Head of baseball replay center suspended for incorrect ruling

The head of South Korean baseball's replay center received a 10-day suspension Friday for an incorrect ruling on a home run.

The Korea Baseball Organization said Kim Ho-in, director of the KBO's Video Review Center, will be suspended from his duty for 10 days, starting Friday.

The decision was reached after the replay center blew a call in a game between the Lotte Giants and the Samsung Lions on Thursday at Munsu Stadium in Ulsan, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and robbed Lotte outfielder Son Ah-seop of a solo home run.

With one out and bases empty in the third and the Giants trailing 4-1, Son hit a fly ball to left-center field that hit the top of the wall and then went off the netting before dropping back into play.

It was initially ruled a home run, but Samsung manager Kim Han-soo challenged the call. The Video Review Center overturned the ruling on the field after about a minute of review. But TV replays showed that Son's ball clearly hit the top of the wall, above the yellow line -- which is painted to help umpires distinguish home run balls -- before it bounced off the metal fence set up in front of the outfield seats.

Son was stuck with a double, and the Giants ended in a 4-4 tie after 12 innings.

The KBO also fined two video room officials 500,000 won ($447) each for their miscue.

The KBO opened the replay center before the start of this season. It said it'll seek to add cameras to minimize blind spots and strengthen the training of review officials. (Yonhap)