League to convene emergency meeting Thursday to review how games are conducted in extreme heat, draw up new safety guidelines
The Korea Baseball Organization said Wednesday it would cancel all games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as it prepares to overhaul safety measures, amid a record heat wave that has taken a growing toll on players and spectators.
The league will convene an emergency meeting Thursday with the general managers of all 10 clubs and representatives of the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association. Officials will review how games are conducted in extreme heat and draw up new safety guidelines, making safety their top priority.
The latest cancellations bring the number of games called off because of extreme heat this season to 15. Overall, 40 games have been canceled because of weather conditions, including rain.
The move follows the collapse of a 25-year-old spectator during Tuesday’s game between the LG Twins and SSG Landers in Incheon.
The man lost consciousness in the first-base cheering section at 10:02 p.m., during the bottom of the eighth inning. He received CPR and emergency care under the remote guidance of first responders and regained consciousness at the stadium. He was carried from the stands on a stretcher and taken to a hospital, accompanied by a club official.
A heat warning was in effect in Incheon at the time, which was forecast to reach as high as 37 degrees Celsius, just one degree below the threshold for the highest-level heat warning, which calls for an immediate halt to outdoor activities except for essential work. At the start of the game, the temperature stood at 34.7 C, with humidity at 66 percent.
Local reports said that aside from the spectator who collapsed, 25 other fans showed signs of heat-related illness during the game, with two requiring urgent medical attention.
The incident came on the same day the KBO made the unprecedented decision to cancel two regular-season games hours before their scheduled starts due to extreme heat.
At 12:45 p.m., the KBO called off the NC Dinos vs. Doosan Bears game at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium and the KT Wiz vs. Kia Tigers game at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, both scheduled for 6:30 p.m. It marked the first time in league history that games had been canceled so far ahead of schedule due to extreme heat, following the issuance of the highest-level heat warnings in the two areas.
Players also struggled in the sweltering conditions.
On Friday, Lotte Giants catcher Son Seong-bin was pulled from the game after just one inning with a headache, vomiting and a low-grade fever. Outfielder Hwang Seong-bin also experienced dizziness while running the bases.
Under new KBO guidelines unveiled Tuesday in response to the ongoing heat wave, if a heat warning or more severe alert is issued for the area around a stadium, the game may be delayed by up to an hour after consultation with the home team.
Games may also be called off by 1 p.m. on the same day if the highest-level heat warning is in effect. The alert is issued when temperatures are forecast to reach 39 C or feel like 38 C at the hottest point of the day.
junheee@heraldcorp.com
