Kiwoom Heroes head coach Hong Won-ki has expressed his frustration over the situation that led to his ejection after protesting the previous day (Aug. 25).
Kiwoom suffered a 6-16 home loss against the Hanwha Eagles at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 25.
Kiwoom scored the first run of the game, but quickly lost the momentum as they gave up 13 runs in the eighth inning. They were unable to mount a comeback in the eighth and ninth innings.
In particular, there were a lot of things that didn’t go smoothly during the game, which is why head coach Hong Won-ki had a lot to complain about to the referees. There were three protests in total.
First, in the top of the sixth inning, Choi Jae-hoon laid down a sacrifice bunt with no outs, and Song Sung-moon made a diving catch. He then collided with Choi Jae-hoon on the way to first base, and coach Hong Won-ki appealed to Song Sung-moon, who caught the ball out of bounds. He also inquired about the collision with Choi Jae-hoon.
In the bottom of the sixth inning of the Kiwoom offense, Song Sung-moon was up to bat. Song hit a ball toward left field, but it was short. Nick Williams didn’t catch it properly and it deflected, allowing Song to run to second base. He then tried to advance to third base and collided with a standing Jung Eun-won. Song claimed obstruction, and manager Hong Won-ki appealed, but it was not accepted.
The umpires later explained that Jung Eun-won had blocked Song’s path to third base, but it was not a situation where Song could have gotten to third base reliably.
The final situation came in the top of the eighth inning. With Kiwoom leading 6-5 in the top of the eighth, Noh Si-hwan came to bat with the bases loaded. Against Lee Myung-jong, he swung at a six-pitch pitch and fouled it off.
Catcher Kim Dong-heon argued that Noh was hit on the foot in the fair zone, and manager Hong Won-ki requested a video review. The review upheld the original call. When the result was announced, Hong Won-ki stormed out of the dugout and made a furious protest, and was ordered to leave according to the rules. It was his second ejection of the season.
A day later, at the pre-game meeting on the 26th, Hong Won-ki said, “There were three situations yesterday. There was the issue of whether Song Sung-moon’s diving catch was no-bound or short-bound, but there was also the collision with Choi Jae-hoon, Song Sung-moon’s interference at the plate, and Noh Si-hwan’s batting fair/foul,” he said.메이저놀이터
“I went to the umpire again to ask for an accurate judgment, but there was no way to change the situation,” he said.
Regarding Choi Jae-hoon’s sacrifice bunt, he said, “The umpire’s gesture seemed to be a process of bringing the runner back, but it wasn’t. There were many things that happened. It was a complicated situation,” he sighed.