Lee Jung-hoo (; born August 20, 1998) is a South Korean

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who plays for the

Kiwoom Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Seou ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

. He is the son of former KBO League MVP

Lee Jong-beom Lee Jong-beom ( ko, 이종범, Hanja: 李鍾範; born August 15, 1970) is a former South Korean professional baseball player who played for the Kia Tigers (formerly the Haitai Tigers) in the KBO League and the Chunichi Dragons in Japan from 19 ...

. nicknamed "Son of the Wind," so he is called "Grandson of the Wind."

Professional career

In a profile of his father when Lee Jung-hoo was seven years old, he was already attracting attention for his devotion to baseball and his skill at the game.Chang Hye-soo, Limb Jae-un
"Kia Tigers outfielder invigorated after last season’s slump, pay cut,"
''Korea JoongAng Daily'' (April 25, 2005). Lee was selected by the

Nexen Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Se ...

in the 2017 Draft (held in 2016), as an infielder. Following a great spring training, Lee was included on the team's opening day roster at age 18 without going through the

KBO Futures League KBO Futures League () or Korea Baseball Futures League is South Korea's second level of baseball, below the KBO League. It serves as a farm league with the purpose to develop professional players on-demand to play in the KBO League. The league ...

. Converted to an outfielder, Lee became the first rookie out of high school to appear in every game for a KBO team. He finished the season batting .324/.395/.417 with 2 home runs, 47 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and 179 hits, which set a new rookie record for hits. At the conclusion of the season, Lee was voted

KBO League Rookie of the Year The KBO League Rookie of the Year Award is given to the player judged the best first-year player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League. The most recent winner is Lee Jung-hoo of the Nexen Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean ...

. In 2018, he batted .355/.412/.477. In 2019 he batted .336/.386/.456. In 2019, he won series MVP in the playoffs. His father,

, won the MVP award in the 1993

Korean Series The Korean Series is the final championship series of the KBO League. It has been held since the KBO League's first season in and is the final series of the post-season play-offs. From to 2013, the winner of the Korean Series went on to play in ...

, with a batting average of .313 (9 hits in 29 at-bats) and three steals, the most in a game. With Lee Jung-hoo's selection, it became the first time in the KBO that both father and son won a postseason MVP award. Lee won another Golden Glove Award in 2020 with a batting line of .333, 15 home runs, 101 RBI, and a career-high OPS of .921. In the 2022 season, Lee won the

KBO League Most Valuable Player Award The KBO League Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player judged the most valuable player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League. The most recent winner is Ariel Miranda of the Doosan Bears The Doosan Bears ( ko, 두산 베어� ...

International career

*He represented

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

. He delivered the winning RBI against

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

on November 17. *He played for Team Korea at the

2019 WBSC Premier12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship ...

tournament, and led the tournament with five doubles. *He represented

at the

Tokyo 2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jung-hoo 1998 births Living people Baseball players at the 2018 Asian Games Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics 2023 World Baseball Classic players Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in baseball KBO League outfielders KBO League Rookie of the Year Award winners Kiwoom Heroes players Baseball people from Nagoya Olympic baseball players for South Korea