Lee Jung-hoo Challenge Korea's New Record

To promote Friday's free game, the MLB Secretariat produced a poster featuring Lee Jung-hoo from the San Francisco Giants. However, Lee Jung-hoo was not included in the starting lineup, drawing attention.

San Francisco announced its starting lineup to face the Arizona Diamondbacks ahead of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season home game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, on the 20th (Korea time).

San Francisco's lineup consists of Austin Slater (right fielder), Wilmer Flores (first baseman), Jorge Soler (designated hitter), Matt Chapman (third baseman), Michael Confoto (left fielder), Tom Murphy (catcher), Tyro Estrada (second baseman), Tyler Fitzgerald (center fielder) and Nick Ahmed (striker). The starting pitcher is Blake Snell.

Against this backdrop, Arizona has a lineup of players including Ketel Marte (second baseman), Corbin Carroll (center fielder), Laudes Gurriel Jr. (left fielder), Christian Walker (first baseman), Eugenio Suarez (third baseman), Randall Grichik (right fielder), Gabriel Moreno (catcher), Blaze Alexander (designated hitter) and Kevin Newman (striker). Jordan Montgomery started the game.

The match was selected as a "Friday Night Baseball" match, which is broadcast live for free on Apple TV+ once a week. This matchup is highly anticipated. There are a few things to look out for. Snell, the winner of last year's Cy Young Award, is aiming for his first win since moving to San Francisco.

Snell, who won the Cy Young Award at the San Diego Padres last year following 2018, signed a two-year, 62 million-dollar FA contract with the San Francisco Giants on April 18, including opt-out conditions after the 2024 season. However, he has yet to report his first win due to his belated joining. He became a losing pitcher by allowing three runs in three innings at a home game against the Washington Nationals on April 9, and seven runs in four innings at an away game against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 15. His ERA was 12.86. He pitched in one game against Arizona last year and won by allowing two runs in six innings.

It was also the debut of Jordan Montgomery, the hero of the Texas Rangers' first World Series championship last year, in Arizona. Montgomery led Texas to victory in the postseason last year by recording three wins and one loss with a 2.90 ERA in six games. However, he was unable to find a team easily and only signed a one-year, $25 million FA contract with Arizona on April 27.

Lee Jung-hoo was the star of the MLB Secretariat despite the fact that two starting pitchers with prominent names appeared. Lee has had hits in 10 consecutive games, including five multi-hit games, elevating his batting average for this season from 0.200 to 0.282. This is due to the Korean Major Leaguers' record of consecutive hits, which was previously set by Kang Jung-ho in 2015 and Kim Hyun-soo in 2016. If Lee had reported hits in this game, he could have set a new record.

However, Lee Jung-hoo was not included in the starting lineup on the day. The reason was to arrange his physical stamina. San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said in an interview with local media, "It's just a normal rest. We've been playing for 13 days straight. It's just to give rest to all the key players."

San Francisco Giants will play three consecutive away games against the Miami Marlins, starting with three away games against Tampa Bay on Tuesday, and return to its home ground to face the Arizona and New York Mets for the sixth consecutive game. It gave Lee Jung-hoo a break due to tight schedule that he could not rest until Wednesday.

He categorized Lee as a key resource and was rather considerate. However, it was a pity for the MLB Secretariat. The MLB Secretariat released a poster with Lee Jung-hoo to the front along with the background that reminded people of the movie Mad Max on its official SNS. Introducing Lee as "Grandson of the Wind," he said, "The former KBO MVP will be on the stage of Friday Night Baseball. Please watch the game between Lee Jung-hoo and San Francisco and Arizona on Apple TV at 10:15 p.m. Eastern time."

BY: 스포츠토토