"Did the manager give up first?" Why didn't Hanwha request video review? The sequence of 'deploying a guaranteed winning lineup → substituting Kang Baek-ho in the 9th inning → abandoning the review' is inconsistent.

*This content was translated by AI.

Even while facing a significantly unfavorable situation, the team deployed all its winning combinations. However, at the final moment, it made a decision that appeared to abandon the match prematurely. The delegation reacted as if unable to accept this, and fans are expressing outrage.

On the 16th, at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park, where the third game of the season between Hanwha Eagles and Samsung Lions was held, Hanwha was trailing 1-6 in the bottom of the 9th inning with one out and no runners on base when Chae Eun-seong hit a ball toward center field. Kim Ji-chan naturally caught the ball, resulting in the second out.

However, it appeared as if the ball had bounced before reaching the plate. Since it was the final play, there was sufficient grounds for a video review, but the review was not conducted, and the game ended with Lee Do-yoon striking out.

The slow-motion replay broadcast over the air confirmed that the ball hit the ground first, leaving behind even greater regret.

Immediately after the out call, all players requested a video review, but ultimately the Hanwha bench did not make the request. Along with batter Chae Eun-seong, players in the dugout were seen drawing squares to indicate a video review request while looking toward manager Kim Kyung-moon. Despite this, the situation remained unchanged. The players displayed bewildered expressions.

SPOTV commentator Lee Dae-hyung also expressed disbelief, saying, "Since it's the final attack, if the situation is similar to one that warrants review, shouldn't video review be used if it's still available?"

The situation is even more incomprehensible when considering the prior context. Hanwha surrendered two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, falling behind 1-5, yet the bench suddenly sent in setup man Jung Woo-joo in the eighth inning. Even after allowing additional runs, they brought in another reliable reliever, Kim Jong-soo.

In the ninth inning, with the team trailing by five runs, the new closer, foreign pitcher Jack Cushing, was brought onto the mound. Judging by the pitching management, it seemed as though there was still hope to turn things around until the very end, but the offense was another story.

Earlier, at the start of the bottom of the ninth inning, a pinch-hitting card was used in Kang Baek-ho's at-bat to send Choi In-ho out. Although Choi In-ho has delivered solid performances this season with a batting average of 0.333 (2 hits in 6 at-bats), Kang Baek-ho is a powerful hitter for Hanwha, leading the league in RBIs with 19 and tied for fifth in home runs with 4. He was signed for a staggering four years and 10 billion won ahead of the season.

On this day as well, it was Kang Baek-ho who scored the team's only run with a sacrifice fly that brought third baseman Moon Hyun-bin home in the sixth inning. Although the team deployed its entire lineup of reliable batters, it left out the hitter with the highest probability of scoring, and did not even request a video review. In the end, only the innocent Chae Eun-seong was left with a single stolen hit.

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*This content was translated by AI.