'All-Star Unification' SF Lee Jung-hoo "R.O.K."-Hanwha Peraza 'Cristiano Ronaldo Respect'... How Baseball Stars Cheer for the World Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

The World Cup, held once every four years, is a global festival. Baseball stars were no exception. Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants), who hit a home run, and Yonatan Peraza (28, Hanwha Eagles) sent their support to the soccer stars at the World Cup.

On the 24th (Korean time), Lee Jung-hoo started at fifth spot and right fielder in the 2026 MLB home game against the Athletics at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California, USA, and hit a solo home run in his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning.

After hitting the home run, Lee Jung-hoo returned to the dugout to receive congratulations from his teammates, then looked at the broadcast camera and did an unexpected action.

Lee Jung-hoo clapped five times, leaned close to the camera, and shouted "Republic of Korea." This is a cheer to support the Korean national soccer team. It can be seen as a message of support sent to the national soccer team players ahead of their final group stage match against South Africa on the 25th.

Lee Jung-hoo, who is competing for the batting title in MLB, where the world's top stars gather, lent his strength to Korean soccer players who are stepping onto the dream stage of soccer, even though the sports are different.

Peraza also led his team to a 3-2 victory by hitting a tying solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game against the Doosan Bears at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park on the 23rd.

After the game, Peraza shared the home run video on his Instagram and also posted a video of Cristiano Ronaldo alongside it.

In the past, he also revealed on the team's YouTube channel, Eagles TV, that his favorite soccer player is Ronaldo. When public sentiment in Korea turned negative due to the 'no-show incident,' he expressed his unique affection by saying, "I am truly sorry to all the people of the Republic of Korea, but Ronaldo is still the best."

Recently, on Eagles TV, he appeared wearing a Republic of Korea jersey and shouted, "Messi? Ronaldo? Son Heung-min is the best," while chanting a cheer for the Republic of Korea.

However, he could not hide his sincerity toward Ronaldo. On the 24th, Ronaldo scored a brace against Uzbekistan in the second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA North, Central America and Caribbean World Cup Group K at Houston Stadium in Houston, USA, leading his team to a 5-0 victory.

Starting from the 2006 Germany tournament, followed by the 2010 South Africa, 2014 Brazil, 2018 Russia, and 2022 Qatar tournaments, he achieved the first-ever record of scoring in six consecutive World Cups. With his 10th career World Cup goal, he also set the record for the most World Cup goals in Portuguese history.

In response, Peraza posted a photo of Ronaldo performing his signature celebration and also shared an interview video. In the video, Ronaldo said, "People say 'Ronaldo is great' when he is doing well, but when things don't go well, they say 'he should retire' or 'he is old.' This has always been the case." He added, "This game was a good answer for me and my teammates, and this is what we wanted."

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*This content was translated by AI.