KBO MVP Lee Jung-hoo shrugs off U.S. media attention ahead of WBC

TUCSON, United States, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- The reigning South Korean baseball MVP Lee Jung-hoo has been generating plenty of buzz in the leadup to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, but the 24-year-old outfielder may be the only one unaware of the hype surrounding him.

If he has been taking note of American media attention in recent days, Lee then is doing a fine acting job hiding that.

"There's absolutely zero pressure on me coming from the foreign media," Lee told reporters at Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona, where the national team will stay during its WBC training camp. Lee was already in Tucson with his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club, Kiwoom Heroes, for spring training.

"I think I will have good results if I just keep doing what I've been doing all along," Lee added. "I will try to stick to my game and not let nerves get to me."

Lee won the KBO regular season MVP award in a landslide last year, after leading the league in batting average (.349), hits (193), RBIs (113), on-base percentage (.421) and slugging percentage (.575). Among all KBO hitters with at least 3,000 plate appearances, Lee has the highest career batting average with .342.

The Heroes plan to post Lee for major league clubs after the 2023 season. Lee has been drawing attention from big league scouts for a few years, but the interest level shot up this offseason with the news of Lee's upcoming posting. He has hired uber-agent Scott Boras to facilitate that move.

When previewing the WBC, MLB.com named Lee to its pre-tournament All-Star team, placing him next to two former MVPs, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox, as the three best outfielders.

Though Lee hasn't played a game in the majors, MLB.com called the South Korean "one of the most intriguing players to watch" at the WBC.

Lee said he didn't make much of the selection and added, "This was not something that came up after the tournament. I think they just tried to pick a player from every country."

Asked if he will try to make the post-WBC All-Star squad, Lee responded, "I am only thinking about the Australia game now."

Lee was referring to South Korea's first game of the WBC on March 9 at Tokyo Dome. It's considered a must-win game for South Korea, who will later face Japan, the Czech Republic and China in Pool B. The two best teams after round-robin action will reach the quarterfinals. With Japan, world No. 1 stacked with big league and domestic league stars, considered the heavy favorite to win Pool B, South Korea and Australia are expected to battle for the second seed.

South Korea's second game will be against Japan, who could start Shohei Ohtani of the Angels or Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres, the two pitchers Lee may face in the majors starting next year.

Despite the excitement surrounding the Korea-Japan rival showdown, Lee refused to look past the first game.

"The first game is even more important than the Japan game," Lee said. "We have to play well there and then think about the next one."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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