The ‘3-foot controversy’ has been one of the hot topics in the KBO this season.
In the Jamsil Kiwoom-LG game on the 3rd, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop was ejected for protesting a ‘3-foot violation’ after a video review in the bottom of the 5th inning. Protesting the video review was the first reason for the ejection.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, with LG trailing 1-4, Park Dong-won hit a surprise bunt toward third base with no outs. Kiwoom third baseman Kim Tae-jin caught the ball closer to third base than home and threw to first base, but the ball fell to the ground as Park made contact with Kiwoom first baseman Lee Won-seok’s mitt. As Lee stretched out his left hand to catch the pitch, which was slightly skewed toward home, his mitt made contact with Park’s body.
With runners on first and third, the Kiwoom bench requested a video review, which overturned the call for defensive interference. Park Dong-won was called out and Moon Bo-kyung, who had advanced to third, returned to first base.
The problem was mainly Park’s. Park appeared to be running with his left foot inside the line and his right foot on the line. He stepped on the base with his right foot. Kiwoom’s throw was close to the third base side, so if the throw was accurate, the “three feet” would have been irrelevant. However, the throw was oddly directed to where the first baseman’s throw and the running runner overlapped, causing the collision.
The KBO Umpires Committee appears to have enforced a stricter rule, as announced at the start of the second half. Against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the 3-foot fielding obstruction in the first half of the season, the KBO announced in the second half of the season that if the umpire determines that a runner’s running inside the 3-foot line is clearly causing a throwing or catching obstruction, it will be ruled as fielding obstruction.
However, this does not appear to have been fully shared among the field staffs of the respective clubs. It was also the reason why Yeom protested so strongly and was ejected.토토사이트
According to the ruling, if the runner’s foot is inside the line when the first baseman makes contact with the runner during the pitching process, it is a “3-foot violation” of defensive interference. It is likely that the runner’s baserunning will be significantly restricted in the future.