Less than two months have passed since the start of the 2023 season. However, ‘coming’ pours out, and the ‘authoritative’ look of the referees knows no end.
The KBO League was in deep trouble ahead of the opening of this season. Incomprehensible incidents are the main reasons why fans turn their backs, following the humiliation of being eliminated from the group stage of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) three times in a row, Jang Jeong-seok, former general manager of the KIA Tigers, controversy over money backed by Cheon-woong Lee (LG Twins) for illegal Internet gambling. This is why issues such as sex crimes against children by Seo Joon-won (former Lotte Giants) have surfaced.
However, when I opened the lid, the heat was unexpectedly hot. As of the 19th, 1,977,874 spectators visited the baseball field to watch the KBO League. And on the 20th, Busan Lotte-SSG match and Jamsil LG-Hanwha match were sold out in succession, exceeding 2 million spectators in 191 games. The pace is slow compared to the time when baseball fever was hot, but it was clearly different from the concerns of the KBO.
While KBO’s box office success continues, there is something that has recently raised fans’ eyebrows. It is the judgments and actions of the referees. In this year’s KBO League, there are a lot of big misjudgments. As the media environment has improved, there is a reason why the means to clearly catch errors have increased, but big problems such as misapplication of rules continue.
The start of the ‘historic coming’ was the Busan Lotte-KT match on April 7th. At the beginning of the 4th inning, when KT was leading 2-0, Kim Sang-soo (KT) hit a ball with 2 out on 1st and 3rd base, but it was refracted by referee Lee Young-jae, who was the second base referee. Here, the rules were incorrectly applied, and KBO judge Lee Young-jae was relegated to the Futures League indefinitely and fined. Also, referee Jang Joon-young, first base referee Kim Ik-soo, Kim Jeong-guk third base referee, and third base referee Yoon Sang-won also received a disciplinary punishment of 1 million won.
It’s not as big a mistake as misapplying the rules, but even after that, questionable judgments poured in endlessly. The second representative case is the Daegu Samsung-LG match on the 13th. In the bottom of the 7th inning, after Kim Tae-goon hit first base safely, he reached second base faster than the ball through head-first sliding. However, at this time, Jung Joo-hyun, who was LG’s second baseman, made a motion that seemed to push Kim Tae-goon away with his hand. At that time, even the video was read, but there was no change in the out decision.
Numerous people who watched this situation doubted intentionality, but the KBO said the next day, “LG Jung Joo-hyun’s intentionality could not be clearly determined, and the centrifugal court was maintained accordingly.” , referee judgment and video review, policy to be applied.” In the end, he admitted that he had not been strict and careful in his judgment.
And on the 20th, a ‘failure’ situation occurred in the match between Hanwha and LG in Jamsil. At the end of the 9th inning, where the score was 1-1, LG Jung Joo-hyun attempted a bunt operation at first base, and Hanwha, who saw through this, tried to ‘pitch out’. At this time, Joo-Hyun Jeong threw a bat, and Hanwha catcher Jae-Hoon Choi was hit. Choi Jae-hoon, who was hit by Jung Joo-hyun’s bat, fell down for a while and complained of pain.
But here came an incomprehensible decision. Judge Kwon Yeong-chul, first base referee Jeon Il-soo, second base referee Kim Byeong-joo, and third base referee Deok-hyung Yu all agreed on the result of ‘obstruction of hitting’. Choi Jae-hoon interfered with Jung Joo-hyun’s blow. Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho’s protest was also useless. But in the end, it was a mistake. The KBO officially announced, “As a result of additional confirmation by the refereeing committee, the situation should have been judged as defensive interference rather than hitting interference.”
Referee Chairman Heo Woon also said in a phone call with ‘My Daily’, “According to the rules, if the batter’s hand touches the bat even a little, it is an obstruction of hitting. However, the bat was completely removed from the batter’s hand. As a result of looking at the pictures such as replays, it was confirmed that it was not a hit, but a defensive interference.”
It is certainly the right thing in terms of league development and fairness for the KBO and the refereeing committee to admit the mistake and correct the wrong. However, there are some things that do not change even in the midst of this obvious miscarriage. That is the attitude of the referees.
On the 11th, referee Lee Young-jae, who returned from disciplinary action against Lotte-Doosan in Busan, was once again accused of ‘gossip’. Because of the direct judgment. At the time, the ball thrown by Doosan Kim Myung-shin was far out of the strike zone, but it was ruled a strike. In response, Lotte Jeon Jun-woo asked referee Lee Young-jae a ‘question’ through the gap between the innings shift, but referee Lee Young-jae became angry and a ‘collision’ occurred.
This also came out in Jamsil on the 20th. In the bottom of the 12th inning, the first pitch thrown by Hanhwa Jung Woo-ram was ruled a strike. As a result of watching it through the relay screen, it looked like a low course, but referee Kwon Young-chul had a different idea. Accordingly, Park Hae-min showed regret for a long time, and threw his helmet on the floor after stepping back with a straight stroke to the first baseman. After that, the game seemed to proceed without any problems, but after the second death, referee Kwon Yeong-cheol headed to the first base dugout.
Referee Kwon Yeong-chul shouted at Park Hae-min, “Hey! I’m having a hard time now,” and Park Hae-min responded, “Who said you’re not having a hard time? Why are you looking at me? Did I look at you?” It was shocking to see referee Kwon Young-chul, who went to the dugout and got angry in a situation where there was even an obvious misjudgment.
Of course,토스카지노 referees can lose their concentration and become sensitive to the accumulated fatigue if they play overtime. However, the recent actions of the referees are frowned upon. In less than two months since the start of the regular season, the authoritative appearances of wrong referees and referees are endlessly appearing one after another. An ‘internal crackdown’ is desperately needed. Referees should not rule the game.
