Justin Verlander (42), a three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, also knew Lee Jung-hoo (27), the "grandchild of the wind" who became a new teammate of the San Francisco Giants. Although he mistakenly called Lee Jung-hoo "KIM," he clearly recognized his existence.
Verlander appeared in the media for the first time since signing a contract with San Francisco on the 14th (Korea Standard Time). We exchanged various stories for about 25 minutes through video interviews with local reporters in San Francisco. If you listen to the full video of the interview released by San Francisco's local radio station "KNBR", Verlander mentioned Lee Jung-hoo.메이저놀이터
Asked about his goal in San Francisco, Verlander said, "San Francisco was a team I didn't think much about until Buster Posey, the president of baseball operations, called me. I looked it up after Posey's phone call, and I felt like I was on a really tough planet. It's definitely a tough one, but this team has a lot of underrated strengths," referring to Lee Jung-hoo.
"Kim is back, Willy Adames is in. Tyler Fitzgerald had an excellent second half last year as a second baseman. There are some young starters, and the top picks have done well so far. I've also signed Matt Chapman for a long-term deal, and I think this team will have a great chance to do something special," Verlander said.
San Francisco does not have a KIM. The KIM Verlander's KIM should refer to Lee Jung-hoo, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, in context. Verlander recognized Lee's existence despite the misrepresentation of the name, and it was one of the reasons he chose San Francisco. It is also noteworthy that he was the first player among several players to mention Lee's name.
Verlander, who has played for the Houston Astros and New York Mets since his debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2005, has recorded 262 wins and 147 losses with an ERA of 3.30 strikeouts and 3,416 in 19 seasons in the Major League. He has the most wins, innings and strikeouts among active pitchers.
Born in 1983, he turned 42 this year, but he is still highly valued as a starting pitcher. San Francisco officially announced its FA contract with Verlander on the 12th, with a condition of $15 million for one year. If you win the MVP and Cy Young Award, you can receive $200,000, $150,000 and $50,000 in incentives, respectively. In addition to the right to reject the trade, it also added conditions for receiving hotel suites for away games.
He only posted five wins, six losses and an ERA of 5.48 in 17 games (90 ⅓ innings) last year due to shoulder and neck injuries, but is confident of his revival this year. Verlander said, "I still have passion and spark. I think I am still good."
"I learned a lot from last year's injury. If you don't learn from injury, you can't play baseball for long," he said. "I've changed a lot of offseason sports programs. For the first time in my career, I kept the ball in my hands and threw it throughout the offseason. I started playing catch this time last year, but this year, I'm already 92 miles (148.1 kilometers) away. In the process of solving this problem, many positive changes have occurred in my body. I'm preparing for spring while maintaining this trend."
Verlander also said, "I was surprised that San Francisco contacted me and expressed interest. The club is trying to win and expects young talented players to come up. If I were a Giants fan, I would be very excited," looking forward to the journey with young players in the new team.
Lee Jung-hoo is also excited to share the same team with a big pitcher. In an interview at Incheon International Airport before departing for the U.S. on the 13th, he said, "He is such a superstar. I am honored to play in the same team as a superstar that I have seen since I was young. I hope he will help me a lot, whether it be defense or offense," claiming to be a winning assistant in offense and defense.