SSG failed to win consecutive games as it lost 1-2 in the final regular season match against the LG Twins of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 21st.
However, attention was paid to the situation in which LG had a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and the bases loaded. Park Sung-han entered the batter's box after SSG had a chance to load the bases with one out with three consecutive batters on base after one out. Park Sung-han pulled LG Baek Seung-hyun's fourth fastball, and the ball was deflected off the body of first base umpire Woo Hyo-dong.
At this time, referee Woo Hyo-dong raised both arms and made a foul move, and shortly after, the fourth umpire gathered and reached an agreement. "We requested a video review of whether it was fair or foul at LG's request," he said. To sum up the situation, the umpires declared a fair after a four-judge agreement and immediately wanted to review the video on the LG bench.
According to the regulations, the video review should be completed within three minutes, but the results did not come out even after five minutes. The key was whether the ball passed through first baseman Kim Min-sung's mitt. If the ball touched the mitt, it was a fair, otherwise it was a foul.
In the end, after 11 minutes of waiting, the decision made by the video reading center was to maintain the original trial and be safe. The judges, who once again held the microphone to help the audience understand, said, "It's a situation about a confrontation between runners, so three minutes doesn't matter. "It's fair (whether foul or fair) and in-play because the ball was hit by the referee," he said. "Since first baseman Han Yu-seom was on the base without running, Han Yu-seom is out and the third baseman is home-in." The game will be played with two outs and runners on first and third bases, he said. Third baseman Guillermo Heredia's score was recognized, but first baseman Han Yu-seom was out.
Then, SSG coach Kim Won-hyung, who was in the dugout, ran to the ground and strongly appealed to the judges. Han Yu-seom and head coach Kim's position was that they did not play because the first base umpire had already declared a foul by opening his arms. First baseman Han Yu-seom couldn't play his own game after only looking at the first base referee.
Despite the referee's arrangement of the situation, coach Kim and senior coach Cho Won-woo continued to protest for 10 minutes after the announcement of the results, and manager Kim, who was unable to understand the decision, was sent off due to his appeal of the video review results. Even after coach Kim was sent off, coach Cho continued to complain to the judges, but the results did not change.
Later, KBO said through the SSG club, "I declared a pair because the batter passed through the first baseman's mitts, and it was an in-play situation when I was later hit by a referee," adding, "The video reading center decided that the ball was hit by the referee and the play stopped, but even if the referee declared a pair, Han Yu-seom would not have made it to the second base, so he decided to rule out Han Yu-seom. KBO said Han Yu-seom should have played to second base.
The game, which was stopped by video review at 9:01 p.m., resumed at 9:23 p.m., 22 minutes later. Leaving behind the chaotic eighth inning, the players continued the game, and SSG finished the inning with only one point as Oh Tae-gon hit a grounder to second base with two outs and runners on first and third bases. Baek Seung-hyun, who played multiple innings, finished the game with a scoreless pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning. Thus, the final showdown of the season between the two teams ended with LG's 2-1 victory.
Even after the game, the controversy did not fade. There was a constant debate among fans until the next morning, and fans who watched it at the scene shared the situation at the time by posting photos and videos.
SSG owner Chung Yong-jin, who also expressed his dissatisfaction on his Instagram on the night of the 21st, visited the baseball center in Dogok-dong, Seoul on the 22nd and met KBO President Heo Gu-yeon, and talked for about 30 minutes. KBO imposed a ban on referee Woo Hyo-dong for the rest of this season.
More frustrating than anyone else were the players and coaching staff who watched it up close. Head coach Kim Won-hyung, who experienced this situation for about 20 minutes, said ahead of Game 14 of the season against Lotte Giants on the 22nd, "I just said this is a wrong reading as it is." I know that talking to the judges on the spot does not change, but I asked them to read it again. "The judges said that it was not allowed by regulation, and I said that because it was frustrating," he said, looking back on the situation at the time.
"I can't hear what you're saying, but it seemed like a foul that the first base umpire raised his arm. Then it's Boldead at that moment, and whether it's fair or not, you can watch the video review, but the situation continued and I talked with ridiculous reading results there, he said. "I didn't understand the fact that I was making a reading on the assumption of the next play."
Manager Kim, who also pointed out KBO's decision to discipline referee Woo Hyo-dong, said, "Those who watched baseball will know that there was a problem at the reading center." However, I think it is wrong to hand over all the responsibility to the first base umpire on the spot," he said. "It happened in a moment, and you only have to judge whether it was fair or foul. But I can't understand why the reading center does that. Anyway, it was a little unfair to judge what didn't happen. It's a clear fault of the reading center, but I think the reading center should be disciplined."
Head coach Kim Won-hyung said, "The on-site response may be insufficient for a moment, but the opponent did not play anyway. But I interpreted it the other way. "Firstly, the problem with the reading center is big," he said, "I have nothing to say because I lost, but the players continued to focus throughout the game to create a chance. "The players who had been concentrating throughout the game, second to defeat, were frustrated at that moment, so their fighting power..." he couldn't speak for a while. It was a frustrating Thursday night for both SSG and Kim Won-hyung. 스포츠토토