Обсуждение участника:‘Evil Empire’ NYY focuses on the best of Korea and Japan
What is the possibility that Lee Jung-hoo (Kium Heroes) and Yamamoto Yoshinobu (Orix Buffaloes), who faced off in international competitions as rivals and the same age, will eat together in the major leagues. They continue to be associated with the New York Yankees.
At the end of this season, a total of three players will challenge the Major League through the "posting system." Lee Jung-hoo (Kium Heroes), who is considered the "best hitter in the KBO League," Yamamoto Yoshinobu (Orix Buffaloes), and Imanaga Shota (Yokohama DeNA BayStars), who are considered the "best hitter in the KBO League," are all expected to enter the Major League after the 2023 season.
Lee Jeong-hoo is the best hitter in the KBO League, both in name and reality. He debuted after being selected in the first round by the Nexen (now Kiwoom) Heroes in the 2017 rookie draft, and recorded a batting average of .300 in every season. Last year, he played in 142 games and recorded 193 hits, 23 home runs, 113 RBIs, 85 runs, a batting average of 0.349, and an OPS of 0.996. In total, he is recording 1,181 hits, 65 home runs, 515 RBIs, 581 runs, and a batting average of 0.340 and OPS of 0.898 in 883 games, including 5 batting awards and the regular season MVP title.
Lee Jeong-hoo was diagnosed with a left ankle extensor zone injury in the Sajik Lotte Giants game last July. The extensor zone damage damaged the membrane surrounding the ankle tendon, so he had no choice but to undergo surgery, and was faced with the worst possible situation of being out for the season at a critical time before advancing to the major leagues. However, it is expected that there will be no major obstacles to Lee Jeong-hoo's entry into the big leagues.
After the end of last season, Lee Jeong-hoo conveyed to Kiwoom his intention to enter the major league, and the Kiwoom club also accepted this. And Lee Jung-hoo joined hands with Scott Boras, known as the 'Devil's Agent', and completed all preparations to advance to the major leagues. Although he had a gap year due to surgery, there is a high possibility that he will wear a big league uniform, as evidenced by the statistics he has accumulated so far.
And Yamamoto and Imanaga's advancement to the major leagues is also confirmed. In particular, in the case of Yamamoto, on the 9th, he became the 100th no-hitter in Japanese professional baseball history in front of major league scouts including New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, Pittsburgh Pirates, LA Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. ' and raised his value.
Imana also struck out 11 while pitching 8 innings against the Chunichi Dragons on the 13th in the presence of a total of 27 scouts and 11 major league teams, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres. He was thinned out, and recorded his 1,000th strikeout in his career at the 8th rate in Japanese professional baseball history.
While there is a high possibility that a total of three players, including Lee Jeong-hoo, Yamamoto, and Imanaga, will advance to the major league, the possibility that Lee Jeong-hoo and Yamamoto will play in the same uniform is gradually emerging. If they get together, there is a strong possibility that the team will become the New York Yankees, also known as the 'Evil Empire.' If this happens, an interesting story can be born.
Lee Jeong-hoo and Yamamoto, who were born in 1998 and are of the same age, met for the first time at the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12. At the time, Yamamoto was the 'only' player to strike out during the tournament, and a 'two-hit' rivalry was formed as he burned his will to win the next time they met. And this is because they faced each other at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and recorded two hits, completely wiping away their disappointment in the Premier 12.
Currently, Lee Jeong-hoo and Yamamoto appear to be receiving a lot of interest from the Yankees. Yamamoto can be seen just by looking at General Manager Cashman's visit to Japan to watch Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) pitch for the first time in six years since 2017, when he was about to advance to the major leagues. And local American media reported that the Yankees were the closest to recruiting Yamamoto. The American newspaper 'The Athletic' predicted, "If Cashman had flown to another continent and seen the player in question, he would have jumped in before signing him when that player came on the market."
The same goes for Lee Jeong-hoo. Since the story about entering the major league was reported in the United States, voices in the local media have been linking it to the Yankees. And on the 13th, the story about the Yankees came up again. 'The Athletic' said, "Korean star Lee Jeong-hoo is expected to be posted this offseason. The 25-year-old was selected as the KBO League MVP last year, and suffered an ankle injury after recording an OPS of 0.863 in 85 games this year." “If you want to add a hitter with good contact, Lee Jeong-hoo will be an attractive option.”
It remains to be seen whether Korea's leading hitter Lee Jeong-hoo and Japan's best pitcher Yamamoto will wear Yankees uniforms side by side when the free agent market opens at the end of this season.
by: 먹튀검증