A look at the controversial check-swing in the 9th inning of the championship game- in slow-mo, one can see that the batter was unable to check his swing - the non-call was a difference maker in the game as the game would have gone into extra innings:
3 comments:
what a crappy way to lose a game. on BS calls. the first pitch would have been a wall but the batter obviously wasnt able to check his swing. The second, even Pan Wei Lun and the catcher knew it was a strike as Pan started walking off the mound. Seems like it was the Mainland China ump that made that call on the 2nd pitch. - the same Mainland China ump that argued with the Taiwanese ump about whether that game winning homerun was inside or a foul ball. If I remember correctly, he called it homerun even though it was clearly a foul ball. Looks like this guy either needs to get his eyes checked or re-learn the rules of baseball.
There is an article about the game on Taiwan News
Here are some excerpts
"And for the game's first 8 1/2 innings, the Taiwanese side stayed even with a Japanese team whose players are paid four times higher on average.
It wasn't until the bottom of the ninth that Seibu scored a controversial winning run to win the series.
Pitching masterfully in relief on one day's rest, Uni-President's Pan "Du-Du" Wei-lun seemed on the verge of sending the game to extra innings after getting two quick outs in the game's deciding inning.
Pan appeared to have retired the side on a strikeout of Yoshihito Ishii on a check swing that replays showed clearly broke the plane of home plate, but the umpire called ball four.
With Ishii on first, Seibu's Tomoaki Satoh slammed a line drive base hit to right center that Uni-President's outfielder was slow to get to. Taking advantage of a poor relay throw, Ishii raced home to score the game winner without a play at the plate."
" As Asia Series champion, the Seibu Lions won 50 million yen (NT$17.2 million) , while Uni-President earned 30 million yen (NT$10.32 million).
Uni-President reached Sunday's final with a surprise 10-4 trouncing Saturday of South Korea's SK Wyverns.
Taiwan's United Daily News reported that the South Korean team thought so little of the Lions that it didn't bother to scout the Taiwanese team, and it paid for its difference, as the Lions' lineup slugged four home runs."
Each team benefited from missed calls this tournament. SK won game 1 against Seibu on the virtue of the big foul turned into a homerun. Before Uni's 8th inning 3 run homerun against SK (to eliminate SK from the finals), there was a batter hit by pitch that looked like a foul. And now this checked swing in the final. In general, it seems like Chinese umps are more often unable to keep up with the level of play.
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