Is this really a "disciplinary substitution"? Kim Seon-bin of KIA was replaced immediately in the second inning... What exactly happened?

*This content was translated by AI.

KIA Tigers veteran infielder Kim Seon-bin was substituted right before the start of defensive play in the second inning. The scene appeared to be a disciplinary substitution based on his performance in the first inning.

On the 7th, KIA suffered a decisive 10-2 defeat against Lotte Giants at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium during an away game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season.

With this loss, KIA fell into a three-game losing streak, recording 44 wins, 2 draws, and 38 losses. While maintaining fourth place in the league standings, they now trail third-place KT Wiz by 2.5 games.

Kim Seon-bin started that day as the seventh hitter and second baseman. Meanwhile, KIA manager Lee Beom-ho declared a full-scale offensive strategy before the game. Manager Lee stated, "We plan to operate the games on the 7th and 8th as tightly as if they were playoff matches. If starting pitcher (Kim) Tae-hyung collapses early, there's nothing we can do, but if he pitches well through four innings, we intend to bring in one reliever immediately from the fifth inning."

However, a scene that contradicted the manager's determined will appeared right from the first inning, causing him to lose control of the situation.

KIA took an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning, going ahead 1-0. In the bottom of the first, Lotte launched their offense.

Starting pitcher Kim Tae-hyung began to falter. He allowed a double down the right-field line to leadoff hitter Hwang Sung-bin, then permitted Hwang's additional advance during Go Seung-min's sacrifice bunt toward third base. The batter was out. From there, Reyes hit a two-run double into center field.

Subsequent batter Han Dong-hee drew a walk. Park Chan-hong struck out. Then Jeon Min-jae drove a deep infield single toward third base, extending the situation to two outs with bases loaded. The next batter was Han Tae-yang. With a 0-2 count, he attacked the third pitch. The ball rolled toward the second baseman. At that moment, Kim Seon-bin's charge was slightly delayed. After fielding the ball, he threw it toward first base, initially drawing an out call.

Just as KIA infielders thought the inning had ended and began heading back to the dugout, Lotte's bench requested a video review. The replay showed Han Tae-yang's foot touching the base first, overturning the original call. As a result, Reyes' run from third base was counted, and Jang Du-seong stepped up to bat next. Jang hit a two-run double down the middle, flipping the score to 3-1 in Lotte's favor.

Kim Seon-bin immediately took his first at-bat in the top of the second inning with no outs and a runner on first base. The first pitch was a ball. On the second pitch, he targeted Lotte starter Rodriguez' tight cutter on the outside edge but grounded into a double play to the pitcher's mound, hanging his head in disappointment.

In the bottom of the second inning, during Lotte's offensive turn, KIA made defensive adjustments. Instead of keeping Kim Seon-bin at second base, they placed Kim Gyu-seong there. In return, Jeong Hyeon-chang was substituted into the shortstop position previously held by Kim Gyu-seong. There was no physical issue with Kim Seon-bin. Ultimately, this substitution is interpreted as a disciplinary move intended to send a message to the entire team. As a result, KIA's starting pitcher Kim Tae-hyung could not hold on long, pitching 2⅔ innings (80 total pitches), allowing 10 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4 batters, but surrendering 8 runs (7 earned). Will KIA, which declared a full-scale effort in the final series of the first half, be able to bounce back in tomorrow's game on the 8th?

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*This content was translated by AI.