Who is the '50-year-old Korean' who took the mound in the Hanwha game after reversing strikeouts after consecutive walks → protests?

*This content was translated by AI.

A person who fans who have enjoyed baseball for more than a decade made a surprise appearance at Hanwha Eagles' practice game in Melbourne, Australia. He allowed two consecutive walks due to unstable control, but he also struck out and drew attention.

Melbourne Ball Park in Melbourne, Australia, where Hanwha and Melbourne Aces held a practice game on the 15th (Korea Standard Time). In the top of the sixth inning, when both teams were leading 4-4, a familiar face took the mound as a pitcher for Melbourne.

Heo Min (50) was the CEO of WeMakePrice in the past and founded Korea's first independent baseball team, the Goyang Wonders.

In 2011, he drew attention by recruiting Kim Sung-geun, who was a wild man at the time, and won the 2012 Ilgu Grand Prize for opening a new way of hope for baseball players who lost their way.

His love of baseball did not stop at just running a club, but also led to his dream of becoming a player. Although he is slow to arrest, he began to realize his dream of becoming a player based on the knuckleball he learned by visiting an authority in the U.S. knuckleball. He joined the U.S. independent league club and played an active role, later serving as the chairman of the board of directors of Kiwoom Heroes, and in 2019, he pitched on the mound in his own Cheongbaek match at Peoria Sports Complex in Arizona.

Although it was not a big controversy because it was its own Cheongbaek match, it was later found that the players were set up and pitching themselves after the end of the second-tier training the following year, and they were at the center of the "gapjil controversy." In this case, he was suspended from his job for two months by the KBO.

Still unable to let go of his dream of becoming a baseball player even after turning fifty, he challenged the tryout of Melbourne in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) last month and got the opportunity to pass and stand on the mound.

Melbourne is a team that uses Melbourne Ballpark, which Hanwha uses in its first spring camp, as its home, and has been playing practice games for three consecutive years since 2024, and took the mound in the sixth inning with two outs and no runners.

It was not easy to control against Lim Jong-chan, the first batter. Every pitch was in the form of "Arirang Ball," which cannot be found in professional baseballs. Lim Jong-chan got on base with a straight walk, and he ran to second base from the first pitch and succeeded in stealing.

Yoo-min took the batter's box with two outs and second base, and the first strike was recorded in six pitches, but he walked once again.

The third batter is Han Ji-yoon. Im Jong-chan and Yoo-min boldly stole from the first pitch again this time. Han Ji-yoon boldly swung the bat at the ball count 1-0, but the result was a foul. The third-ball referee declared a strike, and at this time, Heo Min appealed to the referee as if he was wondering.

After that, four referees gathered in the infield and shared their opinions together. As a result, the decision was reversed and the inning ended. The catcher dropped the first pitch, but it was a strike, not a ball. In fact, the referee was able to confirm that the first pitch fell and then shout a strike call. However, it seemed that the notation was wrong.

However, on the broadcast screen, the three pitches seemed somewhat high, and the broadcast team was also convinced that it was a ball, but he did not declare a strike, but it seems that he later ruled a strike. The result is a strikeout.

However, it was a scene that was not easy to see in professional baseball, so it made me tilt my head. It was also more eye-catching because it was not common for the decision to be reversed after the player's appeal. Coach Yang Seung-kwan and Kim Min-ho, who were not convinced by the decision, protested, "Didn't you make a strike call?" but eventually withdrew to the bench after being convinced.

Regardless of the result, the passion for baseball was a scene that could be confirmed. However, baseball fans drew attention due to the level of restraint, old age, and reversal of decisions that are not easily seen as professional baseball players.

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*This content was translated by AI.