‘Yong Jin-hyung’ has spoken out. SSG Landers owner Jung Yong-jin has expressed his discomfort with the officiating controversy that occurred during the game.
On the 21st, Jung Yong-jin posted on his Instagram, “We were robbed of victory. I have a lot to say, but I won’t say it. I hope there will be no more such judgments after this,” and “There is a lot of talk about the background. It’s credible. I hope it’s not true,” he said.
That’s not all. In response to comments from SSG fans expressing their frustration, Chung wrote, “It’s magic to turn a double into a grounder to the first baseman,” and “I sympathize (with the comment about how to continue playing baseball in a league like this).” He also expressed his strong displeasure with the umpiring decision.
The reason Chung was upset enough to write a separate post was the situation that occurred in the final game of the regular season against the LG Twins of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with LG leading 2-0, SSG, who had been silent all game, had a golden opportunity. With three consecutive batters on base, Guillermo Heredia, Choi Jeong, and Han Yu-seom, SSG turned to Park Sung-ho. With the bases loaded and the count 2-1, Park pulled a four-pitch fastball from LG’s Baek Seung-hyun and hit it to right field.
The pitch struck first base umpire Woo Hyo-dong, who immediately raised his arms in a foul motion. However, after the four umpires gathered and discussed for a while, “at LG’s request, they requested a video review to determine whether the pitch was fair or foul.” To summarize the situation, the four umpires said. To summarize, the umpires agreed to call a fair play and then immediately requested a video review from the LG bench.
According to KBO rules, the video review can take up to three minutes, but the review took over five minutes. The umpires continued to wear their headsets and wait for the decision from the review center. The question was whether Park’s pitch hit the mitt of first baseman Kim Min-sung. The players and fans on the field had to keep watching the replay on the scoreboard or on their smartphones.
After 11 minutes of waiting, the result came. The review center upheld the original call. The umpire on the microphone said, “The three minutes is irrelevant because it’s a bases-loaded situation. It’s fair (foul and fair), and it’s in play because the ball hit the umpire,” and “Han Yoo-seom, the first baseman, was on the base without running, so Han Yoo-seom is out and the third baseman is home. The play will be played on second and third base.” Third baseman Guillermo Heredia was allowed to score.
SSG coach Kim Won-hyung, who was in the dugout, didn’t hesitate to run onto the field and appeal to the umpires. Han and Kim explained that they did not run because the first base umpire had already called a foul with his arms open. Han Yusum, the first baseman, looked at the first base umpire and didn’t make his play.
Despite the referees clearing the situation, Kim and Head Coach Cho Won-woo continued to protest for 10 minutes after the result was announced, and Kim, who was not satisfied with the decision, was sent off for appealing the video review. Even after Kim was ejected, Cho Won-woo continued to appeal to the umpires, but the call remained unchanged.
The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), through SSG, explained, “The ball was called fair because it went past the first baseman’s mitt, and it was in play when it was reviewed.” “The video review center determined that the ball stopped playing after it was reviewed, but even if the umpire had called fair, Han Yoo-seom would not have made it to second base, so he was called out,” the KBO said.
In the end, the KBO’s position is that Han Yoo-seom should have run to second base, but the KBO’s explanation that the first baseman would not have gotten to second base even if the umpire had called fair is not entirely convincing. In addition, the official record is that the first baseman tagged out, but the fielders did not defend after the first base umpire’s call, and many fans and officials at the scene confirmed that Han Yoo-seom was on second base. 토토사이트
The chaotic situation was put to rest, and the game resumed at 9:23 p.m., 22 minutes after the 9:01 p.m. video review. SSG ended the inning with just one run as Oh Tae-gon grounded into a double play at second and third base, and Baek Seung-hyun pitched a scoreless ninth inning to end the game with a 2-1 LG victory.