SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Jung Hoo Lee vividly remembers watching Team Korea’s run in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, a run that ultimately ended with a loss to Team Japan in the championship. A 10-year-old Lee couldn’t have known it then, but that would be the last time Korea would advance past pool play for nearly two decades.

In 2013, Korea was bounced due to tiebreaker rules. In ‘17, Korea’s stunning 10-inning loss to Israel to open the tournament paved the way for an early exit. In ‘23, Lee went 6-for-14 with five RBIs in his tournament debut as Korea, again, went home after four pool-play games.

It’s for those reasons that Lee, the captain of Team Korea this year, was on the verge of tears when Korea dramatically advanced to the quarterfinals since he was in the fifth grade.

“It’s hard to explain how meaningful this was,” Lee said through team interpreter Justin Han before Monday’s 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres at Peoria Sports Complex.

“It was cool to watch him and his teammates (because of) how passionate and important it is for them to go out there and compete for the country and advance,” said manager Tony Vitello, who was still an assistant coach at Missouri when Korea last advanced past pool play. “I think they made progress, and it might provide some momentum for them next year as well.”

San Francisco’s starting outfield — Lee, Heliot Ramos (Puerto Rico), Harrison Bader (Israel) — will finish out spring training in Arizona after all three participated in this year’s World Baseball Classic. Lee didn’t miss a beat in his first game back from the tournament, totaling a double and a walk over three plate appearances against the Padres.

One consequence of the tournament is that Bader, Lee and Ramos have played only two games altogether this spring. There have been instances in which two of the three have played together, such as Monday with Bader and Lee, but that trio won’t have many opportunities to gel and mesh before Opening Night against the New York Yankees on March 25.

“It’s refreshing to see those guys,” Vitello said. “I think Jung Hoo and Ramos are about as close as it can get. Obviously, Bader will spend a lot of time in between those two guys. Having the relationship is good, but more importantly, having the time to communicate on how things will go in the outfield is more key.”

Lee and Korea’s run in the World Baseball Classic ultimately ended in a 10-0 mercy rule loss to the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals, but that loss came secondary to snapping the three-tournament streak of being eliminated in pool play. If a couple of things hadn’t gone Korea’s way, their run might’ve ended in pool play for a fourth straight tournament.

Korea entered its final game of pool play not just needing a win, but to beat Australia by at least five runs (assuming a regular nine-inning game). In the top of the ninth, Lee stepped to the plate with one out and Korea leading, 6-2. For Korea to advance, it needed to score at least one run.

With the count at 1-0, Australia’s Jack O’Loughlin fired a middle-middle sinker that Lee pounded into the ground. If O’Loughlin let the ball go, Australia may have had a textbook 6-4-3 double play and knocked out Korea. O’Loughlin, instead, deflected the ball, forcing Australia shortstop Jarryd Dale to make a slightly longer throw, albeit one he could’ve easily made. Dale threw the ball away and Korea scored that necessary fifth run to take a 7-2 lead.

The drama continued in the bottom of the ninth as Korea needed to preserve its five-run lead. With one out and one, Australia’s Rixon Wingrove smashed a line drive to right-center field. If the ball fell and rolled to the wall, Australia would effectively had a walk-off win since they trimmed Korea’s lead to four runs. Enter, Lee.

Playing right field, Lee tracked down the line drive and went into a half-slide, half-dive to make the catch and preserve Korea’s five-run lead. Moments later, Lee was celebrating with his teammates.

“During that ninth inning against Australia, luck was on our side, for sure,” Lee said. “When I was trying to go out for that sliding catch, I remember the lights were kind of deflected (in my eyes). I didn’t see anything until the last moment. That’s when I caught the fly ball. I was lucky that I caught that. Overall, the luck was on our side.”

“He didn’t get a base hit, but he kept that game going to help them qualify with the hard contact at the plate,” said manager Tony Vitello. “Then the catch he made was incredible. For anyone who’s played the game defensively, it’s kind of fun — and also a little easier play — when you know you have to dive completely. … But when it’s in between like that catch he made in right-center, it’s a lot tougher than some people realize.”

Giants announce latest cuts

The Giants announced on Monday afternoon that left-hander Nick Margevicius, catcher Logan Porter and infielder Nate Furman have been reassigned to minor league camp.

This marks San Francisco’s third wave of cuts this spring. The list of players who have been reassigned to minor league camp also includes left-hander Juan Sánchez, catcher Diego Cartaya, outfielder Bo Davidson and right-handers Will Bednar, Trent Harris and Wilkin Ramos.

Worth noting

Tyler Mahle pitched four scoreless innings with six strikeouts against the Padres. He’s yet to allow a run over 10 innings of Cactus League play.
Infielder Christian Koss played three innings in center field, the first time this spring that he’s played in the outfield. Koss cleanly caught both fly balls hit at him but committed a throwing error when attempting to throw out a runner at home.