Game at 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 31, and game at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 1? With “heat wave cancellation” continuing until the end of August, there are voices calling for a change in the existing regulations for daytime games on weekends starting in September.
먹튀검증 KBO has pushed back the game time of the August Sunday and public holiday scheduled for 5 p.m. on the 6th to 6 p.m. At the time, KBO said, “We decided to change the start time of the 2024 KBO League Sunday and public holiday games to cope with the recent hot weather conditions,” adding, “We decided to start the game on Sunday and public holidays scheduled for August at 6 p.m. this season as a measure to secure the safety of spectators, players and field personnel following the recent heat wave and the issuance of special heat wave warnings.”
The move came after the cancellation of the first-team heat wave. KBO canceled the game between the LG Twins and the Lotte Giants, which was scheduled to be held at Munsu Baseball Stadium in Ulsan on the 2nd, due to the heat wave. The ground was hot even in the late afternoon due to the heat wave and the environment of the artificial turf stadium. The game was held on the 3rd, but players from both teams complained of exhaustion.
The game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Doosan Bears, which was scheduled to be held at Jamsil Stadium along with the match between LG and Lotte in Ulsan, was canceled due to heat wave. Jamsil Stadium is a natural turf field, but the temperature of the ground was comparable to that of Ulsan. In addition, the news that spectators fainted from the stands on the previous day also put pressure on the team to push ahead with the game. Eventually, the KBO adjusted the opening hours of games on Sunday holidays in August from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The heat wave still lingered even after three weeks. The game between Doosan and the Samsung Lions, which was scheduled to take place at Pohang Stadium on Tuesday, marked the fourth “cancellation of heat wave” in history. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop expressed his burden to play at an artificial turf ground even before the away game in Pohang. In fact, the last game of the three consecutive games was canceled due to heat wave.
With the cancellation of the heat wave until the end of August, the game will be held at 2 p.m. a week later. Next Saturday is August, so it starts at 6 p.m., and the Sunday that continued is September, so it is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
Announcing the opening of the game on Sunday at 6 p.m., the KBO said, “We will revise related regulations and come up with detailed supplementary measures through expert advice to ensure safe and smooth operation of the league for everyone in preparation for abnormal weather conditions.” However, there are no plans to delay the opening of the game on September 1.
KBO is not waiting for September without countermeasures. KBO is also aware of concerns about playing daytime games on September 1 amid repeated cancellations of the heat wave. However, since it is not easy to delay the opening time a week before the game, they say they will watch the situation while reviewing various scenarios.
Playing a 2 p.m. day game as a late 5 p.m. game or a 6 p.m. game is more difficult than starting at 6 p.m., an hour later.
Samsung has already made reservations for the KIA match and most of the tickets have been sold. Doosan will start reservations in the morning of the 25th, and SSG will be sold from the 28th. In addition to ticket sales, it is a problem that cannot be easily decided because it is a matter of several organizations. Some people welcome the cancellation of the heat wave, but some fans express dissatisfaction because their planned intuition has failed.
If the heat dissipates dramatically, worries about daytime running in September can naturally disappear. However, as of 8 a.m. on September 25, the maximum temperatures on September 1 are 31°C in Daegu, 30°C in Seoul and 29°C in Incheon.