Doosan Bears Manager Kim Won-hyung explained his strong protest to the umpires after yesterday's game against the LG Twins ended with a three-foot line out call on Jung Soo-bin in the bottom of the 11th inning, stating that he felt the game should not have ended that way.

Ahead of the home game against LG at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul today, Manager Kim said, "I tried not to get angry, but seeing how the game was unfolding, it just happened naturally," adding that he is someone who gets deeply immersed in the game.

He continued, "After checking after the game, the call was correct according to the rules," but explained, "From the dugout, it looked straight on, and I judged that Jung Soo-bin was passing by without being called out."

"We still had our last chance to attack, and I got a bit emotional thinking it shouldn't end like this," he added, noting, "It seems the third base umpire judged that the tag was not made, while the second base umpire called him out for leaving the baseline."

The situation mentioned by Manager Kim occurred with one out and runners on second in the bottom of the 11th inning yesterday, with the score tied 2-2.

Park Chan-ho hit a ground ball to the third baseman, and second base runner Jung Soo-bin headed toward third base while avoiding a tag by third baseman Moon Bo-gyung.

After Moon Bo-gyung attempted to tag Jung Soo-bin, the third base umpire signaled safe, and in the meantime, Moon Bo-gyung threw the ball to first base to catch Park Chan-ho.

However, the second base umpire then declared Jung Soo-bin out for straying more than three-foot (approximately 91.4 centimeters) out of the baseline while avoiding the tag, ending the game immediately.

Manager Kim rushed out of the dugout to protest that all four umpires should gather and confer, but his request was not accepted.

Regarding Jung Soo-bin's base running, Manager Kim said he shouldn't have gone, but also conveyed that first, he must have run because he thought he could make it safely, and to put it more positively, being at third base could have led to a walk-off win in the event of a wild pitch or fielding error.

He added that he hasn't spoken with Jung Soo-bin yet, but believes Jung ran because he thought he could be safe.

Jung Soo-bin was left off today's starting lineup.

Asked if he was excluded because of yesterday's base running, Manager Kim replied that was not the case, citing his recently declining batting cycle.

Regarding Kim Min-seok's remarkable defensive play in the top of the 9th inning yesterday with two outs and a 2-2 tie, catching what looked like a home run ball by LG's Oh Ji-hwan heading toward the left-field wall, Kim used the slang term "kamnol" (short for being startled) to describe how surprised he was.

He said he joked with Kim Min-seok that it might be the first and last defensive play of his baseball career, teasing him by saying that a player who is professionally skilled at outfield defense would have missed it, but an awkward player like him managed to catch it.

He went on to say that they have the kind of relationship where they can exchange such jokes, adding that while Kim's pride might be slightly hurt, he probably feels even better about it, and praised yesterday's defense as truly surprising.

(Photo: Yonhap News)