“There are so many things that I can’t remember.”
Kiwoom Heroes coach Hong Won-ki looked back at the 9th game of the season against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 25th.
Coach Hong Won-ki came off the bench three times that day and appealed to the referee. The first was Choi Jae-hoon’s bunt situation at the top of the 6th inning. Choi Jae-hoon’s bunt floated, and Song Seong-moon dived and caught it. The referee judged no bound, and the first base judge judged one bound. With Hanwha’s appeal, it was recognized as a one-bound after the judges agreed, and only the batter runner was out. Director Hong Won-ki came out and asked the referees for an explanation, but nothing changed.꽁머니
The second was in the bottom of the 6th inning. Leading batter Song Seong-moon hit a long hit. Left fielder Nick Williams didn’t catch it properly. Song Seong-moon did not miss this and tried to pass the second base and go to the third base. However, he bumped into Jung Eun-won and he could not make it to third base. Manager Hong Won-ki protested that Jeong Eun-won was interfering with baserunning, but the referees sent Hong Won-ki back to the bench, saying, “It was not a situation to go to third base.”
The last one was in the 8th inning. Noh Si-hwan hit the ball with two outs and bases loaded in the 8th inning, leading 6-5. The referee called a foul. Kiwoom requested a video review, saying he was hit by his foot after falling in the fair area, but the decision was not changed. Coach Hong Won-ki protested with me even though he knew he would be sent off, but of course it didn’t change. It was his second ejection of the season.
Kiwoom collapsed by allowing 10 hits, 5 walks and 13 runs in only the 8th inning, and eventually lost 6-16 and failed to win 3 in a row.
Coach Hong Won-ki, who we met ahead of the game, said, “There were many situations,” and “As you can see, it is not a matter for me to judge. Because I saw it like this, I went out to ask the referee for an accurate judgment. Of course, I knew there was no way to turn the situation around.”
I looked back at the time when Song Seong-moon hit a long hit and bumped into Jeong Eun-won. The referee explained, “Song Seong-moon was not in a situation to go to third base.”
Manager Hong said, “Reference Lee Min-ho also said that the second base umpire judged Song Seong-moon to be in no position to go to third base.” A lot of things were complicated the day before,” he added.
Kiwoom Lee Yong-gyu (DH) – Kim Hye-seong (2nd baseman) – Ronnie Dawson (center fielder) – Lee Won-seok (1st baseman) – Song Sung-moon (3rd baseman) – Lee Hyung-jong (right fielder) – Joo Seong-won (left fielder) – Lee Seung-won (shortstop) – Lee Ji-young (catcher) ) came out with the lineup in order. The starting pitcher is Ian McKinney. He seeks revenge for his defeat the previous day.