lee was born in Nagoya, Japan. When Lee Jung-hoo was seven years old, his father was included in a profile, and the young player was already becoming well-known for his love of baseball and his talent for the game.

Is Jung Hoo Lee Korean or Japanese?

Lee is Korean but was born  in Japan when his father Jong-beom Lee was playing there; his father had been a MVP in the KBO.

 

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