Jung Hoo Lee put together another electric night in a 3-2 extra-innings loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, going 2-for-4 as the San Francisco Giants’ outfielder has built 22-plus hits over a nine-game stretch. Since returning from a back injury on May 29, L
On a Saturday afternoon when the game went long, Jung Hoo Lee still found a way to light up the plate. The San Francisco Giants outfielder went 2-for-4 in a 3-2 extra-innings loss to the Chicago Cubs, but the real headline wasn’t the final score—it was the run Lee has been on.
Lee has now produced 22-plus hits in a nine-game span. The only Giants players to reach that mark in the last 95 years are Willie Mays (1958). All-Star Whitey Lockman (1953) and Hall of Famer Bill Terry (1932). according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs. The comparison isn’t just trivia. It underlines how quickly Lee has entered elite territory.
This surge didn’t appear out of nowhere. Lee was slashing .268/.311/.385/.696 when he returned from a back injury on May 29. One stretch later. his season numbers have shifted into something All-Star worthy: he is batting .324 with a .359 on-base percentage. a .449 slugging percentage and an .808 OPS. with three home runs and 14 doubles.
San Francisco signed the South Korean star to a six-year, $113 million contract in 2023, and expectations were high from the start. The first two years of his MLB career. however. were middling—so what’s happening now has been jarring. almost hard to keep track of. Baseball is famous for swings and streaks. but this run has felt especially difficult to comprehend because Lee’s production has kept stacking up.
Even with a profile that “obviously” doesn’t lean toward power, the numbers haven’t backed off. Lee is helping the Giants ignite offensively, and San Francisco has won three of its last four games. Still. the standings show how steep the climb is: the Giants are 26-39 and are eight and a half games out of the National League Wild Card race.
For San Francisco to claw back, Lee can’t just be good for a week. At the very least, the organization can take comfort that the “Grandson of the Wind” is showing star potential. Now the question is whether that potential holds steady when the road trip ends and the remainder of the season brings its own tests.
Jung Hoo Lee San Francisco Giants Chicago Cubs MLB Willie Mays Whitey Lockman Bill Terry National League Wild Card contract 113 million back injury May 29