The "Wind Family" sets a record as Lee Jong-beom and Lee Jung-hoo become the first father-son captains in national team history.

South Korea is striving to reach the quarterfinals again in this WBC World Baseball Classic. Head coach Ryu Joong-il made the choice last year to name Lee Jung-hoo, an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants, as team captain for this tournament. This led to a historic milestone as he and his father Lee Jong-beom became the first father-son captains in Classic history.

Lee Jung-hoo hails from a baseball lineage and is a member of South Korea’s "Wind Family." His father, Lee Jong-beom, a renowned Korean baseball star, is nicknamed the "Son of the Wind." Known as the "Grandson of the Wind," Lee Jung-hoo inherited his father’s athletic talent and has shown exceptional baseball skills since childhood, attracting much attention. He joined the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes in 2017 and successfully entered the MLB through the posting system in 2023 to challenge the major leagues in the U.S.

When Lee Jung-hoo first participated in the Classic in 2023, he was still a KBO player. Returning this year, he is now a Major League player and a key member of the South Korean team. The team also recruited four Korean-American MLB players, prompting coach Ryu Joong-il to select Lee Jung-hoo as captain. They discussed this role starting in September last year, and Lee Jung-hoo gladly accepted the responsibility.

Lee Jong-beom was a member of the inaugural 2006 Classic Korean team and served as captain at age 36. He led South Korea to the semifinals that year, playing seven games with a .400 batting average, and was named to the All-Star team alongside pitchers Park Chan-ho and Lee Seung-yeop. Twenty years later, his son took over as captain for South Korea, making history as the first father and son to both serve as captains in Classic history.

Additionally, this year will see another father-son duo involved in the same Classic team: San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. will represent the Dominican Republic for the first time, while his father, Fernando Tatis Sr., serves as the team’s hitting coach.