“Don’t say something ridiculous!”
NC Dinos 'captain' Park Min-woo (32) threw his glove in anger. He couldn't suppress his immediate anger at the inconsistent calls from the umpiring crew. Normally, such a violent act would warrant ejection, but the umpires overlooked it.
On the 3rd, during the NC-Hanwha game at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon, an incident occurred during Hanwha's turn at bat in the bottom of the 10th with NC leading 7-6. With one out and runners on first and third base, Hanwha's Roh Si-hwan hit a short fly ball to the right. NC's second baseman Park Min-woo went back and caught the ball.
However, in the process of taking the ball out of his glove, he dropped it on the ground. In the meantime, the runner on third, Lee Won-seok, raced home, and NC's right fielder Han Seok-hyun picked up the dropped ball and threw it home. But before the ball arrived, Lee Won-seok slid headfirst across the home plate. It was a tie game at 7-7.
Then, Hanwha Coach Kim Kyung-moon came onto the field to request a video review. He wanted to confirm whether Roh Si-hwan's ball had been caught. The video review confirmed that Park Min-woo's catch was valid. Thus, Roh Si-hwan was ruled out on a pop fly to second base.
However, the situation did not end there. While a throw home was being made, first baseman Moon Hyun-bin advanced to second base, prompting NC Coach Lee Ho-jun to come out and seek explanations from the head of the team, Park Gi-taek, the second base umpire. Park Min-woo looked on with a puzzled expression.
Head of the Team Park Gi-taek held the microphone and explained, “At this moment, the right fielder's catch is counted as an out, and since the throw is in play, Moon Hyun-bin was on second base…” attempting to acknowledge Moon Hyun-bin's advancement to second.
At that moment, Park Min-woo approached Head of the Team Park Gi-taek, furious. His voice could be heard clearly through the TV broadcast microphone as he shouted, “Don’t say something ridiculous!” The excited Park Min-woo threw his glove to the ground, and NC's quality control coach Jin Jong-gil rushed over to calm him down. NC's chief coach Seo Jae-eung also came out to settle Park Min-woo.
There was a reason Park Min-woo was enraged. Since umpire Hwang In-gwon declared time after acknowledging the catcher's request, Moon Hyun-bin's movement from first to second base was not during a play. It was understandable why he was angry given the different explanations from the umpires.
Upon hearing from umpire Hwang In-gwon about the time declaration, Head of the Team Park Gi-taek took the microphone again to clarify the situation: “Let me reiterate the current situation. The catcher called time, and the umpire called time. We thought the play was still ongoing, but we will place Moon Hyun-bin back on first base,” as he corrected the situation again. Moon Hyun-bin's advancement to second was not acknowledged, and the game resumed with two outs and a runner on first.
In fact, judging solely by Park Min-woo's actions, he could have been ejected. His violent gesture of throwing the glove in front of everyone was frowned upon. However, the situation was so urgent and the umpiring crew had been inconsistent, so they let it go without an ejection. Reacting emotionally could have escalated the situation further. They acknowledged their mistake and quickly corrected it, bringing closure to the chaotic scene.
Meanwhile, Roh Si-hwan's ball was recorded as an error by Park Min-woo after a fly out rather than as a sacrifice fly. Although his catch of Roh Si-hwan's ball was acknowledged, it was ruled as an error in the subsequent action of dropping the ball. Lee Won-seok's score was credited to an error, not a sacrifice fly.
After the chaotic situation was resolved, play resumed in the bottom of the 10th with two outs and a runner on first, where Hanwha's Kim Tae-yean popped out to the catcher on the first pitch, ending the inning. The match stretched into 11 innings but ultimately ended in a 7-7 tie. It lasted 4 hours and 40 minutes, starting at 6:30 p.m. and concluding at 11:10 p.m.
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