Lee Jung-hoo's Popularity Explodes Media Enthusiasm, National Star Emerges Due to One Defense Will a silent cannon explode on the 95th

Aug 19, 2025

Lee Jung-hoo's Popularity Explodes Media Enthusiasm, National Star Emerges Due to One Defense Will a silent cannon explode on the 95th
San Francisco center fielder Lee Jung-hoo sprints and catches Yandy Diaz's fly to the right-center in the top of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oracle Park on the 18th (Korea time). Lee Jung-hoo caught the ball protruding from the glove with his two knees and did not miss it in the end. AP Yonhap News



Lee Jung-hoo's Popularity Explodes Media Enthusiasm, National Star Emerges Due to One Defense Will a silent cannon explode on the 95th
Lee Jung-hoo hits a line drive double to the right in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning. AP Yonhap News
San Francisco Giants Lee Jung-hoo, who has been quiet so far, is drawing attention as a major league topic with his defense. It's not as much as the attention he received when he swung hard at the beginning of the season, but he made headlines in the local media for the first time in a long time.

In a home game against the Tampa Bay Rays held at Oracle Park on the 18th (Korea time), Lee Jung-hoo showed an excellent defense that could appear in the 「Jingi Mingi」. The defense came in the top of the fourth inning when the 0-0 balance continued.

Tampa Bay's leading right-handed hitter Yandy Diaz pushed a low sweeper 83.9 miles into San Francisco's starting Logan Webb's first pitch and hit a big ball toward right-center. As it flew to his left at a high speed at a launch angle of 26 degrees and 105 miles, center fielder Lee Jung-hoo ran to his full strength and reached out his glove at a distance of 383 feet to snatch the ball.




However, the ball bounced off the glove and landed on Lee Jung-hoo's left thigh, which slid into a sliding position. The ball came down on my thigh and stopped on my knee. At this time, Lee Jung-hoo held the ball with both knees and did not miss it. When he picked up the ball with his hand, the second baseman's hand went up and was declared out. It was a perfect 'knee catch' that you couldn't even ask for a challenge on the Tampa Bay bench.

Lee Jung-hoo's Popularity Explodes Media Enthusiasm, National Star Emerges Due to One Defense Will a silent cannon explode on the 95th
San Francisco center fielder Lee Jung-hoo sprints and catches Yandy Diaz's fly to the right-center in the top of the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oracle Park on the 18th (Korea time). Lee Jung-hoo caught the ball protruding from the glove with his two knees and did not miss it in the end. Photo = MLB.TV Capture
Local broadcaster NBC Sports reported "Lee Jung-hoo sprinted to the triple zone and caught him with both knees. I'm sure he's holding the ball between his knees"No matter what anyone says, this is the best catch of the decade. "Catch of the year, catch of the day, catch of the week, catch of this week, catch of this home series, not catch of this year."

Don't forget that when the scene was replayed, he called it 'the play of the decade'. Who would vomit on that opinion?"I was astonished once again.




MLB.com after the game 'knee bones connected to the ball? An article titled 'Lee Jung-hoo made an unrealistic catch' detailed Lee Jung-hoo's 'circus'.

AP also said that `Lee Jung-hoo collected the ball with both knees and made a wild catch' and Lee Jung-hoo is likely to gain much more popularity with this play. He commented that he has been playing his best for San Francisco in the middle rankings.

Director Bob Melvin thought he had fallen to the floor. Lee Jung-hoo lay down and didn't stand up for a while, so I was worried that he might have hurt his ankle. I watched the replay after a while. People talk about it. There was a ball between my knees. It was great. I've never seen a defense like that before."




Diaz, who missed a hit, saw it as a 200% double. I wasn't lucky to catch it. I think such a defense will be the only one after Lee Jung-hoo. It was a very strange play." Statcast considered the hit's probability to be 92.0%. It means it had to be a hit, of course.

Lee Jung-hoo's Popularity Explodes Media Enthusiasm, National Star Emerges Due to One Defense Will a silent cannon explode on the 95th
Lee Jung-hoo recovered his batting sense in August, but it's time for a home run. AFP Yonhap News
However, Lee Jung-hoo should get more attention in the batting. He hit a right double in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, continuing his six-game hitting streak. He pulled Tampa Bay right-hander Ryan Pepio's 94.2-mile fastball and hit a large double that fell off the bottom of the fence inside the right foul pole. This kind of ball should come out often.

Lee Jung-hoo, who has a batting average of 0.260 (15 hits in 443 at-bats) and an OPS of 0.733 is batting average of 0.339 (19 hits in 56 at-bats) in 15 games in August. I need a home run. Lee Jung-hoo's last home run was a two-run shot to the right in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 15. The cannon was silent for 95 days afterward.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.