[Official Announcement] '71℃ Ground' Brought Players to Vomit... KBO Announces New Heatwave Measures, Cancels Busan and Changwon Games

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) recently introduced measures after heatwaves began affecting players' performance. The first step was canceling two games scheduled in Gyeongsang Province regions under a severe heatwave warning.

On the 1st, KBO officially announced: "We have decided to cancel the Samsung Lions vs. Lotte Giants game originally scheduled at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium and the KIA Tigers vs. NC Dinos game at Changwon NC Park due to extreme heat."

Starting from the previous day (July 31), a severe heatwave warning was issued in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Busan. The severe heatwave warning is the highest level of the newly introduced heatwave special bulletin as of June 1 this year, issued when the apparent temperature reaches or exceeds 35°C for two consecutive days or is expected to reach 38°C or higher in a single day.

Busan and Changwon were included. KBO explained: "The decision was made prioritizing the safety and health of spectators and player groups, based on forecasts indicating temperatures would remain at or above 37°C at game start time." It also stated that games canceled today (the 1st) will be rescheduled later.

Prior to the cancellations, KBO had already introduced heatwave countermeasures. This came after the Samsung-Lotte game proceeded despite a severe heatwave warning being issued for Busan the previous day. As a result, during the game, Lotte's Hwang Sung-bin complained of dizziness, and catcher Son Seong-bin showed symptoms of fever and vomiting, leading to his substitution after just two innings.

At that time, even though water was sprayed to lower the ground temperature at Sajik Baseball Stadium, which had soared to 71°C, it still neared 40°C, prompting early concerns on-site. However, according to KBO regulations, games could proceed if the highest daily temperature remained at or above 35°C for two consecutive days during a heatwave warning.

Voices were raised calling for new measures to reflect Korea's increasingly hot summer weather and ensure the safety of players and fans. In response, KBO introduced new countermeasures on the afternoon of the following day, the 1st.

KBO stated: "As record-breaking heatwaves continue, we will monitor real-time weather conditions and forecasts for areas where KBO League games are scheduled starting today (the 1st), prioritizing the safety of spectators and player groups when deciding whether to proceed with games."

It further added: "For games at all stadiums except Gocheok Dome, the KBO Game Operations Committee and each team's game managers will coordinate to allow for delayed starts of up to one hour from the originally scheduled start time as a priority measure."

Additionally, for regions under a severe heatwave warning, KBO stated it would actively consider cancellations, including delayed starts, with safety as the primary concern. The first targets were today's Busan Samsung-Lotte and Changwon KIA-NC games.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.