Two days ago, Park Byung-ho (Samsung Lions) and Cole Irvin (Doosan Bears) were at the center of the controversy. Why did they engage in a battle of nerves, and how could they reconcile?

▲Details of the battle of nerves

In the Korea Professional Baseball league, Doosan's foreign pitcher Cole Irvin started in the home opener against Samsung on the 28th at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium, and after the seventh inning, he unexpectedly had a confrontation with Park Byung-ho on the field.

The situation unfolded as follows. In the seventh inning, with two outs and a runner on second base, Cole Irvin faced Park Byung-ho. After a wild pitch allowed the runner Kang Min-ho to advance to third base, he was in a disadvantageous situation at a 3B-1S count and threw a 151 km/h fastball on the sixth pitch, resulting in Park Byung-ho hitting a pop-up to right field. The inning ended.

As he was entering the dugout, Cole Irvin said something to Park Byung-ho, who was at first base. At that moment, Park Byung-ho was caught on the broadcast screen shouting at Cole Irvin, expressing his dissatisfaction, and the umpire, Yang Eui-ji, and Kang Min-ho gathered around to calm the agitated Park Byung-ho. Cole Irvin, undeterred, raised his arms to the home fans at first base to celebrate achieving a quality start with no runs in seven innings.

After the game, Cole Irvin said, “I was excited because I finished the seventh inning well, and in a way, I was also excited because of cultural differences.” He noted, “If there was a possibility of misunderstanding, I would like to meet Park Byung-ho tomorrow and clear up the misunderstanding.”

When asked what he had said to Park Byung-ho, he avoided the question, saying, “It might have been caught on the broadcast screen, but I don't want to repeat that here.”

▲How did both teams' managers see it?

Doosan's manager Lee Seung-yeop was unaware of the battle of nerves between the two players during the game. Meeting on the 29th, Lee Seung-yeop said, “I didn’t know during the game, I found out after watching the highlights,” and added, “Such things can happen during a game. It seems like an apology is necessary because of a mistake, but if one gets too ahead of themselves during the game, their actions can become unexpectedly large. If misunderstandings arise, they can be cleared up. What happened during the game can be resolved afterward. I don't know the details either.”

He continued, “I think Irvin was probably feeling quite excited. He seemed very eager to win.”

Samsung's manager Park Jin-man said, “It's a cultural difference. In Korea, we do various things, including 'bat flips'. This is because it's considered a form of fan service in our country.” He added, “It seems that the foreign player is experiencing a cultural difference in his first year in the KBO league, and he mentioned that they would talk separately. I think if he learns about Korean culture in the future, there will be no unfortunate incidents.”

He added, “Park Byung-ho is not the type to provoke first. Also, he is a player who has experienced Major League Baseball in the U.S.” He explained, “It was probably provocative enough that Park Byung-ho reacted in that way. I think he felt that the tone and intonation of Cole Irvin's words were unpleasant.”

According to records, Park Byung-ho debuted in Major League Baseball with the Minnesota Twins in 2016, while Cole Irvin debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019. Thus, Park Byung-ho is three years senior to Cole Irvin in Major League terms. Upon hearing this, manager Park Jin-man joked, “Then Cole Irvin should have come over and said hello sooner. That’s Korean culture. He needs to adapt quickly.”

▲Cole Irvin visits the Samsung locker room directly

Cole Irvin kept his promise and personally sought out Park Byung-ho before the Samsung game on the 29th. Around 4 p.m., after Park Byung-ho's training was completed, he headed to the Samsung locker room on the third-base side with an interpreter to talk about the previous day's confrontation and clear up the misunderstanding.

According to Doosan officials, when Park Byung-ho shared his experiences from his time in Major League Baseball, Cole Irvin said, “I just arrived in Korea, and I will learn about Korean culture in the future,” expressing his apology. Park Byung-ho coolly accepted this, and the two players wished each other well.

The controversy over the battle of nerves that heated up Jamsil Stadium was resolved with Cole Irvin's apology within a day.

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