Lee Jung-hoo won the Rookie of the Year award in 2017 and Kang Baek-ho the Rookie of the Year award in 2018, which was praised as a genius hitter. Since his first year since debut, he has been on par with other star players by displaying outstanding batting skills. He has grown one step at a time every year. He also played as a member of the Korean national team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
During the 2021 season, Kang had a batting average of 347 with 16 home runs and 102 RBIs, .521 and .450 on-base plus slugging percentage. Lee had a batting average of 367 (167 hits), seven home runs and 84 RBIs, and a .438 on-base plus slugging percentage. Lee ranked first in batting average, and Kang ranked third in batting average. Both won the Golden Glove.
However, over the past two years, the gap between Lee and Kang has widened significantly. Lee peaked at the MVP of the regular season in the 2022 season. He recorded 349 hits, 23 home runs, and 113 RBIs with an OPS of .996, winning the MVP of the regular season along with five hits (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, RBIs, and most hits).
Kang, on the other hand, suffered two injuries in 2022 and only played in 62 games. He posted a career-low record with a batting average of .371 with six home runs and an on-base percentage of .312.
Both Lee Jung-hoo and Kang Baek-ho faced challenges in the 2023 season. Lee Jung-hoo played in only 86 games due to an ankle injury in the middle of the season, recording a batting average of .318, six homers and 45 RBIs. Although he played fewer games due to injury, his ratio stat was as good as Lee.
Kang Baek-ho, who played for the national team in the World Baseball Classic in March, faced criticism for his so-called “ceremony out” in the first game against Australia. After hitting a double, he was tagged out as his foot fell from the second base while celebrating the dugout in the chase. As the national team lost to Australia by one point, criticism poured on Kang Baek-ho.
During the regular season, he played right fielder at a game against LG in mid-May, but bowed his head due to loose play. After catching a hit to the right field at the first base with no outs, he made a negligent throw to the infielder, and the first baseman came home to score a point.
Eventually, due to severe mental stress, he played in only 12 games from June to August, and had a long break to recover his mind and body. After returning to Korea in September, he played for the Hangzhou Asian Games team, winning a gold medal and briefly regained his smile. However, he ended the season after suffering an abdominal muscle injury during the team’s blue-and-white match ahead of the postseason. He had a series of bad luck. 사설 토토사이트
U.S. baseball statistics media FanGraph introduced international prospects such as Korea, Japan, and Taiwan at the end of November, citing Lee Jung-hoo as a group of “current superstars” along with Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Rocky Sasaki, and Munetaka Murakami. On the other hand, Kang categorized it as a “back or injured player” group and said, “Kang has suffered injuries and health problems over the past few seasons after displaying tremendous power.”
Lee challenged to move to the Major League by posting after the end of this season, and recently agreed to a massive contract worth 119 million U.S. dollars for six years with the San Francisco Giants. He is only set to undergo a medical test. Kang will play for the seventh season if he meets the registration requirements for next season, and will be eligible to post. If he plays until the 2025 season, he can challenge the Major League as an FA.
