*This content was translated by AI.
'Grandson of the Wind' Lee Jung-hoo (28), who plays for the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball (MLB), has resorted to an unprecedented humiliating marketing campaign. Facing a relentless slide toward 100 losses, the team could no longer bear to see empty stadium seats and announced a plan to refund ticket prices to fans who stay until the end of games at Oracle Park.
According to reports by local San Francisco media outlet "SF Gate" and The New York Post on the 11th (Korean time), the San Francisco Giants recently sent an unprecedented email notice to season ticket holders this season.
The message promises a 15% refund of ticket prices in the form of credits usable when purchasing next season's 2027 season tickets for fans who attend weekday home games and watch all nine innings. If the team wins, the refund rate can surge up to 20%. Essentially, even though fans have already paid for their tickets, the club is offering them a kind of "shared hardship payment" with a desperate plea: "Please just come to the ballpark and fill the seats."
The Giants' situation this season has been nothing short of a nightmare. Since early August, they have fallen more than 20 games below .500, and their elimination from postseason contention was confirmed as the second-worst among all 30 MLB teams. As of the 12th, with a record of 62 wins and 85 losses (a winning percentage of 0.422), they are on the verge of achieving the shameful milestone of 100 losses in a single season — a record that has occurred only once in franchise history, back in 1985.
Off-field controversies have also persisted throughout this season. Outfielder Harrison Bader (32), a high-profile free agent acquisition by San Francisco, was unexpectedly sidelined from the roster due to an absurd drunk scooter incident. Additionally, during Pride Night — an event celebrating LGBTQ+ communities — some players engraved "hate speech" on their hats, drawing warnings from MLB headquarters. Furthermore, with the August trade deadline approaching, the team sold off six starting-level players in a mass exodus, effectively declaring they had given up on the season.
The fans' sense of betrayal was immediately reflected in the stands. While averaging over 35,000 attendees per game during the first half and ranking eighth among all 30 teams in average attendance this season, recent home games have seen a dramatic collapse: out of the last 16 home contests, nine saw average attendance plummet to just 30,000. The sight of empty seats at Oracle Park appears to have prompted the franchise to resort to this tearful "ticket refund" marketing tactic.
While the team claims they hope "rookie players stepping onto the MLB stage for the first time can experience the passionate atmosphere of Oracle Park," local media and fans remain cold toward them. Mocked as having to watch games only after receiving refunds due to such pathetic performance, San Francisco is now facing its most bitter autumn in franchise history.
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*This content was translated by AI.
