The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Professional Baseball League saw their momentum abruptly halted due to a bizarre blunder. Pinch runner Yoo Ro-gyeol (25) was caught stealing when the team had a bases loaded opportunity, ending the inning.
In the home game against the KIA Tigers in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at Hanwha Life Park in Daejeon on 10th, Hanwha squandered a rally opportunity with an absurd baserunning out in the bottom of the 5th.
However, despite Hwang Jun-seo’s strong performance, holding the KIA to 1 run until the top of the 5th inning, the lineup was stifled by KIA ace James Naile, remaining scoreless until the bottom of the 4th.
After one out in the bottom of the 5th, Lee Do-yoon hit an infield single, creating an opportunity. Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon brought in the speedy Yoo Ro-gyeol as a pinch runner at first base, and the next batter, Choi Jae-hun, followed up with a single to right field, putting runners on first and second with one out. Although Shim Woo-jun struck out swinging, pinch hitter Choi In-ho drew a walk after a full count, loading the bases.
However, an unexpected situation arose here. Pinch hitter Choi In-ho, having drawn a walk, advanced to first base, and the baserunners on first and second also moved up one base.
Yoo Ro-gyeol, who was on second base, walked to third base, and while he was conversing with third base coach Kim Jae-gul, the KIA defense did not miss the opportunity. KIA catcher Kim Tae-goon threw the ball to third base instead of to the pitcher, and third baseman Patrick Wisdom tagged Yoo Ro-gyeol immediately as he caught the ball, striking precisely when Yoo Ro-gyeol’s foot was off the base.
As soon as Wisdom tagged him, the third base umpire immediately called him out, and Naile cheered. The moment the bases were loaded, the opportunity for Hanwha ended with a caught stealing, and KIA's crisis was over. Manager Kim Kyung-moon approached the umpire to discuss, but the situation did not change. Yoo Ro-gyeol's foot was off the base, and it was clearly a caught stealing.
The concentration of KIA's defenders, who did not miss the moment, stood out, but it was a fundamental blunder by Yoo Ro-gyeol. In a live play situation, a baserunner standing on the base is a basic requirement. A player entering as a pinch runner should have been even more focused, but he made an absurd mistake.
Hanwha failed to score even after having a bases loaded opportunity, as the inning ended without any runs scored before the next batter came up. It was a frustrating result for manager Kim Kyung-moon, who had played the pinch runner and pinch hitter cards in succession. At the start of the top of the 6th inning, Hanwha replaced pinch runner Yoo Ro-gyeol with Hwang Young-mook at second base. Pinch hitter Choi In-ho moved to right field, while right fielder Lee Jin-young moved to center field.
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