Former Cal Catcher Korey Lee Gets His First Major-League Hit Sunday

Now with the Astros, he got three hits, and his family saw him do it near where he played his college ball.

Former Cal catcher Korey Lee got his first major league hit on Sunday. In fact, he got his first three major-league hits on Sunday. He did it about 10 miles from where he went to college, and he did it with family and friends in attendance.

Lee went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in his second major-league start to help the Astros beat the Athletics 6-1 in Oakland.

"I said it was going to get done here, and I did it," Lee said, according to MLB.com. "We got that out of the way, and now we just get to play."

His first hit was a single in the hole on the left side in the fifth inning, driving in an insurance run.

Lee added a two-run double later in the game.

"We were playing the game," Lee said. "At the end of the day, what we're supposed to do is score and get runs in and hit the ball. It was a really, really good team win today. [Jake] Odorizzi pitched his [butt] off. It was impressive and special to be out there on the field today."

The 2019 draft was the one in which Cal star Andrew Vaughn was the third overall pick, but it came as a surprise when Lee was also taken in the first round that year, going with the 32nd selection to the Astros.

But it was not an easy road to the majors. As was the case for many prospects in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee lost a year of professional development during the 2020 season.

According to the MLB.com story, his brother, Kellen Lee, who is the mental skills coach for the Giants, said Korey acquired a pitching machine and built a batting cage in his family's backyard in 2020 to work on his defense and his hitting.

He began the 2021 season at High-A Asheville and finished that year with Triple-A Sugar Land. 

Lee, who did not become a full-time catcher until his final year at Cal in 2019, made a mistake from behind the plate in the fifth inning. After Oakland's Skye Bolt drew a two-out walk, he made a break for second base. Lee's throw sailed into the outfield, allowing Bolt to reach third base.

In his first four games in the majors, Lee has allowed two stolen bases and has not caught any runners stealing. But In his minor league career, Lee has thrown out 35 percent of stolen-base attempts.

At the plate in the majors he is 3-for-8 with three RBIs.

Lee is from Vista, Calif., which is between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Astros manager Dusty Baker saw Lee play in person a lot when Lee was at Cal. Baker attended virtually every Cal home game that 2019 season, because his son, Darren, was the Golden Bears' second baseman and Baker was not managing that season. Now Baker is Lee's manager.

"He was a little raw [in college], but he's been working on [his] skills," Baker said. "He has a Major League arm -- better than a Major League arm, actually -- and he caught a good game."

Lee's time with the big league club may be short, as he was called up to replace catcher Jason Castro, who was placed on the injured list.

"I've got two really, really good guys in front of me," Lee said. "I've got [Martín Maldonado] and I've got Jason to really teach me and show me what they've learned in the past 10 years. And me being 23, it's something special. I'm taking advantage of it every single day."

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Cover photo of Korey Lee is by Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

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