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The KBO, which completely canceled games yesterday (August 6) and today (August 7) due to scorching heat, has decided to suspend the schedule through this weekend. This preemptive decision was made in response to continuous heatwave forecasts, and the league is also considering the introduction of an official "heatwave rest period" starting next year.
Reporter Bae Jeonghun has the details.
[Reporter] Amid the sweltering heat, all evening games were canceled, prompting players to step out for training instead, with sweat streaming down their necks.
Portable fans and a sip of cold water are of little use in the blistering heat nearing 40 degrees Celsius.
[Choi Min-seok / Doosan Pitcher: Even when we just come out for a simple game of catch, we sweat so much, and it definitely feels a lot harder than usual.]
Holding an emergency executive committee meeting yesterday, the KBO decided to cancel all 15 weekend three-game series scheduled starting today.
[Park Geun-chan / KBO Secretary General: The heatwave is expected to continue through the weekend, and in order to adequately prepare for that, we will take a 'heatwave break' through this weekend...]
Changes are also anticipated for the league operations resuming next week.
For outdoor stadiums excluding the Gocheok Sky Dome, the game start times have been uniformly delayed to 7:00 PM. In addition, 4-minute cooling breaks will be made mandatory after the end of the 3rd and 7th innings, and after the end of the 9th inning if extra innings are played.
Not only will games be canceled when a serious heatwave warning is issued, but cancellations can also be decided more flexibly by taking the perceived temperature into account.
The KBO also plans to actively review plans to operate a "heatwave rest period" during the peak heat season starting next year.
(Video by Choi Ho-jun | Video Editing by Park Gi-deok)
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