Dae-Ho Lee gives teammates presents before smashing home run
Seattle Mariners slugger Dae-Ho Lee came to the ballpark Tuesday bearing gifts for his teammates and coaches before a home game against Tampa Bay.
Lee has an endorsement deal with a sunglasses company and he provided each of his teammates and coaches a pair of sunglasses personalized with their names and jersey numbers.
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The Korean first baseman signed a free agent deal with the Mariners in the offseason for one year with the opportunity to make as much as $4 million. It has gone well so far for Lee and he was making friends before the 6-4 Seattle victory by giving out the gifts that some of his teammates wore to batting practice.
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Lee continued impressing his teammates and winning fans in the Pacific Northwest when the game started. He hit a three-run home run, his fifth of the season, in the bottom of the fourth inning off Tampa Bay starter Drew Smyly.
There was plenty of interest in Lee over the winter but also some concern about whether the big slugger could hit as well in the major leagues as he did in Japan and Korea and also whether he could keep his weight down. He seems to be off to a good start in both respects and also appears to be a good guy in the clubhouse, too.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
