Meet the Hoo Lee Gans! Giants fans help Korean star Jung Hoo Lee feel at home with fan group

SAN FRANCISCO — Jung Hoo Lee has sparked something special with San Francisco Giants fans — we're talking hair-on-fire levels of excitement.

A group of them are going above and beyond to make the Korean center fielder feel welcome in the Bay Area.

Meet the Hoo Lee Gans.

Lee has built an almost cult-like following at Oracle Park since joining San Francisco before the 2024 season on a $113 million, six-year deal. A standout player in South Korea, Lee's rookie MLB season was dashed by injury, but he's emerged as perhaps the team's best player this year. The speedy 26-year-old is starting to look like a star, and Giants fans have responded in kind.

That's most apparent in the third deck at Oracle Park, where the Hoo Lee Gans fan group is growing by the homestand. Members are given T-shirts with ''Hoo Lee Gans'' on the front, along with a fiery red and orange spiked wig. What originally began as a discussion between friends has developed into a movement that has attracted nearly 200 members and is still growing. The group even has a recruiting website.

''I brought this thing to life a month ago and it's taken off,'' said Kyle Smeallie, who described himself as the lead organizer. ''It's been incredible the reception it's gotten, not just in San Francisco but around the world.''

It's easy to spot the group at the Giants' waterfront ballpark. It tries to organize trips to Giants games together, and once inside the ballpark, it routinely breaks out in chants in support of Lee whenever he steps on the field.

''I know of them,'' Lee said through interpreter Joe Han. ''I knew that they were going to come to the game (Tuesday). They're a big motivation for me to play every day and put my best effort out there on the field.''

Tuesday's game was Korean Night at Oracle, and the Hoo Lee Gans came prepared with a scripted Korean fight song. Lee signed autographs before the game and posed for pictures with fans behind the batting cage, flashing a smile that's become familiar to Giants fans.

In the ninth inning, Lee brought the Hoo Lee Gans and rest of the crowd to their feet with a towering two-run home run.

The buzz around Lee harkens to a golden era of Giants baseball that included three World Series titles from 2010-14. Panda hats — an ode to fan favorite Pablo ''Kung Fu Panda'' Sandoval — were the hot item then, along with jerseys for stars like Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner and others.

''The Hoo Lee Gans are a group of die-hard Giants fans who love the city, they love the Giants and they love their favorite player, Jung Hoo Lee,'' Smeallie said. ''It reminds us of the dynasty era. We had so many characters on (those teams), it was so much fun to watch. They had a great clubhouse spirit.

''We think Jung Hoo Lee is a big part of that this season. It's why we've been playing so well. He really brings people together.''

The Giants play in baseball's toughest division, led by the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, but they're off to a surprising 25-18 start, just 2 1/2 games behind first-place LA, in part because of Lee's emergence.

''I saw it some in San Diego with (Korean player) Ha-seong Kim, too, so he's being embraced the same way,'' said Giants manager Bob Melvin, who previously managed the Padres. ''On top of that, he's a premier player. It's really cool to see each and every day the support that he gets here.''

Smeallie initially wanted to put the fan club together during the 2024 season, but Lee suffered a season-ending injury early in the year, before the Hoo Lee Gans got off the ground. There is another section in the outfield bleachers reserved for the Giants-sponsored Jung Hoo Crew. Fans can purchase tickets to the section during weekend home games and receive an orange shirt with Lee's likeness on the front.

''He plays with a joy and excitement that I think we all resonate with,'' Smeallie said. ''He loves the game, he loves the Giants and so do we.''

Some of Lee's fans in Korea have reached out to the Hoo Lee Gans to voice their support. The fan group frequently refers to Lee as ''Grandson of the Wind,'' a nickname that's carried over from Korea. Lee's father, Jong Beom Lee, was a speedy star in the Korean Baseball Organization known as ''Son of the Wind.''

''He has a lineage of baseball greatness in Korea,'' Smeallie said. ''The way that his father played and the way that he plays, so many people have been fans for many, many years. They've reached out to us to say how much it means that we've embraced him as one of our own.''

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB