SSG Han Yoo-seom steals second base after being hit by an umpire…but the umpire’s ability to foresee the future says “Han Yoo-seom would have been out even if he was a fair”

SSG, a professional baseball team fighting for a spot in the top five, had a game stolen from them by a mysterious call. The outcome of the game was changed by the umpires’ foresighted ruling that “the runner on first base would have been out at second base even if a fair was called”.

The situation was this. On the 21st, SSG and LG faced off at SSG Landers Field in Incheon. In the 8th inning, with LG leading 2-0, SSG had the bases loaded after Heredia singled, Choi Jung doubled, and Han Yu-seom walked.

They could tie the game or even take the lead. Park Sung-hyun stepped to the plate and hit a line drive down the first base line on a four-pitch pitch from LG’s Baek Seung-hyun. The first base umpire, who had both feet on the first base foul line at the time of the hit, tried to keep the ball out of the foul line, but the ball was too fast. The ball hit the umpire and landed outside the foul line.

The initial call was a foul, but it was overturned to fair after a consensus of the four umpires. It was ruled that the ball hit the first baseman’s glove and then hit the umpire. In response, LG coach Yeom Kyung-yup requested a video review of the fair/foul call. It took quite a while, as other stadiums also requested video review at a similar time, and the result was fair. The ball hit first baseman Kim Min-sung’s glove.

The call allowed Heredia to score from third base, but the runner from first base, Han Yoo-seom, was called out. The KBO’s official stance was, “The ball passed through the first baseman’s glove and was judged to be in play. Heredia, who has already crossed home plate, is allowed to score, but Han Yoo-seom, the runner at first base, is out. With runners on second and third, the umpire decides to resume play.” The umpire ruled that even though the ball hit the umpire and play was stopped, Han would not have gotten to second base even if the umpire had called a fair.

There was a lot of debate amongst the reporters on the field, but the consensus was that Han was out because he didn’t step on second base with the ball in play.

However, a fan’s camera and a photographer’s camera captured the moment when Han stepped on second base. Immediately after being hit by the umpire, Han ran to second base and stepped on second base. Even if it was an in-play situation, Han fulfilled his responsibility as a runner by stepping on second base.

When Han Yusum was ruled out, Kim Won-hyung protested harshly, even though protesting the video review would have resulted in an immediate ejection. The protest lasted more than 10 minutes. If the umpires were confident in their decision, they would have sent Kim Won-hyung home as soon as he started protesting, but they spent more than 10 minutes explaining their decision. It can only be interpreted that they were not confident in their judgment. After more than 10 minutes of protest, they ejected Kim Won-hyung.

What if the ball had crossed the first base line without hitting the umpire’s body? At least two runners would have come in and the game would have been tied. What if Heredia was allowed to come home and the bases were loaded? A sacrifice fly could have tied the game. 스포츠토토

The umpires made a questionable call, leaving LG with a 2-1 lead and runners on first and third. SSG’s long 8th inning came to an end when Oh Tae-gon hit a grounder to second base.

SSG’s ninth inning was also fruitless, and the game ended with a 2-1 LG victory. It was a strange call that left SSG feeling like they had a game stolen from them. It is said that there are no assumptions in the game, but SSG must have felt very unfair.