How hot was it that the professional baseball game was canceled?
I got off at KTX Ulsan Station around 3 p.m. to watch the Lotte Giants-LG Twins match, which was scheduled to be held at Munsu Stadium in Ulsan on the 1st.
As soon as I got off, the words “Wow, it’s hot” automatically popped out. He also said, “Playing baseball in this weather?” I thought back to when I had felt such breathtaking heat. When I went to Bangkok, Thailand to cover soccer in 2020, I think the midday weather was similar at that time.
I moved to Munsu Stadium thinking, “I will still be able to play baseball though.” Munsu Stadium is located outside the city, which is a stadium, a parking lot, and a structure where there is no shade. Seeing sweat pouring down the face of the maintenance staff in charge of parking, I thought it was unusual. I even worried that ‘this would be a big deal.’
The weather in Ulsan hit 35 degrees Celsius at that time. The temperature felt added. Even in the evening, the forecast continued to hit 36 degrees. Munsu Stadium was an artificial turf. The heat-containing grass, the heat that the grass pumped again, was great.
When I arrived at the stadium, Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung said, “It’s not easy to play in this weather today.” It was the first time I had heard from a professional baseball manager that the game would be difficult due to the heat. But it was more important that the words were never exaggerated.
LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also agreed with the cancellation, saying, “Playing baseball on artificial turf is like dying in this weather.” Both coaches minimized outdoor training for players. It was a weather that could not be effective at all.
Thursday’s match supervisor was Heo Sam-young, former manager of the Samsung Lions. It was interesting to see a match supervisor come out to the ground with a thermometer to check the geothermal heat. Huh, who pointed his finger at the ground with his palm, was surprised and let go. The thermometer hit 50 degrees Celsius. It must have been a higher temperature than that because the maximum temperature was 50 degrees Celsius. Then, about 10 minutes later, the decision was made to cancel the game. The cancellation of the first heat wave (based on games played in the first division) in the KBO League was confirmed as such. 메이저사이트
After the minimum was confirmed, I went down to the ground. I touched the grass myself. It was extremely hot. Considering that it cooled a little after 5 p.m., I can’t imagine how much hotter it would have been around 3 p.m. And regardless of whether it’s simply hot or not, it took at least an hour or two while the weather was cool to lose all the heat on the artificial turf, so the game was unreasonable.
The game and the players are important, but the health of the spectators and the host had to be considered as well. Players are less worried because they are well-trained, but the most worried was the hosting staff who were constantly exposed to the sun in the same position. Since most of them were young employees such as part-time workers, there was a risk of a big accident.
It is difficult to make a case of anything for the first time in history. It is because of the burden. Still, the KBO’s decision this time was bold and the right one. There must have been many people who felt sorry for Ulsan City, which can play only six games a year, fans who missed an in-person opportunity, and team marketers, but it is too difficult to block after the bank burst. It was wise to take preventive measures before the ball burst.
