It was a hot day at Lions Park in Daegu on the 20th, with a high temperature of over 30 degrees.

On a day when even standing still made you sweat, Samsung Lions’ native ace Won Tae-in cruised through the first inning against the KIA Tigers’ lineup.

In the top of the first inning, he gave up the first hit to Choi Won-jun, but he made a lightning-quick throw to catch the runner at second, drawing applause from the home fans. In the second inning, he gave up a hit to Na Sung-beom, but struck out to get the final out. In the top of the second, he retired the next three batters in order to set up a three-hit shutout inning.

But then there was an unexpected twist. As he took the mound to pitch the top of the third, a torrential downpour began. As the umpires called a halt to the game, so much rain fell that the first- and third-base dugouts, which are designed to be low to the ground, were ankle-deep in water.

The downpour, which was accompanied by thunder, stopped within 30 minutes. But puddles of water had already formed all over the field. Thanks to Lions Park’s excellent drainage system, the water began to recede, and with the groundskeepers scrambling, the game was resumed after 88 minutes.

But Won Tae-in was strange. Taking the mound, Won began throwing the so-called “arirang ball” against KIA’s Kim Tae-gun. A 95-kilometer fastball was followed by a 79-kilometer second pitch. The third pitch, which became a fielder’s choice, was also 93 kilometers. Won Tae-in himself covered his mouth with his glove and smirked after getting the out. Shortly after Won got the first out, the Samsung bench called him out and brought in Kim Dae-woo to pitch.

According to Article 5, Section 10 of the Baseball Rules, “Substitution of Players – Mound Visits,” “If a pitcher who is already in the game crosses the foul line at the beginning of an inning, that pitcher must pitch until the first batter is out or reaches first base. At the time of the rain interruption, Won Tae-in had crossed the foul line to pitch in the top of the third inning and was facing Kim Tae-gun, who was batting, so he had to complete his pitch before he could leave the mound.스포츠토토

Before the game resumed, Samsung manager Park Jin-man was seen talking to the umpire for a while. He seemed to be inquiring about the possibility of replacing Won Tae-in. With his shoulder already cooled down from the hour-long stoppage, Won had no choice but to throw the ‘arirang ball’ as he could have injured himself if he threw a fastball over 140 km/h again.