New San Francisco Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo said Thursday he is not feeling any pressure to live up to his big contract ahead of his first season in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lee, who signed a six-year, US$113 million contract with the Giants in December, departed for the club's spring training site in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Thursday. Though position players won't have to report until Feb. 20, Lee plans to arrive early to familiarize himself with the new surroundings. "I've done all the work I could have done here to prepare myself. I just have to do some technical work outdoors," Lee told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "I can't wait to get to a warmer place. The team's going to let me use the facilities right away, so I will start working out there as soon as I get there." Lee, the 2022 regular season most valuable player in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), said he wants to set good examples for other South Korean players who want to follow in his footsteps to MLB, but that doesn't mean he is feeling any added burden. "If I do well over there, I think other Korean players who want to go to the majors will be able to sign big deals," Lee said, adding that his ex-KBO teammate, Kim Ha-seong, blazed the trail for him with his strong showing as a Gold Glove-winning infielder for the San Diego Padres. "So I do feel a sense of responsibility in that regard. But I don't feel any pressure that I have to live up to my contract." Lee and Kim have been close friends for years. And when he left for the United States last month, Kim said he would try to catch everything that Lee hits in his direction. Lee added to their friendly banter Thursday. "I will try to catch everything he hits at me, no matter what," Lee said. "I am going to put aside any personal feelings when we play his team. If I take it easy on him just because we're friends, then it'd be disrespectful to my pitchers and our fans." The Giants and the Padres both train in Arizona and Lee said he will try to pick Kim's brains when he gets a chance. "He once told me I will see the type of pitching that I've never faced before in my life," Lee said. "He said I will have to see it to believe it myself. So I am going to have to be really prepared." Lee had been one of the best hitters in the KBO over the past seven seasons, and he has the highest lifetime batting average among hitters with at least 3,000 plate appearances with a .340 mark. But on Thursday, Lee didn't reveal any statistical goal for himself as a big league rookie. "Since I've never played ball in the U.S, I can't predict how well I'll do there," he said. "My primary goal is to make adjustments. Once I grow accustomed to the new league, then I will be able to start carving out my own presence." To that end, Lee said Giants manager Bob Melvin recently told him that the staff would do everything possible to make the South Korean star feel comfortable in the U.S. "He said everyone will always be ready to help me, and I really appreciated that," Lee said o f a recent Zoom call with Melvin and three coaches. "He said if I can get comfortable and just play the way I did in Korea, I should have similarly good results in the majors." Lee said he was most looking forward to facing the Japanese hurler Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed with the Giants' National League West rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in December. "We're going to be in the same division, and I am curious to see how different he will be when he's with the club, compared to when he pitched for his national team," said Lee, who had two hits off the Japanese right-hander in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. "I'd love to face him in the majors." Source: Yonhap News Agency