After suffering the longest rainout in KBO history at 204 minutes, KT manager Lee Kang-cheol has called for a rule change regarding the return of starter Wes Benjamin to the mound after the game resumed.
KT swept a doubleheader against Daejeon Hanwha on April 17, but heavy rain in the second game took a toll on the entire squad as the game was suspended for 204 minutes, the longest in KBO history. The entire squad waited in the dugout for more than three hours for the game to resume, without a separate rest area, in a game where the away locker room facilities were among the worst in the league. Not only the players, but also the manager and coaches were exhausted.
“In the end, we won the game, but I didn’t want the game to resume either,” said Lee before the game against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 18th. I watched the LG-SSG game during the suspension, but the ground maintenance work was not finished. I wanted it to be canceled,” he said candidly.
Lee’s biggest gripe was with starter Benjamin, who took the mound after the game resumed. Benjamin threw seven pitches in the top of the fifth inning with a 3-1 lead before the rain delay. Benjamin spent the next three hours and 24 minutes resting his shoulder, but after the game resumed, he returned to the mound to continue his battle with Moon. Benjamin threw two more pitches before giving up a walk and was replaced by Son Dong-hyun. He followed up his 77-kilometer curveball with a 97-kilometer fastball that narrowly ended the game.
According to Article 5, Section 10 of the Baseball Rules, if a pitcher in a game crosses the foul line in the first inning, he must complete his pitches until the first batter is out or has reached first base before he can be replaced. That’s why Benjamin had to wait three hours and 24 minutes before taking the mound again.토토사이트
“That rule needs to be changed,” Lee said. It’s not realistic to wait an hour or two before throwing. “If the runner you walked crossed the plate, you’d be credited with an earned run. If a player is injured, it can be life-threatening. I’d like to see the rules changed so that after 30 minutes you don’t have to face an existing batter. It’s something that needs to be thought about,” he said.
Meanwhile, KT’s starting lineup against Hanwha’s Ita Yang was Kim Min-hyuk (right fielder), Hwang Jae-gyun (third baseman), Kang Baek-ho (designated hitter), Anthony Alford (left fielder), Jang Sung-woo (catcher), Bae Jeong-dae (center fielder), Lee Ho-yeon (second baseman), Oh Yun-seok (first baseman), and Kim Sang-soo (shortstop). The starting pitcher is Kim Min-soo, who is replacing Uhm Sang-baek.