Two weeks ago, I met with a friend and he told me that he planned to watch World Baseball Classic games in Tokyo. He already booked flight tickets. For him, a key thing is to watch the Korea National baseball team. In particular, he would like to see Jung Hoo Lee’s performance in the tournament.
After talking with that friend, I’m just thinking about Lee’s career in the majors. Jung Hoo Lee made his MLB debut on March 28, 2024. So far, he has played 187 games in the majors, hitting .265/.324/.391 with 10 home runs and 63 RBI. Jung Hoo Lee inked a 6-year deal with the Giants in December 2023. So, it’s likely that he will play for the Giants thru 2029 (if he doesn’t opt out). While reading Lee’s stats, I’m just wondering what his stats will be like in 2029. Additionally, among the players who were born in Korea, will Jung Hoo Lee become a leader in several hitting categories?
To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the great baseball reference website. Well, I found something important, Lee was born in Japan. But anyway, let’s take a look at some stats among players who were born in Korea.
Firstly, let’s look at leaders in hits. Shin-Soo Choo played 16 seasons in the majors and had 1671 hits in his career. He’s the only Korea-born player who has 1000+ hits in the majors. Moreover, Ha-Seong Kim has played 5 seasons in the majors and now, he has 458 hits. Ji Man Choi played 8 seasons in the majors and had 367 hits in his career. Rob Refsnyder has played 10 seasons in the majors and he has 343 hits so far in his career.
At the same time, Shin-Soo Coo leads in home runs among Korea-born players. He crushed 218 home runs in his career. Ji Man Choi blasted 67 home runs in 8 seasons. Ha-Seong Kim now has 52 home runs in his career. Jung Ho Kang and Hee-Seop Choi each smashed 40+ home runs in their careers. And Rob Refsnyder has 33 home runs so far in his career.
In addition, among players who were born in Korea, 6 players each have more than 100 RBI in their careers. Again, Shin-Soo Choo is the leader. He collected 782 RBI in his career. Ji Man Choi had 238 RBI in his career. Ha-Seong Kim now has 217 RBI so far in his career and Rob Refsnyder has 154 RBI.
Finally, let’s take a look at stolen bases. Again, the leader is Shin-Soo Choo, who stole more than 100 bases in his career. Ha-Seong Kim has 84 steals now and Ji Hwan Bae steals 37 bases.
Taking a closer look at Jung Hoo Lee’s stats now, he has 187 hits. In the 2025 season, he played 150 games and collected 149 hits. If he stays healthy in 2026, he shall reach 300 career hits and surpass Jung Ho Kang. Meanwhile, Jung Hoo Lee has 63 RBI now. In 2025, he collected 55 RBI. So, it shouldn’t be a huge problem for him to reach 100 career RBI. Perhaps, he will surpass Hee-Seop Choi’s 120 career RBI in 2026. Nonetheless, Lee isn’t a home run hitter. Perhaps, power will come. But at this moment, it’s hard to believe that there will be a huge increase in the number of home runs. And he doesn’t run much. Therefore, if all things run well, Jung Hoo Lee will probably surpass Ji Man Choi in hits and RBI in 4 seasons.
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