An umpiring blunder on Monday might not have cost the Fubon Guardians their CPBL home opener, but the league sent the official down to the minors.
The CPBL early yesterday afternoon said that umpire Yu Chih-chin has been demoted to its minor league for his mistaken call on an apparent sacrifice fly.
Yu was previously demoted in May 2020 after making two questionable calls in a game between the Uni-President Lions and the CTBC Brothers.
Photo: CNA
Monday’s blunder occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Guardians were leading the Wei Chuan Dragons 2-1. The Guardians’ Fan Kuo-chen drove home Wang Cheng-tang on a routine sacrifice fly to right field, but third-base umpire Yu called Wang out for leaving the base before the ball was caught.
However, a slow-motion replay quickly confirmed that Wang did not leave third base until after the ball hit right fielder Chen Pin-chieh’s glove, meaning that Yu’s call was wrong.
Although the league has instant replay, CPBL rules prevented the Guardians from using the system to challenge the call.
In the top of the eighth, the Dragons tied the game, but a walk-off single by Kao Kuo-hui in the bottom of the ninth clinched the win for the home team.
While the call ultimately did not cost the Guardians the game, captain Fan confronted Yu afterward to debate the call.
“I thought it was ridiculous,” Fan said. “If the call had been on the money, there would not have been a problem, but the replay did not back up the call. Umpires need to have credibility. If we had lost, how could we have played our upcoming games?”
Fan said he did not have an issue with the initial call, but became upset after seeing the replay in the next inning, and urged the league to investigate.
Wang was also unhappy with the call.
“[I was] really stunned and furious, shouting curses after returning to the dugout,” he said.
CPBL secretary-general Yang Ching-lung said the call was “a serious misjudgement,” adding that the league was reviewing and discussing it.
Guardians manager Qiu Chang-rong said that although he understands umpires have tough jobs, he has to stand behind his players.
“They [the umpires] always give the same answer, saying they will ‘deal with it in the future,’ but it would have been such a shame if we had lost the game today,” Qiu said.
The win was the Guardians’ first this season, after a tie against the Rakuten Monkeys in their opener on Sunday.
Also on Monday, the Brothers bagged their first win of the season, blanking the Lions 7-0 in the Lions’ season opener.
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38
RSS