An umpire’s “heel” that failed to avoid a bunt made the difference in the LG Twins-NC Dinos game in Changwon on March 26.
In the bottom of the ninth inning with LG leading 5-3, an infield grounder hit by NC’s Park Gun-woo with runners on second and third hit the heel of the second base umpire’s shoe, making it an infield hit according to baseball rules.
The game went on as it should have, and NC won with a walk-off home run by Kwon Hee-dong.
This time, the umpire and the runner collided, resulting in a runner being called out.
In the bottom of the 22nd inning of the game between Doosan Bears and KIA Tigers at Champions Field in Gwangju on May 15, when KIA was down 0-1, Lee Woo-sung hit an infield grounder to the third baseman.
Doosan third baseman Heo Kyung-min made a bad throw to first base, and Lee Woo-sung took advantage of the gap and started running to first base and then to second base.
Choi Hyung-woo, the third baseman, saw the play and took a leisurely walk home.
The first base umpire, Na Kwang-nam, was unable to avoid Lee Woo-sung and collided with him.
Lee fell to the ground in pain, while Doosan second baseman Park Kye-beom, who was holding the ball, tagged him.
Lee was able to make it to second base, but had to return to the dugout, satisfied that he had tied the game 1-1.
While this may have seemed unfair to KIA, according to baseball rules, Lee was out.
The KBO states, “If a runner collides with an umpire while running, the play continues. The runner must return to first base to avoid an out.”
Lee was called out, but this time, the Doosan bench requested a video replay to determine if the runner was obstructed by three feet.
If it was, the runner would be out and the runner would have to return to his base.
However, it was confirmed that there was no problem with Lee Woo-sung’s base running, and KIA was awarded one run. 파워볼