SAN FRANCISCO — The ball hit the warning track and quickly bounced over the wall in center field, but Jung Hoo Lee didn’t see it, or he just didn’t care. He knows only one way to play the game, and when he hit a laser into the gap in the sixth inning of a one-run game Saturday, he put his head down and dug deep.
Lee’s helmet flew off as he rounded first, and he made the turn at second and kept flying for third. As some Seattle Mariners fielders looked around in confusion, Lee for a moment looked like he might round all of the bases. Finally, he saw the stop sign from Matt Williams, indicating it was a ground rule double.
Lee’s all-out style made him a popular player in South Korea, and a high-priority target for the Giants before last season. But just 37 games into his big league career, he crashed into the center field wall at Oracle Park, suffering the second major shoulder injury of his career. Many players might show some hesitation after that kind of injury, but this spring, Lee insisted he wouldn’t change the way he plays the game. Through two games back home, it’s clear he was telling the truth.
Lee had two doubles, a single, a stolen base and two runs in a 4-1 win over the Mariners, the sixth straight for the Giants. He also backed into the center field wall in the second inning, giving him three close encounters in his first 13 innings back at Oracle Park.
All three times, Lee got a tremendous jump. All three times, he made the play at the track with no concern for what might happen if he hit the wall again.
“There’s no fear going back there,” he said through interpreter Justin Han. “The warning track is wide and we have padding. I’ll go [all-out] there at the moment.”
The Giants always figured that style would make Lee a fan favorite and a very productive outfielder, and this season that’s happening quickly. They created the Jung Hoo Crew in the outfield, a fan section devoted to their center fielder, but when he came to the plate Saturday, the entire stadium joined in with the rhythmic chanting of “Jung Hoo Lee.” It got louder with every base hit for a player who is batting .321 early on.
Both doubles were followed by Matt Chapman doubles, providing enough offense a day after the highest-scoring opener in Oracle Park history. When Bob Melvin moved Lee to the three-hole this spring, this is exactly what he envisioned. Chapman was among MLB leaders in doubles last year, and Lee, if he is on base, should score easily.
“It’s really fun hitting behind him,” Chapman said, smiling. “He gets on base a lot.”
Chapman added that what is most impressive is the fact that this is all still new to Lee. He was able to soak in a fair amount of knowledge by watching games after the injury last year, but he is still learning big league pitching. He was on the IL when the Giants played the Mariners last season.
“It just goes to show how well he is able to prepare and how good of a player he is,” Chapman said.
The Giants have always viewed Lee as a potential batting champion, and this year they’re eager to see the other tools. His stolen base was his third of the 2025 MLB season, surpassing last year’s total of two in five attempts. The Giants have stolen 11 as a team and been caught just once.
“It seems like all of them have been really impactful,” Melvin said. “When we steal a base, we end up scoring a run.”
Melvin told Lee this spring that he should avoid diving, but the restraints came off when Opening Day arrived. Lee had a good trip, but he has taken it to another level at the start of this homestand. On Saturday, he made an impact at the plate, on the bases and in center field, doing exactly what the Giants envisioned when they gave him a long-term deal.
“It feels like he never missed a beat,” Melvin said. “Every game it seems like his timing is that much better. He’s pulling balls, hitting balls up the middle, hitting it to the left-center-field gap, he’s always balanced. There’s a reason we got him and a reason he’s hitting in the three-hole.”
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