Well, it seemed like a good storyline, a foreign manager in his first season in Korea, taking a perennial dog into the playoffs for the first time in eight years, a rag tag bunch of kids who didn’t even know which way to run around the bases when the season started.
Ok, I made that last part up, but I’m searching for answers here folks. Lotte dropped Game 2 of its best-of-five series with Samsung, and will now have to win two games in flat-as-f*ck Daegu to bring the series back to Busan. The Giants are on life-support, folks.
Park Jin-man golfed a bases loaded double off the wall in left (that, had it been just a couple feet higher, would have been a grand slam) to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning en route to a 4-3 win and a commanding 2-0 series lead.
Son Min-han was decent, but not spectacular for Lotte. He ended up going just 4 2/3, walking three and giving up two runs. However, Kang Yeong-shik took the loss for the Giants. It was he who loaded the bases in the seventh prior to Park’s double off Choi Hyang-nam.
Likewise Samsung’s starter John Ennis got a quick hook, lasting just 2 2/3 innings before getting lifted for Jung Hyun-wook, who was really the key to the game for Samsung tonight. His line: 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER and 4 K. He picked up the win.
I would write more on this, but it’s late and frankly, it’s not the most fun thing to report. Lets look at some photos.
This is evidently Samsung’s “thing.” I saw a lot of players pointing at the sky. I guess when you live in valley you might point to sea level at times.
A resourceful Lotte fan was pointing a laser in the eyes of Samsung’s catcher Jin Gap-yeong during the early part of the game. Several warnings were issued, but security had trouble finding the offender. Eventually the fan was tracked via the broadcast booth and thrown out. Just another day at Sajik.
Also according to this article 1200 Samsung fans were turned away at the gate today, this despite the fact that 2000 tickets were promised to Lions fans. The article guesses only 500 Samsung fans were allowed into the stadium. Whatever, it’s not like they won’t be able to go to Game 3 at the Daegu Baseball Rat Trap.
Those who were let in were confined to a well-guarded section. After Che Tae-in’s home run in the fourth inning a drunk Lotte fan got in a fight with a Samsung fan. No word on who won the fight, but my guess is that the Lotte fan did.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Dan // Oct 10, 2008 at 8:02 am
nice to see Bobby V. getting into the Lotte spirit (Orange trashbag on the head and all).
I still say Royster lights a fire under the Giants and they even up the series.
2 Shinsano // Oct 10, 2008 at 8:18 am
I was thinking that this morning. Not impossible. I’ve been surprised about all these fights and things, but I think that’s because I’ve never been here when Lotte and Samsung go at it in the playoffs. If the Giants win Game 3 it’s going to get interesting. If it comes back to Busan…wow.
3 Dan // Oct 10, 2008 at 8:24 am
yeah..i just read Jee-ho’s column and I guess it all began when some of Lotte’s fans walked into the Samsung section.
Personally, I don’t like how they split up the sections for fans (since it is general admission), but since they do, I guess it probably wasn’t a smart move to go over and incite a fight (although Samsung fans walking into Lotte’s section probably would have been more interesting).
Busan fans are reminding me a little bit of East Coast fans (ok…they remind me of Philly fans…minus the battery throwing).
GO PHILLIES!
4 Shinsano // Oct 10, 2008 at 8:38 am
Oh, I hadn’t read that. He’s right on one hand…the timing with the proposed booze ban is particularly bad.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2895900
Shortly after I arrived in Korea Lee Seung-yeop was going for the HR record in Busan and the Giants intentionally walked him. The fans got so angry and threw so much crap on the field they had to stop the game and finish it the next day.
Busan people can sometimes be kind of…emotional. Sometimes they have a little bit of a hot temper. Especially if playing Samsung.
(that’s my stock Korean explanation)
5 Dan // Oct 10, 2008 at 9:10 am
yeah…no more kegs on the back of high school kids at stadiums? that would suck.
not sure how many fights would break out if it was a Doosan/Lotte game at Jamsil though.
I remember being in Korea during LSY’s chase and all I remember is the fishing nets being used to snag the balls.
6 Mike McStay // Oct 10, 2008 at 11:34 pm
And I am supposed to be surprised by this because….
On July 26th, my Daejeon friends went to Busan to watch the Hanwha Eagles play the Giants.
When the Eagles were winning and they were cheering for the Eagles, then Giants fans threw bottles of piss and water at the Eagles Fans. Security did deal with it and a fight did almost break out.
I went to the game the next day and the Giants were winning and the fans left me alone. I had none of the bad things happen to me that my friends did the day prior.
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