SF Lee Jung-hoo, whose presence faded, returned to center field after a day off. Can we change the public opinion of a flurry of criticism

Sep 24, 2025

SF Lee Jung-hoo, whose presence faded, returned to center field after a day off. Can we change the public opinion of a flurry of criticism



'Grandchildren of the wind'Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) is back in the starting lineup. Attention is focusing on whether it will be able to revive the team's increasingly fading presence.

Lee Jung-hoo will start as the sixth center fielder in a home game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California on the morning of the 24th (Korea time). On the previous day, he was excluded from the starting list for no specific reason, but returned to the starting lineup after a day off.

San Francisco coach Bob Melvin announced the starting lineup in the order of Eliot Ramos (left fielder), Rafael Devers (first baseman), Willie Adames (striker), Matt Chapman (third baseman), Bryce Eldridge (DH), Lee Jung-hoo (center fielder), Patrick Bailey (catcher), Christian Cos (second baseman), and Drew Gilbert (right fielder).




San Francisco lost 5-6 against St. Louis the previous day, failing to advance to the National League (NL) wild card. Until early September, there was a dramatic rebound and the possibility of miraculously appearing on the fall stage was seen.

SF Lee Jung-hoo, whose presence faded, returned to center field after a day off. Can we change the public opinion of a flurry of criticism
However, at the end of the season, he fell into a slump again, and the possibility is now gone. San Francisco lost its 80th game (77 wins) this season. In addition, he has lost as many as eight (two wins) in his last 10 games, including this one. Then, Major League statistics site FanGraphs finally declared the possibility of San Francisco advancing to the postseason .0%.

Lee Jung-hoo is cited as the main culprit for this sluggishness. Lee Jung-hoo also had a good hitting sense until early September. However, he went hitless in seven consecutive games since the game against Arizona on the 11th. He showed signs of escaping the slump by hitting two hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the 21st, but he went 0-for-4 again against the Dodgers on the 22nd.




As the disappointment continues, the San Francisco bench's trust has also declined considerably. Coach Melvin excluded Lee Jung-hoo even though the St. Louis starter was right-handed pitcher Michael McGreevy the day before. The U.S. also took this quite surprisingly.

CBS Sports said `"Lee Jung-hoo starts the game on the bench for McGreevy's return from injury. Drew Gilbert will play center field, and Herar Encarnacion will play in right field. Lee Jung-hoo's exclusion from starting is viewed as unusual.

SF Lee Jung-hoo, whose presence faded, returned to center field after a day off. Can we change the public opinion of a flurry of criticism
Public opinion among San Francisco fans is also at its worst. This is because the player who was brought in for a whopping $113 million (about 157.7 billion won) is barely hitting a batting average of 260,000 and is not providing much stability as a center fielder. The blow could fall to the .250.




The Athletic, a global sports media outlet, recently reported 'San Francisco needs to clear up its roster's problems in the offseason. It is necessary to rebuild the unstable starting rotation and reorganize the bullpen. In particular, it is necessary to come up with a plan for center field that can send Lee Jung-hoo to the outside field of the corner. In fact, Lee Jung-hoo is being pointed out as a center fielder in the first full-time season, not having a wide range of defense and being inefficient.

Director Melvin is not responding to these points. This means that coach Melvin is already aware of Lee Jung-hoo's problems. After the season, there is likely to be a re-evaluation of the value of Lee Jung-hoo's use.



Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.