ⓒ JoongAng Ilbo/JoongAng Ilbo Japanese version2025.12.09 10:50
The San Francisco Giants, with Lee Jeong-hoo (27), and the LA Dodgers, with Shohei Ohtani (31), belong to the same Major League Baseball (MLB) National League Western Division. For this reason, both teams have many opportunities to play against each other. Lee Jeong-hoo also watched “batter” Ohtani hit many times, and he once played against “pitcher” Ohtani and chose to walk. This means that Otani is no longer a “unusual” presence for Lee.
When asked about Ohtani after the 2025 First Pitch Award Ceremony held at Hotel Rivera Cheongdam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 8th, Lee said, “I met Ohtani for the first time in an international tournament when I was in the KBO (Korean Professional Baseball) League, and I had the impression that he was just unusual. “Perhaps because I’ve seen him so many times, I feel less like that,” he said.However, he said, “I’m still the same in my determination to face a ‘great player’ in the next World Baseball Classic (WBC).It seems like everyone has to work hard and prepare (to face Otani).”
Korean baseball will aim to regain its reputation in international competitions at the WBC next March. In the 2023 tournament, he was placed in a different group in the qualifying round and did not face Otani, but in next year’s tournament he will be in Group C, the same as Japan. Japan national team manager Hirokazu Ibata has already announced, “There is a possibility that Otani will be used as a pitcher in the WBC.” There could also be a pitching and batting showdown between Lee Jeong-ho, who is expected to be selected to the WBC national team, and Ohtani.
Both physically and mentally, Lee has set his sights on the WBC. He was a slow starter during his time in the KBO League, but plans to pick up his pace next year in time for the WBC in March. Lee said, “The pace doesn’t always go the way you want it to, but if you work hard at the right time, it may or may not be the right pace for you.” “If I’m selected for the WBC national team, I’ll have important tournaments ahead of me (before the season). It seems like I’ll have to work as hard as I can to build up my body.”
Lee made his debut on the major stage last season, but injured his shoulder in May, ending his season early. This season, he played in 150 games and had a batting average of .266, 8 home runs, 55 RBIs, 73 points, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.734. Not bad for his first full-time season in the majors. However, it is unfortunate that although he had a whirlwind start to the season, he had a long slump in the middle.
Lee said, “No player can be satisfied with any season. However, in the past few years there have been a lot of injuries, but I’m glad I was able to finish this year without any injuries.” Lee said, “For the first time in the major leagues, I was able to complete a season to the end, and I was able to understand my good and bad points at the same time.I wanted to further develop my strengths and supplement my weaknesses.”
This season has ended with both fulfillment and regret. Lee Seong-ho aims to make further progress next season. This is also the reason why he returned home early after this season and focused on batting practice.
Lee said, “I wanted to practice more when I was physically fit to bat, so I focused on batting practice (instead of recovery practice during the off-season).” “Whatever I do in practice is good, but it’s important to get results in games. Next January, I’ll go to warm Arizona and add even more momentum.” He added, “I’ll be able to talk about my specific goals for next year by the time I leave for the United States,” adding, “The important thing is always to make next year better than this year.”
