The aftermath of the epic 204th minute stoppage was devastating. The Hanwha Eagles have made a number of changes to their starting lineup after their top batters complained of fatigue.
Hanwha head coach Choi Won-ho announced that center fielder Chae Eun-sung has been removed from the lineup and Noh Si-hwan will start at designated hitter for the 14th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against KT at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon.
Hanwha faced a rain delay in the second game of its home doubleheader against KT on April 17 that lasted a whopping three hours and 24 minutes. Heavy rain poured down before the tarps were put on, requiring significant grounds maintenance after the rain stopped. The previous record for the longest suspension was 1 hour and 56 minutes, set on August 15, 1987 between Samsung and Vingrae in Daejeon and on July 23 last year between KT and Hanwha in Daejeon. Coincidentally, both records were set in Daejeon.
Hanwha’s starting lineup was Lee Jin-young (center field), Moon Hyun-bin (second base), Noh Si-hwan (designated hitter), Nick Williams (right field), Kim Tae-yeon (third base), Kim In-hwan (first base), Choi Jae-hoon (catcher), Choi In-ho (left field), and Lee Do-yoon (shortstop). Kim Jae-young was designated for assignment and Kim In-hwan was called up to fill the void left by Chae Eun-sung.
Choi said, “Chae Eun-sung’s bat is not spinning too much. It looks tough. She has to play another six games starting tomorrow. I’m trying to give her some rest when she’s not feeling well. I needed a replacement for Chae Eun-sung, so I called up Kim In-hwan.” “Noh Si-hwan is also struggling, so I used Kim Tae-yeon at third base and Kim In-hwan at first base. Noh Si-hwan also hasn’t been hitting well lately, but I couldn’t take both him and Chae Eun-sung out, so I had him play designated hitter. Chae Eun-sung will pinch-hit.”메이저놀이터
The aftermath of the previous day’s epic battle was more than expected. “It feels like we played three games,” Choi said. “The ground was not in a normal condition,” Choi said, adding, “How could we be responsible if there were injuries? I protested about how I would be responsible if there were injuries, but I waited it out. As a professional, you have to put on a good show, and yesterday was a game for the sake of the game. I wish we could have canceled it and played normally next time.”
Hanwha switched to autonomous pre-training on the day to maintain the grounds and manage the players’ physical fitness. Unlike the previous day, the infield of the Hanwha Life Eagles Park is still in immaculate condition due to the sunshine.