U.S. media, including the “MLB Network,” reported on the 13th (Korea time) that Lee Jung-hoo agreed to a six-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants. After the 2012 season, it was the highest contract ever among Korean players who advanced to the Major League through the posting system beyond pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, who signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the LA Dodgers. He received the best treatment among Asian fielders. 파워볼실시간
As a result, Lee became the sixth player to directly move to the Major League from the KBO League through the posting system. Starting with Ryu Hyun-jin, Lee Jung-hoo surprised everyone with his best treatment ever after infielder Kang Jung-ho (Fitzburg Pirates, 4+1 year, 11 million dollars), first baseman Park Byung-ho (Minnesota Twins, 4+1 year, 12 million dollars), pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun (St. Louis Cardinals, 2 years, 8 million dollars), and infielder Kim Ha-sung ( 4+1 year, 28 million dollars) after the 2020 season.
Lee Jung-hoo was able to sign a bigger-than-expected contract because he was still only 25 years old. After joining Nexen Heroes (currently Kiwoom) with his first nomination in 2017, Lee Jung-hoo quickly met the qualification of the first team registration days in seven seasons required to advance overseas. It was crucial that he won the gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and resolved the military issue early with military service benefits.
Kim Ha-sung, another gold medal player at the time, also made his way to the Major League at the age of 25 after playing for seven years in Korea. It was not as big a deal as Lee Jung-hoo, but he won a 4+1 year multi-year contract in recognition of his young age and growth potential. Kim Ha-sung, who will become an FA after next season, is only 29 years old at the time, raising expectations for a big-money deal.
Lee Jung-hoo’s success following Kim Ha-sung will likely be a great motivation for young Korean players who dream of becoming a big leaguer in the future. It can be a standard route to succeed in the KBO League before moving to the Major League. It is more about stability than adventure.
After the success of Korean No. 1 big leaguer Park Chan-ho, numerous amateur players headed to the U.S. from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Not only Choo Shin-soo, who had the best career record, but also Kim Byung-hyun, Seo Jae-eung, Choi Hee-sup and Choi Ji-man who played full-time in the Major League for many years were highly unlikely to succeed. Most of them were players who lost only a precious time due to the two-year grace period when they returned to Korea.
Since then, high school students who go straight to the U.S., which has been quiet for a while, have recently become popular. Shim Joon-seok (Pittsburgh Pirates) in 2022 and Jang Hyun-seok (LA Dodgers) in 2023 have been on flights to the U.S. In addition, pitcher Choi Hyun-il (Dodgers) in 2018, outfielder Cho Won-bin (St. Louis Cardinals) in 2022, catcher Eom Hyung-chan (Kansas City Royals) and pitcher Lee Chan-sol (Boston Red Sox) in 2023 have moved to the U.S.
In March last year, the treatment and welfare of minor leagues improved significantly through the labor-management agreement of the Major League, raising the direct advantage of the U.S. players. As the advanced coaching system fosters minor leagues and accelerates the timing of major league debuts, more and more players are choosing to go directly to the U.S. It remains to be seen how successful they will be in the future, but except for Jang Hyun-seok, the gold medalist at the Hangzhou Asian Games, they are clearly at high risk because their military issues have not been resolved.
Although there is a case in which Choi Ji-man, who acquired a permanent residency in May 2020 and postponed his military service until the age of 37, has no significance unless he plays for a long time in the Major League. Among the direct players in the U.S., Park Chan-ho and Choo Shin-soo are the only two players who played in the Major League until their late 30s. Among active big leaguers, Choi Ji-man is almost the only successful case. Park Hyo-joon (Oakland Athletics), who experienced the big league from 2021 to 2022, stayed in the minor league this year, and Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates) has not yet established himself as a big leaguer.
Besides posting, players who directly transferred to the Major League through the FA include Kim Hyun-soo, Hwang Jae-gyun, and Yang Hyun-jong. Oh Seung-hwan and Lee Dae-ho, who passed through Japan, are also expected to receive more money than in the past due to the revision of the Korea-U.S. posting system in July 2018. Attention is also focusing on whether Lee Jung-hoo’s successful entry into the U.S. through super-special treatment will change the minds of promising players who dream of becoming the U.S. in the future.
