“I thought I was playing high school baseball.”
This is what one player left in the mound and ground conditions that were so poor. Doosan Bears and Samsung Lions played the first game of a three-week series at Pohang Baseball Stadium on the 4th. Heavy rain was expected across the country, and in fact, heavy rain poured down on the stadium for nearly an hour from around 4:20 p.m., two hours before the start of the game. Considering the nature of the artificial turf field and the nature of the second field, which is difficult to constantly manage the ground and mound conditions, cancellation of rain or ground assessment seemed likely.카지노사이트
A baseball official looked at the rain-soaked stadium and voiced concern, saying, “It’s artificial turf, so when it rains, batted balls bounce quickly, and the risk of injury to players is high.”
But the match went on. Although the rain had subsided ahead of the game, rain was in the forecast all evening. In fact, it rained throughout the game, so 4,182 spectators had to use umbrellas or wear raincoats. From around the ninth inning, the rain began to grow thick and led to heavy rain after the game ended.
The muddy mound actually affected the performance of Doosan and Samsung pitchers. Samsung starting pitcher Albert Suarez endured with 5 scoreless innings, but the number of pitches reached 110. This is because he recorded five 4-balls, the most in an individual game since his debut in the KBO League. Suarez put on an annoyed expression when he was put on the verge of loading bases in the second and third innings because the mound was slippery, making it difficult to balance. Still, after overcoming the bases-loading crisis two times without allowing a run, he got used to the slippery mound to some extent and endured it. Doosan starting pitcher Choi Won-joon also struggled with 62 pitches and 3 runs in 3⅔innings.
The situation was no different for the bullpen pitchers. Doosan’s Kim Myung-shin, who took the mound at the bottom of the 7th inning, appealed to the referee when his foot was unable to hold on and faltered because of the slippery mound. Before the defense in the top of the 8th inning, the referee instructed the ground maintenance team to sprinkle dry soil on the mound once.
Still, the mound situation did not change much. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Jeong Cheol-won, who inherited the ball from Park Chi-guk, suddenly fell in front of the mound while practicing pitching. The stepping foot completely slipped and fell flat. Even so, he was able to endure 1⅓ innings and throw.
Samsung Yang Chang-seop, who took the mound in the top of the 7th inning, also made an uncomfortable expression while brushing off spikes throughout the pitch. As a result, he only allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs in ⅔ innings. Leading 3-0, at this time, Doosan was allowed to pursue 3-3, and in the 10th inning, Oh Seung-hwan was beaten by Kim Jae-hwan to the final two-run gun, so in a way, it can be said that Samsung suffered much greater damage.
Player A said, “The plate (the pitcher steps on) was new, so it was slippery, and it was slippery because it became mud in front of the mound. I had to throw it anyway, so I think I tried to throw it according to the situation.”
Performance is also performance, but it is worth considering that the players played in the rain when the mound conditions were so bad that the stepping foot slipped. It is true that the number of games held in a year is rare because Pohang is the second stadium, but it is a problem that the ground or mound condition is not good enough to exceed the level of professional baseball. In the unlikely event that an injured player comes out, who will be held accountable? Pohang vice-mayor Kim Nam-il, who pitched the first pitch that day, must have felt the players’ grievances better since he personally stepped near the mound.
Still, the players tried to do their best in the given situation. Because there were fans who endured together in the rain. The passion of the Pohang baseball fans who sang cheering songs and defended the stadium despite being rained on for 4 hours and 24 minutes until the 10th inning was admirable by baseball officials at the scene.
Player B said, “We are playing baseball because we have fans. Because there are spectators, it is our duty to do our best in the game. .