'No Professional Baseball This Weekend' KBO Cancels Three-Day Series from the 7th to 9 Due to Heatwave Impact → Games to Start at 7 p.m. for the Time Being

*This content was translated by AI.

Although the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) quickly formulated countermeasures against the scorching heat covering the Korean Peninsula, this regulation has become meaningless. Ultimately, the KBO decided to take a break until this weekend when record-breaking high temperatures continue.

On the 6th at 3 p.m., the KBO held an emergency executive committee meeting at the Baseball Hall in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and announced decisions after discussing league operation plans due to recent extreme heatwaves.

First, it was decided to cancel 15 games scheduled to be held from the 7th to 9 at five stadiums nationwide (Seoul Jamsil, Suwon, Daejeon, Daegu, Changwon).

League games will resume on the 11th. To minimize the impact of heat as much as possible, game start times have been adjusted so that weekday games begin 30 minutes later and weekend games begin one hour later, both at 7 p.m.

However, Kiwoom Heroes, which uses Korea's only domed stadium as their home field, will start weekday games at 7 p.m., but on weekends, Saturday games will begin at 6 p.m. and Sunday games at 2 p.m., as before.

According to NEWS1, the emergency executive committee meeting that day was attended by KBO Secretary-General Park Geun-chan, managers of all 10 professional baseball teams, and Jang Dong-cheol, Secretary-General of the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association. KIA manager Sim Jae-hak participated in the emergency response meeting via video conference due to urgent scheduling conflicts. They engaged in in-depth discussions on comprehensive league operation policies and safety measures.

KBO Secretary-General Park Geun-chan explained, "We expected the heatwave to continue through the weekend, and we determined that measures were necessary for the safety of players and fans. To ensure sufficient preparation, we decided to take a heatwave break until this weekend and resume games starting next Tuesday."

On the 31st, a heatwave major alert was issued in Busan, yet games were held as scheduled without any measures. This led to concerns when Lotte Giants catcher Son Seong-bin exhibited symptoms suggestive of heat-related illnesses, including headaches, vomiting, and elevated body temperature. Subsequently, the Lotte-Samsung game and NC-KIA game scheduled for the 1st at Busan Sajik Stadium and Changwon NC Park were canceled due to the heatwave, as was the NC-KIA game on the 2nd at Changwon NC Park.

There had been cases of game cancellations due to heatwaves before. In 2024, four games were canceled due to extreme heat: LG Twins vs. Lotte Giants on August 2 in Ulsan; Kiwoom Heroes vs. Doosan Bears and LG vs. Lotte on August 4 at Jamsil and Ulsan; and Doosan Bears vs. Samsung Lions on August 22 in Pohang.

However, there was no clear regulation regarding cancellations until then. On the 4th, the KBO refined its operational standards based on the criteria for issuing heatwave special warnings by the Korea Meteorological Administration. A heatwave major alert is issued when the daily maximum apparent temperature is expected to reach 38°C or higher, or the daily maximum temperature reaches 39°C or higher; in such cases, game cancellations become possible. During a heatwave warning (daily maximum apparent temperature of 35°C or higher for two consecutive days), games may be delayed by up to one hour. During a heatwave advisory (daily maximum apparent temperature of 33°C or higher), games will proceed as scheduled.

Based on these standards, the Doosan-NC game at Jamsil and the KIA-KT game in Gwangju were canceled on the 4th. However, an incident occurred during the SSG-LG game in Incheon Munhak, which proceeded despite falling short of the threshold by about one degree. Near the end of the game, a male spectator in his 20s lost consciousness and collapsed, receiving emergency treatment before being transported to a nearby hospital; the game was suspended. Another male in his 20s also lost consciousness after the game ended. According to the team, a total of 25 spectators reported symptoms of heat-related illnesses.

Ultimately, the KBO canceled all scheduled KBO League and Futures (minor league) games planned for the 5th and 6. On the afternoon of the 6th, representatives from the KBO, managers of all 10 teams, and officials from the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association convened an emergency executive committee meeting to immediately avoid the intense heat and take measures to minimize the impact of the hot weather.

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*This content was translated by AI.