There's a way to give infield hits, but discrimination against Asian people? SF Lee Jung-hoo's hit in consecutive games was decided, and infield error...No hits in four at-bats in the end

Jul 05, 2025

There's a way to give infield hits, but discrimination against Asian people? SF Lee Jung-hoo's hit in consecutive games was decided, and infield error...No hits in four at-bats in the end



"It should be a mistake, right? I don't know? That's a bit of a question."

It is regrettable that the Major League Baseball (MLB) recordman's decision was made. There were also disagreements between local broadcasters and commentators.

Lee Jung-hoo (27) of the San Francisco Giants, who was starting to revive his batting sense little by little, failed to achieve a hit in three consecutive games. The game record keeper's decision to hit erased Lee Jung-hoo's record for three consecutive games. It's a scene that could be controversial. This is because it could have been viewed as an infield training hit depending on the point of view. In fact, a different perspective has emerged even among local broadcasters over this scene.




Lee Jung-hoo started as the fifth center fielder in an away game against the Athletics at Suter Health Park in Sacramento, California on the morning of the 5th (Korea time). Earlier, Lee Jung-hoo had a hit in two consecutive games, showing signs of escaping the slump.

Lee Jung-hoo, who has been the team's center hitter since the opening game, maintained a batting average in the 300s until early May, attracting sensational popularity among San Francisco fans. Descriptions such as 'National League batting champion candidate'All-Star game player' were also heard by local media in the U.S.

However, he has been in a deep slump since mid-May. In the end, the monthly batting average in June was only 0.143 (12 hits in 84 times at bat), and the season's batting average fell sharply to 240 points. Home fans, who were cheering because of the severe slump, began to raise their voices, saying, `The main culprit of San Francisco's slump.'




There's a way to give infield hits, but discrimination against Asian people? SF Lee Jung-hoo's hit in consecutive games was decided, and infield error...No hits in four at-bats in the end
Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants confirmed his revival by hitting in two consecutive games against Arizona on the 4th. AP Yonhap News
However, in July, Lee Jung-hoo gradually began to show his escape from the slump. Lee Jung-hoo, who exploded with three hits, one RBI and two runs from five times at bat in the game against Arizona on the 3rd, had one hit and one run from three times at bat in the game against Arizona on the 4th.

Following this momentum, he also sought a hit in the game on the 5th. If Lee Jung-hoo had a hit again on the day, he would have recorded three consecutive hits in about three weeks since the three consecutive away games against the Colorado Rockies over the 11th and 13th of last month.

But the hit didn't come out easily. In his first at-bat after one out in the top of the second inning, he was deceived by the sweeper of the opponent's left-hander J.P. Sears and struck out swinging. He then faced Sears again in the top of the fourth inning with two outs and runners on the first and second bases, but he only grounded out to the second base.




He faced Sears for the third time in the top of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on second base, but this time, he hit the fourth slider with a ball count of 2B1S and withdrew with a fly ball to left field.

The hitless nightmare seemed to be reproduced again. But there was one last chance left in the top of the ninth inning.

Lee Jung-hoo entered the batter's box for the fourth time in the top of the ninth inning, when he was trailing 1-11, with no outs and runners on second base. The opponent was Jack Perkins, who had been on the mound since the seventh inning. Lee Jung-hoo sharply pulled the sweeper (86.4 miles) on the fifth pitch at 2B2S. Hard hits with a batting speed of 96.5 miles (about 155km) flowed quickly between 1-2 bases.

Athletics first baseman Nick Nuts moved to the right and tried to catch a hit with the mitts on his right hand, but missed it. The Nuts chased the ball again, caught it with their left hand and threw it to first base. However, the direction of the throw was inaccurate. It passed the pitcher Perkins who entered the base cover and flowed into the foul area, and in the meantime, second baseman Dominic Smith homered.

There's a way to give infield hits, but discrimination against Asian people? SF Lee Jung-hoo's hit in consecutive games was decided, and infield error...No hits in four at-bats in the end
Lee Jung-hoo hits a first-base hit in the top of the ninth inning and runs to first base. There is a controversy over infield hits and defensive errors. MLB Broadcast Screen Capture
There's a way to give infield hits, but discrimination against Asian people? SF Lee Jung-hoo's hit in consecutive games was decided, and infield error...No hits in four at-bats in the end
Lee Jung-hoo hits a first-base hit in the top of the ninth inning and runs to first base. There is a controversy over infield hits and defensive errors. MLB Broadcast Screen Capture
The record keeper's official decision was to get on base by an infield error and score by a throwing error. Lee Jung-hoo took first base with a sprint, but no hits or RBIs were recorded.

It's a controversial scene enough. It is questionable whether Lee Jung-hoo would have been out at first base when the Nuts said they caught the ball correctly in their first attempt to catch it.

The center of the nut throwing with the left hand was tilted to the right. And considering pitcher Perkins' first base cover speed and Lee Jung-hoo's running speed, it seemed safe to give him an infield hit.

In fact, the scene was divided among local broadcasters.

After Smith scored, the caster said "Smith comes home and the Giants make it 2-11, and then "Gotta be an error, right?" This means that Lee Jung-hoo went out as a first baseman error, not a hit.

However, the commentator did not seem to agree on this. When the castor's words were finished and Lee Jung-hoo's batting scene was replayed, the commentator responded "Well, that's a bit of a question (Well, I mean that's the question)." It can be read as meaning that it is okay to give an infield hit depending on the point of view, not just an infield error.

However, the ruling was not reversed. In the end, Lee Jung-hoo ended the game with no hits in four at-bats and one strikeout. His batting average for the season dropped slightly to 0.244 (78 hits in 320 at-bats). San Francisco was defeated 2-11.



Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com

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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.