Both Hanwha and KT expressed deep disappointment after the 204th minute stoppage.
Hanwha coach Choi Won-ho said on the 18th, “The ground conditions were not normal. We couldn’t steal bases, let alone risk injury to our players. The batters of both teams were also not in good shape as the game was suspended for more than three hours.”
Hanwha and KT experienced the longest suspension ever in the second game of a doubleheader at Daejeon’s Hanwha Life Eagles Park on April 17, when rain interrupted play in the top of the fifth inning and the game resumed three hours and 24 minutes later. The decision was made to resume the game without canceling it because the field was in a state of disarray, and it took about three hours to repair. Once the game resumed in the fifth inning, it was a fast-paced affair that ended in a 3-1 victory for KT. The tired players didn’t perform as well as they should have.먹튀검증
Hanwha, in particular, had suffered a rain-cold defeat two days earlier on the 15th under similar circumstances. The game was suspended due to rain before the start of the seventh inning when they were trailing 3-4 against LG, and after waiting 47 minutes, they immediately suffered a rain-cold defeat, so it was regrettable that the game was played in the opposite way on this day under similar rainy conditions. Coach Choi Won-ho said, “More than the result, we have injury problems and the game is also for the spectators. We need to play in an environment where we can show a normal game, but it seems like we’re just playing for the sake of playing.”
Despite the win, KT was still reeling from the previous day. The team complained of fatigue after spending three and a half hours in the cramped away locker room, on the team bus, and in the dugout.
Following catcher Jang Jang-woo the day before, KT manager Lee Kang-cheol was the first to talk about the absurdity of starting pitcher Wes Benjamin being forced to take the mound again after a three-hour and 24-minute hiatus.
The game was suspended on a 2-2 count after Benjamin threw seven pitches against Hanwha leadoff hitter Moon Hyun-bin in the bottom of the fifth inning. However, according to the rule, “If a pitcher in the game crosses the foul line in the first inning, the pitcher must pitch until the first batter is out or advances to first base,” Benjamin, who was pitching before the suspension, had to return to the mound to finish off Moon’s at-bat.
Benjamin, whose shoulder had cooled down during the 3 hours and 24 minutes of rest he had to take during the interruption, was forced to take the mound and eventually threw two pitches to get Moon out on a groundout. Not only did he lose the game-winning run in the fifth inning, but he also had to take the mound with the risk of injury.
“First and foremost, I think the rule that the starting pitcher has to stay on the mound to finish off the batters should be changed. Even a 30-minute break is enough to cool your shoulders. It’s too dangerous to have a one-hour, two-hour stoppage and still expect the pitcher to pitch. I think it needs to be changed to at least a 30-minute stoppage,” he continued.
Benjamin, who is also a ‘party,’ said, “After three and a half hours of rest, I can’t pitch full speed, even for my shoulder. I had no choice but to give up a walk, and if it becomes my record and leads to a run, it will increase my ERA. “There is no rule in Major League Baseball that says a pitcher has to come back out to finish off a batter in a rain delay. There’s not even a rule that comes close. We try our best not to put players in situations where they could be injured. If there is even a 15 minute delay, we will make a pitching change on the coaching staff line.”