*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants) will participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) competition. He himself announced the fact that he was confirmed to participate in the tournament.
Lee Jung-hoo met with reporters ahead of his departure from the U.S. at Incheon International Airport on the 21st and said, "I'm going to the WBC competition."
Lee Jung-hoo said, "In fact, when I came to Korea, I talked with him almost confirmed. Still, I thought it would be better to tell (the fans) while talking clearly (with the club). So I couldn't tell you at the time. I also thought the club event was important, so I couldn't tell you something," he explained.
Lee Jung-hoo said, "I also think it's an honor to play in the national team uniform for the first time in a long time. It is my pride and great honor to always play for the national team. "I hope we prepare well and meet the players in Japan (where the tournament will be held) in a healthy way," he said, expressing a special sense of patriotism.
Until now, Lee Jung-hoo has been reticent, saying, "We have to consult with the club" on whether to play in the WBC. It's our third year in the big league. It was also a time for both San Francisco and Lee Jung-hoo to rebound. He also missed the first Saipan training session of the Korean national team earlier this month.
This is the first time that Lee Jung-hoo officially revealed his participation in WBC. It is a great boon for the Korean national team. Lee Jung-hoo is the most important resource to lead the national team's outfield. With his experience in the big leagues, it is no exaggeration to say that he is actually close to the spiritual pillar of the national team. On top of that, Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta Braves) and Song Sung-moon (San Diego Padres) have recently been confirmed to be absent from the WBC tournament due to injuries. In the midst of this, Lee Jung-hoo's joining is certainly expected to be a thousand horses for Ryu Ji-hyun.
Lee Jung-hoo, who entered the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2024, unfortunately ended the season early due to an unexpected shoulder injury. And Lee Jung-hoo played well throughout the full season without injury in the 2025 season. In 150 games, he played a batting average of 0.266 (149 hits in 560 at-bats) with eight home runs and 55 RBIs, an on-base percentage of 0.327 slugging percentage of 0.407, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.734.
Lee plans to play an exhibition game after completing his spring camp schedule in Arizona, the U.S. Then, he plans to join the national team in the middle. Lee Jung-hoo said, "I think it will be good for both me and the team (joining after a few trial games). Looking at the schedule, I think I can play about 5 games and go to the national team. I think it would be better to play five games like that. If you go to the national team anyway, you won't be able to play a lot of practice games, so it's better to play a lot in exhibition games. I told the coach that I would play as many exhibition games as possible. I think I'll play a few exhibition games and then go according to the official WBC schedule," he said.
Regarding the role of the national team, he said, "The coach and the chairman of the technical committee also told me about that in the United States, and I don't think I'm young when I go to the national team. He is not an inexperienced player either. There are seniors, but I think I should be good at that bridge role. I will do my best to show good results at this WBC," he said, encouragingly.
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*This content was translated by AI.
