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"Why didn't you change it after Lee Jung-hoo?" What was the mistake of the novice head coach, and he was at the center of controversy even with his first hit that broke the humiliation in 117 years
"After Lee Jung-hoo, why didn't you change it?"
San Francisco Giants Lee Jung-hoo (28) has been at the center of controversy since the beginning of the season.
Lee Jung-hoo started first and right field against the New York Yankees in the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California on the 29th (Korea time) and scored one hit, one walk, one strikeout and one point in three at-bats.
With this, Lee Jung-hoo's performance in the season has reached 0.100 (one hit in 10 at-bats) in three games and 0.382 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). San Francisco lost to the Yankees 1-3.
Lee Jung-hoo's hit and score on the day were meaningful in breaking the record of San Francisco humiliation. In the previous two games, San Francisco lost 0-7, 0-3 to the Yankees. On this day, he failed to score until the second inning, continuing his scoreless streak of 20 consecutive innings. According to the Major League's official website MLB.com , it was the first time in 117 years since the 1909 season that he had no goals in 20 consecutive innings since the opening game.
However, Lee Jung-hoo's bat ended the history of humiliation. Lee Jung-hoo came out as a leadoff hitter in the bottom of the third inning and rolled up right-hander Will Warren's low sweeper to hit a double to right field. He scored in 21 innings when Matt Chapman hit a timely RBI. For a moment, San Francisco lost 1-3, allowing Aaron Judge a solo shot to the left in the top of the fifth inning and failing to score an extra point.
Even though the opening three consecutive games were held at home, words were also spoken in the U.S. local media as they ended with three consecutive losses. In particular, there was a series of harsh criticisms against Tony Bytello (48), the coach of San Francisco this season. Vaitello, who rose to fame as a University of Tennessee leader, gained fame when he took over as San Francisco's head coach. This is because it is the second time in history that he has become a major league manager without a professional player or leader's career.
NBC Sports Bay Area, a U.S. media outlet, said, "Whether fair or not, Bytello may be a coach who receives a lot of attention in baseball at least in the beginning. His team was sluggish last weekend and some decisions were noticeable."
One of the few notable decisions was Lee Jung-hoo's at-bat with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning with a 3-1 lead, the Yankees changed the mound from right-hander Jake Bird to left-hander Tim Hill. It was a decision that was conscious of left-handed hitter Lee Jung-hoo, who is strong against right-handed pitchers. The replacement was successful, and Lee Jung-hoo struck out three pitches on Hill's sinker. NBC Sports Bay Area took issue with the decision.
NBC Sports Bay Area said, "Vitelo sent Jared Oliva as a pinch runner in the ninth inning instead of Willy Adames. Unlike the previous 26 innings, it was the first decision to send a bench player out, and it was very reasonable," he said sarcastically. "One of the reasons why that decision stood out is because of the decision that coach Vaitello didn't make (before that). Earlier in the bottom of the seventh inning, he sent out Lee Jung-hoo as he was against left-handed hitter specialist Tim Hill at the bottom of the seventh inning, and the result was a three-pitch strikeout.
Lee Jung-hoo was weak with an OPS of 0.599 against left-handers in the Major League. On the contrary, Hill was a good option to consider replacing the left-handed hitter with 0.444 in the data. In addition, right-handed hitters were waiting on the bench, resulting in a disappointing decision.
NBC Sports Bay Area said, "Normally, I don't like to pinch-hit in two outs. "However, the best choice San Francisco could have made on the day was to right-handedly hit Hill and set up a matchup with Chapman," he said.
The head coach expressed his faith in Lee Jung-hoo. Asked by reporters why he didn't change it at the end of the seventh inning at an official press conference after the game, Vaitello said, "Lee Jung-hoo is also our teammate. I've faced Hill in the previous series, and some players have done well for him in exhibition games. If the game had gone well, Lee Jung-hoo would have come out once more in the ninth inning."
As a result, Lee Jung-hoo failed to make a hit, and the novice head coach's plan was also an excuse. As such, director Vitello's choice is expected to attract a lot of attention for a while.
San Francisco reporter Alex Pavlovic said on his SNS, "I don't know what it means to fill the bench with right-handed hitters and not use any of them."
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*This content was translated by AI.
