6-year contract worth $113 million, the highest ever for a Korean posting contract
Lee Jeong-hoo’s face fills the Oracle Park electronic display board.
Lee Jung-hoo appears on the electronic display board at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, the home stadium of the San Francisco Giants, on the 15th (local time) when Lee Jung-hoo’s induction ceremony was held.
Lee Jeong-hoo (25), who signed a huge contract with the San Francisco Giants, held his first event as a ‘big leaguer’.
The star of the first event he held after realizing his dream of becoming a major leaguer was Jeonghoo Lee himself.
San Francisco held an induction ceremony for Lee Jeong-hoo at Oracle Park in California, USA, on the 15th (local time).
Lee Jung-hoo received a hat and uniform with ‘SF’ crossed out from San Francisco club president Farhan Zaidi. The uniform had the number 51, which Lee Jeong-hoo wore with the Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League, emblazoned on it.
Lee Jeong-hoo, who was the hero of Kiwoom in the Korean professional baseball team, became a giant in San Francisco.
“Hello Giants, my name is Jeong-hoo Lee (Hello, I’m Jeong-hoo Lee),” Jeong-hoo Lee began in English, then continued in English, “Thank you to the family of the owner of the San Francisco team and my agent, Scott Boras, who recruited me. I am also thankful to my father and mother. I am happy that my dream of playing in the Major League has come true. I came here to win. “Let’s go Giants,” he said with a flushed expression.
When wearing the San Francisco uniform, he showed his composure by asking “Handsome?”
Former LG Twins coach Lee Jong-beom, a Korean professional baseball legend and Lee Jung-hoo’s father, and mother Jeong Yeon-hee also attended the induction ceremony and looked at their son with a flushed expression.
The host also introduced Lee Jeong-hoo’s parents.
Lee Jeong-hoo signs 6-year contract with San Francisco
A day earlier, on the 14th, San Francisco said, “We signed a 6-year contract with Lee Jeong-hoo for a total of $113 million (approximately 146.2 billion won),” and added, “He will opt out after the end of the 2027 season (by agreement between the club and the player).” “It also included a clause allowing the contract to be terminated,” he announced.
Lee Jeong-hoo’s annual salary for his first season in the big league (2024) is $7 million. Afterwards, he will receive $16 million in 2025, $22 million in 2026 and 2027, and $20.5 million in 2028 and 2029. The contract deposit is $5 million.
He also announced plans to donate $565,000 during the contract period.
With his posting, Lee Jeong-hoo broke the record for the highest amount paid by a Korean player who entered the major league of American professional baseball.
In 2013, Ryu Hyun-jin signed a six-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $36 million (average $6 million per year), making him the first player to advance directly to the American Major League through Korean professional baseball. It was the largest posting contract ever for a Korean player.
Among batters, Jeong-hoo Lee’s close senior, Ha-seong Kim (San Diego Padres), signed a four-year contract worth $28 million (average $7 million per year) with San Diego in 2021, which was the largest. The average annual guaranteed amount is higher for Ha-seong Kim than for Hyun-jin Ryu.
Lee Jeong-hoo is the best active hitter in Korea.
Starting his professional career in 2017, he played in 884 games until this year, recording a batting average of 0.340, 65 home runs, 515 RBI, 69 stolen bases, and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.898. He came to the United States with the highest batting average among players with more than 3,000 at-bats in the KBO League.
Local American media selected Lee Jeong-hoo as San Francisco’s top hitter and center fielder in 2024.
San Francisco expects Lee Jung-hoo to have an above-average on-base percentage and a batting average close to .300. 스포츠토토맨