Saturday, April 12, 2025

An Ump Bump Ejection in Korea After "Time" Call

A manager bumped an umpire during a KBO League ejection as LG Twins skipper Kyung-Yeop Yeom  charged at 1B Umpire Young-Jae Lee following a force out at second on an uncaught line drive to third base, ruled fair by 3B Umpire Gap-Soo Kim.

After U3 Kim ruled the uncaught batted ball fair, Doosan Bears third baseman Seung-Ho Kang threw the ball to second base to force out Twins baserunner R1 Seong-Joo Moon, as batter-runner Joo-Heon Lee arrived at first base.

As confusion reigned at first base, U1 Lee called "Time" after a request from the Bears first baseman.

Twins manager Yeom exited the dugout to argue that the third base umpire called "Time" during the initial play, but replays indicate none of the umpires did such a thing until U1's "Time" call well after the force out at second base.

During the argument, umpire Lee and manager Yeom continued their heated exchange, culminating in Yeom bumping Lee moments after being ejected by HP Umpire Byeong-du Bae.

The MLB Umpire Manual's situation handling guidelines, for illustration, state, "MLB Umpires should remain calm, confident, and non-confrontational in order to maintain an appearance of fairness and impartiality," while Official Baseball Rule 6.04(d), pertaining to unsportsmanlike conduct, states, "When a manager, player, coach or trainer is ejected from a game, they shall leave the field immediately and take no further part in that game. They shall remain in the clubhouse or change to street clothes and either leave the park or take a seat in the grandstand well removed from the vicinity of their team’s bench or bullpen."

Video as follows:
Alternate Link: Angry manager ejected over non-existent "time" call, bumps ump