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SAN FRANCISCO – Though a work stoppage is seemingly inevitable, Jung Hoo Lee is opting to treat the upcoming offseason identically to his past two with the Giants.
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Speaking at his locker through interpreter Justin Han on Saturday before the season’s penultimate game, the outfielder said he planned on spending the next few months in his native South Korea.
His routine will unfold as if spring training begins in February.
“I think the only difference is it’s hard to say when spring training and opening day is going to be,” Lee said. “But I’m just going to prepare for it like any of the other seasons. It’s going to be a normal offseason for me, personally.”
Lee played in 143 games this season, the second-most on a team that has been beset by constant roster turnover. Though he is ending the year on the IL with a groin injury, it is difficult to say the year was anything but a success for Lee.
He posted career highs in batting average (.276), RBI (57) and home runs (10), and manager Tony Vitello lauded Lee’s dedication to offseason strength training as a reason the slight outfielder was able to remain healthy.
“I thought he had a great season for us, and he essentially played the whole year for the most part,” Vitello said.
But Lee rued what he saw as individual inconsistency within a season where the lineup around him changed daily.
“It was like a roller coaster season in some kind of way, and when the baseball (season) ends, there’s always a little bit of regret, I think there’s a feeling where I could’ve done better,” Lee said.
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Nestled in those regrets were opportunities for younger players.
Lee noted that he expects the team to not only benefit from the big hitters being healthy next season, but with youngsters such as Jonah Cox having MLB experience and an understanding of what it takes to thrive at the highest level.
“I feel like the young guns who are up here and experienced what major league baseball is like, I feel like that leads into a good farm (team) inside the organization and just being ready for next year,” Lee said.
When asked for his take on how he assessed Lee and the revolving door in the outfield, Vitello referenced the viral video of former Coastal Carolina football coach David Bennett saying his team did not “need a bunch of cats in here … meow … we need more dogs.”
“When you’re in the locker room, you want to be next to a guy where you think ‘This guy’s a dog,’ ” Vitello said. “I think a good number of outfielders are guys you go into battle saying that about them.”
The Giants started Scott Bandura, Turner Hill and Bo Davidson in the outfield on Saturday.
Roster moves
The Giants optioned right handed pitcher Yunior Marte to Sacramento, and brought left-hander Seth Lonsway back up to San Francisco on Saturday morning.
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