Seoul: Once a vocal critic of the lack of a check-swing challenge in South Korean baseball, LG Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb sees a need to tweak the system now that it has been implemented. The challenge system took effect Tuesday in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), allowing managers to ask for video reviews on close swings.
According to Yonhap News Agency, under the current rule, if the tip of the bat passes a 90-degree angle from the batter's box toward the pitcher, it's ruled a swing. The angle is determined by a line parallel to the front of the home plate. In his pregame media scrum Thursday before facing the Lotte Giants, Youm said the angle should be reduced to 75 to 80 degrees.
Youm singled out a call that went against his team Wednesday night at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. With the Twins nursing a 5-3 lead at two outs in the top ninth, Giants hitter Son Ho-young was initially called for a swinging third strike before the decision was overturned on the Giants' challenge. The strikeout would have ended the game, but Son ended up drawing a walk to extend the game. The Twins did hang on to win the game by 5-3.
"His bat went far enough to make contact, but just because it didn't get past 90 degrees, it was not a swing. It doesn't make sense," Youm said. "I think pitchers are at a disadvantage under the current set of rules. After the season, we should all have discussions on changing it to 75 or 80 degrees."
Youm, who once served as general manager for another team, SSG Landers, insisted he wasn't seeking an immediate change. "Since we decided to go with 90 degrees, we should stick to it for the rest of the season," Youm added. "That's why I didn't complain last night."