Softbank Hawks sign Bum-Ho Lee to a 2-year deal
by Gen on Nov.19, 2009 @ 8:11 pm, under NPB
The Softbank Hawks announced that they are in the process of trying to sign Bum-Ho Lee of the Hanwha Eagles out of the KBO.
Lee is a 27-year-old infielder that bats and throws with his right. Third base was his primary position in 2009.
He also did participate in both WBC games.
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB/HBP | SO | AVG | SLG | OBP | OPS |
| 2000 | Hanwha | 69 | 74 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 21 | .162 | .297 | .271 | .568 |
| 2001 | 71 | 138 | 22 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 25 | .196 | .326 | .265 | .591 | |
| 2002 | 111 | 296 | 41 | 77 | 20 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 5 | 27 | 57 | .260 | .453 | .322 | .775 | |
| 2003 | 107 | 323 | 46 | 77 | 19 | 1 | 11 | 38 | 2 | 52 | 63 | .238 | .406 | .344 | .750 | |
| 2004 | 133 | 481 | 80 | 148 | 35 | 3 | 23 | 74 | 6 | 51 | 80 | .308 | .536 | .374 | .910 | |
| 2005 | 126 | 444 | 69 | 121 | 27 | 1 | 26 | 68 | 6 | 62 | 94 | .273 | .514 | .362 | .876 | |
| 2006 | 126 | 421 | 53 | 108 | 25 | 1 | 20 | 73 | 0 | 72 | 87 | .257 | .463 | .365 | .828 | |
| 2007 | 126 | 418 | 57 | 103 | 14 | 0 | 21 | 63 | 2 | 77 | 73 | .246 | .431 | .364 | .795 | |
| 2008 | 125 | 434 | 80 | 120 | 21 | 3 | 19 | 77 | 12 | 70 | 50 | .276 | .470 | .377 | .847 | |
| 2009 | 126 | 436 | 64 | 124 | 21 | 0 | 25 | 79 | 3 | 60 | 70 | .284 | .505 | .369 | .873 | |
| Totals | 1120 | 3465 | 523 | 917 | 196 | 12 | 160 | 526 | 39 | 495 | 620 | .265 | .467 | .354 | .821 | |
=== UPDATE 11/20/2009 1:48AM JST
Looks like the deal is for 2 years at 300M yen.
=== UPDATE 7:13am JST
It's a 2-year deal with a club option for a third year.
The first two seasons will be worth 100M yen per season. The option year is worth 150M yen.
There's also a signing bonus worth 150M yen.
All told, the contract could be worth 500M yen over three years.
=== UPDATE 12/14/2009 8:09pm JST
The Hawks assigned the number 8 to Lee.
November 20th, 2009 on 1:28 am
I sort of don’t understand why SoftBank would be going after another 3rd baseman. They have a good one in Matsuda, and it would be prudent of SoftBank to re-sign Ortiz, which would add more protection for Matsunaka and Kokubo in the lineup.
All I can see out of this potential signing is a platoon bat in the sense of Byung-Gyu Lee, or B.H. Lee spelling Kawasaki at short. The Hawks should focus on getting more pitching.
November 20th, 2009 on 2:15 am
The Hawks might be worried about potential injuries and making sure that they have a solid back-up.
Matsuda is coming off an injury and Kokubo turned 38 in October. Lee could rack up quite a number of ABs if they use him to give Matsuda, Kokubo, and Kawasaki breaks.