“It’s time to break the stereotype.”
LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop is one of the baseball players who speaks out a lot about league issues. And through the three consecutive games of Ulsan Lotte from the 2nd to the 4th, manager Yeom Kyung-yeop made another suggestion to the league.
The three consecutive games of “Elot Rasico,” which were scheduled to be held in Ulsan, were not fully held. Special heat warnings were issued every day, and safety disaster messages related to heat waves rang out constantly. In particular, the Munsu Stadium in Ulsan, which was in an artificial turf environment, was emitting hot heat. The players did not train properly before the game, and managers inside and outside the stadium were gasping in the heat of the crowded field.
Eventually, the decision to cancel the heat wave was made on the 2nd. It was the first event in the 43-year history of the KBO League. As the geothermal heat of the ground exceeded 55 degrees, it was decided that the game could not be played.
The following day, the situation got better, with scorching sun and occasional clouds on the day. Nevertheless, the heat wave has not changed. Geothermal heat reached nearly 45 degrees Celsius and humidity was higher instead. However, the team pushed ahead with the game on the day. Neither Yeom Kyung-yeop nor Lotte coach Kim Tae-hyung were convinced that the team was forced to play, but the game was held as scheduled. Lotte won the game 8-3 as it displayed concentration at the last minute of the game after a close game.
The problem was that playing in the midst of a deadly heatwave had huge aftereffects. I thought the game was okay as the sun went down and evening came, but it was not. Both Lotte and LG players got sick. Jeon Joon-woo, the late Seung-min, Yoon Dong-hee and Information-geun showed signs of exhaustion after the game on Thursday and in the morning on Wednesday. At LG, Park Dong-won and Moon Bo-kyung showed symptoms of dizziness and vomiting, and went to work after receiving an IV on Sunday morning. Shin Min-jae’s condition also dropped sharply.
All of them were key players, and as a result of playing under the scorching sun for about three hours, many of their main players suffered from fatigue. The match was held at 5 p.m. on Wednesday with the heat wave warning continued and the game was held with more geothermal heat remaining. Eventually, the game was canceled again due to the heat wave.
The situation was no different at other stadiums. The game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Doosan Bears, which was scheduled to take place at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Wednesday, was also canceled due to heat waves. The situation worsened as the geothermal heat soared to nearly 50 degrees Celsius at Jamsil Stadium. Five spectators reportedly complained of heat illness at the Jamsil Stadium on Wednesday. One reportedly informed the Doosan team of his condition of heat illness and took measures at the medical office in the stadium, while the other four reportedly called 119 for treatment in an emergency car.
The entire Korean Peninsula has not cooled down due to the unprecedented heat wave. Professional baseball should also come up with countermeasures. Players, spectators, and stadium management personnel are all at risk due to different standards and environment from the past.
In response, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop suggested delaying the game even a little during hot weather. Ahead of Friday’s game, which was canceled due to the heat wave, Yeom said, “When I was playing baseball, I kept playing in artificial turf fields such as Daegu, so I got used to it. I was fine then. But now I am in a better environment to play baseball. Now I am used to playing in a better environment, not on artificial turf, so there is a risk in the current environment.”
“Now that we are becoming more tropical in the summer, I think it would be better to postpone the game from 6:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the hot weather of July and August. As the temperature has changed dramatically, I think it would be okay to start the game at 7 p.m. regardless of weekdays and weekends. We need to break down stereotypes,” he said.
“When I see the spectators’ seats, they will not be full until 7 p.m. All the fans can’t come in even though they have reserved tickets at 6:30 p.m. If we play at 7 p.m., both the fans and the players will be good,” he said. “We need to get out of the frame. We need to think about what will be effective and helpful for both the fans and the team. We need to play the game at 7 p.m. even now, fans at the third base of the away game in Jamsil will not be able to sit down.”
“Now that the crowd is full on weekdays, I think it’s a good idea to adjust the time so that fans can feel comfortable. Fans get tired if they stay in the sun. I met fans at the hotel yesterday (3rd), and when I asked if it was hot, they said it was very hot.”
Along with global climate change, Korea’s climate is also changing to a subtropical climate. Wet weather and sudden strong wind and squalls are continuing, which can be experienced only in Southeast Asia. In this process, it seems necessary to change regulations related to preparation for the game. 메이저놀이터