If you focus more on the game, you can sometimes get nervous. The same is true of referee decisions. In that case, sometimes players and referees argue with each other.
Park Hae-min (34), who usually looks like a baby boy, also had a chance to do so. Park took the batter’s box as the lead-off hitter in the bottom of the 12th inning of overtime at a match between Hanwha and LG held at Jamsil Stadium on May 20 last year. Park Hae-min expressed regret after missing the batter’s box for a while due to a strike on the first pitch. He then hit the second pitch, stepped down with a straight hit to the first baseman, and threw his helmet to express regret.
Subsequently, after Hong Chang-ki got on base with a hit, Moon Sung-joo was out on a fly ball to left field, and referee Kwon Young-chul approached Park Hae-min in the dugout. In the process, referee Kwon Young-chul said, “Are you the only one having a hard time? I’m working hard now,” to which Park Hae-min responded, “When did I say I’m not going to suffer? Why did you look at me?” Fortunately, the referee, LG coaching staff, and colleagues stopped me, which did not lead to a bigger conflict.
In the process, there was a scene that fans paid attention to. It was that Park Hae-min used honorifics to the referee until the end. Fans praised it, saying, “I can feel the dignity in his personality.”
While the LG Twins’ spring camp was in full swing in Scottsdale, Arizona, the U.S., Park Hae-min said, “I think any player would have used honorifics. I’m actually in a situation where I shouldn’t have done that. Our players respect the judges and have been seniors in the baseball field. That’s why I think not only me but any player would have done that.” 퀸알바
“Anyway, players and referees shouldn’t look like that. But I think it came out because there was something that respected each other. I didn’t use honorifics because I was conscious of it. I should never see such a scene again, but I think any player would have used honorifics if it happened,” he said. In the end, even in the situation where emotions were exchanged, he used honorifics because respect for each other was underlying.
Now, the appearance of players and referees colliding over strike and ball decisions may disappear. This is because the automatic ball judgment system (ABS) will be introduced to the KBO League this year. However, it is not possible to experience the situation because the system is not yet in place at the spring camp training site.
Park Hae-min said, “I saw the data distributed by the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization), and the accuracy of the judges’ strike and ball decisions was over 90%. I think it’s really good for a person to judge more than 90% accurately.” “However, since the ABS was decided, the players have not yet experienced it. In fact, I don’t think it’s easy to change the strike zone at once for players who have been playing baseball for more than 10 years. Of course, I can avoid arguments with the judges, but I think it’s a little disappointing to go into the real game without having much experience.”