“If you play baseball here, you’ll die.”
At Munsu Stadium in Ulsan on Tuesday, when the regular season showdown between the LG Twins and the Lotte Giants was scheduled to take place. As soon as the two teams met with reporters, their coaches emphasized the weather and the environment of the stadium in turn. The weather in Ulsan reached 35 degrees Celsius on the day. In addition, the Munsu Stadium on artificial turf was even hotter in the sunshine.
“It’s actually hot, but the geothermal heat on the artificial turf is huge. The grass is so hot that it’s hard to hold hands and stand by,” Lotte coach Kim Tae-hyung said. “Last year, when I was a commentator, I told him that games in Pohang and Ulsan should not be held in the middle of summer. I welcome home games for the second ball, but we have to take the weather into consideration.”
Players could not easily come to the ground on the day due to massive geothermal heat. Lotte and LG players conducted training sessions at an indoor practice ground near the first base. Eventually, around 4:30 p.m., game management committee member Heo Sam-young and others checked the ground conditions and decided to cancel the heat wave. This is the first time in the 43-year history of the KBO League. After careful consideration, game management committee member Heo Sam-young and KBO also decided to cancel the heat wave for the first time in their history.
After the decision to cancel the heat wave was made, he supported the decision to cancel, saying, “If you play baseball here, you’ll really die,” adding, “It’s a 6:30 p.m. game, but it takes more than a few hours for the geothermal heat to fall out.”
In fact, it is not an easy decision for Lotte. Ulsan’s second pitch game, which has only six games this year, has already been held between July 16 and 18, and three consecutive games against LG were scheduled from July 2 to 4. Lotte has also decided to host its second Dream of Ground Series this season at the request of the Ulsan metropolitan government.
In connection with the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation this season, the club invited a total of 2,000 children from Busan and Ulsan to the Sajik Baseball Stadium to support local youth, providing opportunities for young people in Busan and Ulsan to fulfill their dreams during the Dream of Series game.
The winners of the Dream of Ground contest, which was held in June, will be revealed during the home game. The Dream of Ground series cheering song contest, which has been held since 2023, was held with the Busan Metropolitan Government and the Busan Information Industry Promotion Agency, and the 24-season cheering song “Our Shining Moment” is a winning work for 23 seasons.
We also invited a special first pitchman. First, on the 2nd, Triple-S Nagyung and Dahyun from Ulsan and Busan will throw the first pitch and hit the ball, respectively. On the 3rd, Kim Hee-jin, a volleyball player from IBK Industrial Bank, known as Lotte Fan, will pitch and hit the ball. On the last day of the series, Ho-jin and Ji-seop, members of the five-member boy band 2Z, will throw the first pitch and hit the ball, and a special performance by the band 2Z will also be prepared.
As the games were held in three consecutive games of “Elot Rasico” over the weekend, the tickets for the games were decided to be sold out. Not only the players but also the stadium staff decided to cancel the heat wave. After checking the geothermal heat on the day, the mercury in the thermometer exceeded 50 degrees Celsius to reach 55 degrees Celsius. The decision was made in consideration of everyone’s safety in many ways.
Everybody already knew that Munsu Stadium was artificial turf. Why did Munsu Stadium deploy the Second Ball game in midsummer during the heat wave season? The games were arranged after consultations between Lotte and Ulsan city authorities. Considering that the game was artificial turf, Ulsan games were originally arranged in April-June and September, not during the heat wave season. Six games were held from June 30 to July 2 (Doosan), and from September 5 to 7 (Samsung) last year. In 2022, two games were held against Kia Tigers from September 6 to 7.
As Lotte also had to move all of its infrastructure from Sajik, the second ball game is virtually an away game, but it had to consider its relationship with Ulsan City, which signed the second ball game agreement. Most of the Ulsan games were decided after consultation with the club at Ulsan City’s request. Lotte said this year, the schedule for the Ulsan games had to be decided belatedly due to the problem of installing an automatic ball determination system.
In addition, the group had to take into account its circumstances. Ulsan is also the hometown of honorary chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, the founder of Lotte Group. Lotte has no choice but to face a dilemma over its second pitch game. 안전놀이터