The KIA Tigers suffered their second managerial ejection in about a month after a video review ruled against them.
Kia head coach Kim Jong-kook was ejected from the game against the Samsung Lions in the third inning of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on 13 March after appealing a video review. It was Kim’s second ejection of the season. The team lost 1-4, ending the first half of the game with a six-game winning streak snapped.온라인바카라
In the third inning, Samsung batter Jose Pirela hit a grounder to first base and ran inside the foul line. KIA pitcher Yang Hyun-jong caught the ball and threw to first base, but the throw went wide to the right of the first baseman, allowing pinch runner Kim Sung-yoon to advance to third.
KIA immediately requested a video review of Pirela’s three-pitch violation. After the video review, the umpires upheld the fair play call. The umpires explained, “The runner ran into fair territory, but the pitcher was Song Gumi-s.” Kim immediately jumped up and made a strong appeal, but it was unsuccessful and he was automatically ejected after the video review.
A three-foot rule violation is defined in the KBO Baseball Rules as when a runner runs the second half of the line between first and second base while defending at first base and is deemed by the umpire to have crossed the three-foot line inside or outside the foul line, thereby interfering with the fielder’s ability to receive a ball thrown to first base or handle a hit.
KIA was called for a three-foot violation on a reverse attack against Gwangju NC on 16 March. Kia was trailing 9-10 in the fifth inning when Shin Bum-soo bunted with runners on first and second base. The NC pitcher threw the ball to first base, but it hit Shin Beom-soo’s foot as he was running to first base and bounced, allowing the runner to score and tie the game at 10-10.
Manager Kim Jong-kook protests. Yonhap News Agency
The call was overturned after NC requested a video review. The first baseman did not receive the pitcher’s throw as Shin Beom-soo violated the three-foot line. The run was cancelled and the runners returned to their positions. Kim received his first ejection of the season after protesting the situation to the umpire.
The three-peat rule was tightened in 2019 to an “automatic out for the batter if violated” and then changed back to umpire discretion in 2020. This year, the umpires informed the 10 teams that they would not be “looking at it mechanically” as they travelled to spring training sites.
In the end, the difference between the rookie and Pirela’s three-foot rule seemed to be where the pitcher’s throw was going. The NC pitcher’s throw was aimed squarely at first base, and Shin was interfering with the defence. On the other hand, Pirela also ran inside the foul line, but Yang’s throw was already out of play regardless of the batter’s situation.
Kim explained that the batter jumped inside the foul line and Yang Hyun-jong threw to first base to avoid the batter, but the umpires did not accept the appeal.
The call was overturned after going to the video review centre, but the ambiguous application of the ‘umpire discretion’ rule did not convince everyone. The explanation that it was not a three-foot rule violation because of Song Gumis was also unprecedented. Kim stormed out of the dugout in disbelief.
Article courtesy of Sporting News
Yoo Ji-ra (gyl@spotvnews.co.kr)
This article was written on the spot.