U-23 Baseball World Cup: Disciplinary Measures Issued for Clashes Between Korean and Venezuelan Players

The World Baseball Softball Confederation has taken disciplinary action against players from the U-23 Baseball World Cup in South Korea and Venezuela following a clash during a match. South Korean infielder Kim Du-hyeon (KIA Tigers) will serve a one-game suspension, while Hidalgo Medina will face a four-game suspension.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation announced the results of the disciplinary action by the U-23 Baseball World Cup Technical Committee on its website on the 10th.

The incident occurred during the opening round of the tournament held in Shaoxing, China the day before. It was in the top of the 7th inning when Korea was down 4-6.

When Bejarano Baiba bunted, Medina, the runner on second base, slid toward third base. However, Medina’s foot, which was raised high during the slide, hit Kim Du-hyeon’s ankle hard, who was supporting the base.

Kim Du-hyeon, who had collapsed, complained of pain and then, unable to control his anger, punched Medina in the waist from behind. Afterwards, Medina also swung his fist hard at Kim Du-hyeon’s face.

The situation was barely contained after the Venezuelan coach and third base umpire stopped them and a bench-clearing brawl ensued with players from both teams running out.

The tournament’s technical committee suspended Medina for four games for swinging a punch directly at his face during a dangerous slide that could have resulted in serious injury, and suspended Kim Du-hyeon for one game for punching Medina in the lower back first. Korea lost to Venezuela 4-8 that day.