SAN FRANCISCO — Jung Hoo Lee never hit the ball out of the infield on Thursday night, and yet those in the Giants clubhouse were in awe of his performance.
He did it with his legs, with his glove, and with his bat-to-ball skills, reaching base three times, extending his hitting streak to 10 games and making one of the catches of the season as the Giants steamrolled the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-0, at Oracle Park.
“Watching him day in and day out do his thing, I think the sky’s the limit for him, to be honest with you,” said starting pitcher Logan Webb, who tossed seven scoreless frames. “Saving runs, saving hits, hitting the ball – everything he does is pretty cool.”
It’s going to take years to decide whether or not the Giants made a smart move in handing a 25-year-old from the Korean Baseball Organization a six-year, $113-million contract. But after three weeks in a Giants uniform, they’re feeling pretty good.
Thursday night was a prime example of what he’s capable of, as Lee began his night with an infield single on a dribbler that he beat out with his speed.
He did it again in the third inning, this time smoking one back towards the mound that went off the glove of Diamondback pitcher Logan Allen, then ricocheted through the glove of shortstop Jace Peterson.
Lee grounded out to first base in the fifth, then in the eighth he beat out yet another infield groundball, as his speed forced second baseman Ketel Marte to rush his throw and commit an error.
Lee’s final line showed 2-for-4 with a run, and he’s now riding a 10-game hitting streak.
Asked if he ever had a 10-game hitting streak while playing professionally in Korea, he said he had no idea. Nobody cares about hitting streaks in Korea, he said.
In the majors, Lee cares about everything he does.
“The way I come into the game right now is playing like it’s an international match for my country, or like a postseason game back in the KBO,” he said through a translator on Thursday night. “Every game is really important for me. I try to put a lot of importance on all the pitchers I face right now.”
He hasn’t yet hit for much power, and Lee’s baseline stats of a .282 average and .672 OPS aren’t jumping off the page.
Look at the StatCast data and you’ll find that Lee entered Thursday ranked in the 98th percentile in baserunning value while also ranking in the 95th percentile in arm strength, 97th percentile in whiff percentage and 81st percentile in hard-hit ball percentage.
Everything he does seems to be done with precision, which is why Giants manager Bob Melvin never doubted that Lee would make a ridiculous catch in the left-center field gap on a stinger by Jake McCarthy in the sixth inning.
McCarthy hit a missile 101 mph off the bat, but Lee ran a direct route to the spot, took his eye off the ball for a second to gauge his distance from the wall, then rediscovered it and made a running catch at full-speed on the warning track.
Jung Hoo Lee covered a lot of ground to catch this baseball 😳 pic.twitter.com/EC6aQcenl0
— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2024
“I was confident as soon as the ball made contact and I went for the play,” he said. “Even if I wasn’t confident, I would’ve gone for it.”
Melvin said he knew Lee had it the whole way.
The StatCast data might argue otherwise; the expected batting average on that hit was .670, and it would’ve been a home run in Wrigley Field.
“It was unreal,” said right fielder Mike Yastrzemski. “His jumps have been so good. It’s been really fun to watch him play the outfield. And hit, too. But watching him out there, as a guy who takes a lot of pride in his defense, it’s really fun. He makes those plays look a lot easier than they actually are.”
