“There’s no video replay, so we have to trust the umpires.”
The South Korean national baseball team, led by Ryu Jung-il, lost 0-4 to Chinese Taipei in the second game of their Group B matchup at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Sunday at the Shaoxing Baseball and Softball Sports Center near Hangzhou, China.
Shocking opening loss. South Korea was hoping to build on its win over Chinese Taipei and take a one-game lead into the Super Round, but the dream didn’t come true. Everyone was caught off guard by Chinese Taipei.
Starter Moon Dong-joo was solid with four innings of three-hit ball, striking out three and walking two. Park Se-woong, Choi Ji-min, and Park Young-hyun also pitched three scoreless innings, but Korea’s hopes of a comeback were dashed in the bottom of the eighth when closer Go Woo-seok gave up two runs on two hits in one inning.
The problem was the batting lineup. They couldn’t get to Lin Yumin at all. Lin went six innings, four hits, one walk, six strikeouts, and no runs against the Korean bats. The next two pitchers also pitched three innings of two-hit ball.
Yoon Dong-hee (Lotte Giants) had three hits, Choi Ji-hoon (SSG Landers) had a multi-hit game, and Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha Eagles) had a double, but the rest of the Korean bats were silent.
That’s why the second inning was so disappointing. The top of the second inning with a 0-1 deficit. Moon Bo-kyung led off with a grounder to shortstop. Yoon Dong-hee followed with a double, and Park Sung-sung singled to center. Kim Hyung-joon grounded out to third base to put runners on second and third.
Kim Sung-yoon was up to bat. Kim hit Lin Yumin’s three-pitch at first base and used his quick feet to sprint to first. He made a head-first sliding catch, but the umpire ruled him out. Lin Yumin’s base cover was faster than Kim Sung-yoon’s hand.
Kim Sung-yoon and first base coach Lee Jong-yeol expressed their disappointment, but Korea had no choice. There is no video replay in this tournament like in the KBO. The umpire’s call is the answer. Based on the replay, Kim’s hand looked 안전놀이터 faster, but there was no going back.
After the game, coach Ryu Jung-il said, “There is no video replay, so we have to trust the referee.”
Of course, it’s hard to say that this one call was the reason for South Korea’s loss. Overall, the bats were heavy and Lin Yumin’s ball was good.
However, if they had survived and tied the game, it could have changed the course of the day.