LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop expressed his thoughts on the “ABS Decision Manipulation and Cover-up” incident at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 14th ahead of the rival match between Lotte Giants and the team in the first round of the season of the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 16th.
On the 14th, a big incident happened that could have turned the KBO League upside down. In the NC-Samsung showdown at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, referees manipulated the ABS decision and tried to cover up their mistakes. The situation was like this. Lee Jae-hak threw the second pitch against Lee Jae-hyun (Samsung) in the bottom of the third inning with two outs and runners on first base with NC leading 1-0. The ABS tracking marked on the broadcast clearly showed that it was a ball that passed through the outside strike zone, which referee Moon Seung-hoon judged as a “ball.”
In the process of introducing ABS for the first time in the world, KBO provided a “tablet PC” so that both dugouts could check the ball judgment, but there is still a big “delay” until the pitch is marked. Coach Kang In-kwon complained to referee Moon Seung-hoon after confirming that the ball was a strike on the second pitch only after Lee Jae-hak threw a strike on the fifth pitch. However, referee Moon Seung-hoon, first baseman, referee manager Lee Min-ho, and referee Choo Pyong-ho made remarks that made him doubt his ears.
Referees Moon Seung-hoon, Lee Min-ho, and Choo Pyeong-ho gathered to protest from Kang In-kwon, who said, “Listen, I’m sure the voice was recognized as a ball. Okay? This is the only way we can get out of it. Voice is a ball.” When referee Moo-hoon said, “It was like a ball, not the same thing,” referee Lee Min-ho said, “The voice was not a ball. Do it. Do it first if we don’t want to break it.” This was caught on TV.
Despite Kang In-kwon’s protest, it was not reversed incorrectly. As a result, NC starter Lee Jae-hak was shaken when he gave a walk to Lee Jae-hyun, and scored three runs in the inning alone. After that, he immediately chased a point in the attack in the top of the fourth inning, but gave up three runs again in the bottom of the fourth inning, resulting in NC kneeling 5-12. Controversy simply grew out of control as NC gave up the game after NC suffered damage due to the manipulation and concealment of ABS decisions by the judges.
In response, KBO said on the 15th, “We held an emergency meeting presided over by President Huh Gu-yeon and decided to exclude the referee team leader Lee Min-ho, the referee of the NC-Samsung game at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 14th, referee Moon Seung-hoon, and the third base referee Choo Pyeong-ho from their duties as of today and refer them to the HR committee according to the procedure,” adding, “KBO believes the matter is very serious and will proceed with the disciplinary process strictly.” The reason why they were referred to the HR committee, not the disciplinary committee, was because they knew that it could never be easily passed on from the KBO’s point of view.
KBO then said, “We held an ABS emergency inspection meeting presided over by President Yoo Young-yeon on the same day, and decided to strengthen the manual so that ABS field personnel can actively intervene in the event of confusion in receiving strike/ball decisions by the referee or third base referee,” adding, “We will deploy voice receiver equipment as soon as possible so that both teams can receive strike/ball decisions at the same time as the referee and third base referee.”
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also expressed his belief as it is an issue that is currently infuriating the KBO league. According to manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, up to the exhibition game, a pitcher had to throw about two pitches until the ball was stamped on the tablet PC, but now the delay has been reduced to about one. However, even if it is reversed, it is still difficult to appeal immediately. In particular, in the case of the game on the 14th, there was no reversal of the decision, even though manager Kang In-kwon confirmed that there was an error through the tablet PC, and there was no reversal of the decision, and his cover-up of the manipulation became a big problem.
Director Yeom Kyung-yeop, who predicted that this would happen if not for the manipulation and concealment of ABS data. He said, “When there was President Heo Young-yeon on Media Day, at the meeting, we suggested that ‘data will come out too late’. I had a meeting with working-level officials…”I expected this would happen eventually,” he said. “KBO said that (the judgment) would be reversed. And he said, ‘I will make sure that the data will be released as soon as possible.’ It got a little faster than the exhibition game. Still, I have to throw about the next ball to get the data.”
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop thinks that if the dugout is also given a receiver, the current ABS system will not have a big problem. “The game on April 14 was not about ABS, right? It was about judges’ judgment in the end. It doesn’t matter if the referees had said what they said, but the problem got bigger as they tried to interpret it differently. I think ABS itself is better than the referees in terms of fairness and equity. However, it is not easy for a system to be perfect in a year. This should be seen as a transition period,” he said. “If we can figure out how to compensate for the event of a machine malfunction, it will be a better system.” 토토사이트 추천