The heat put a damper on a matchup today in the KBO. For the first time in its league’s history, a regular-season game between the LG Twins and the Lotte Giants scheduled in the southeastern city of Ulsan was canned today due to extreme heat. This is the first time a game was canceled in the league’s 42-year history due to a heat wave.
Dan Kurtz tweeted that the temperature in Ulsan on the playing field was 122 degrees Fahrenheit. In past seasons, games were canceled due to rain, snow, yellow dust, and COVID-19, but this marks the first time a heat wave has put a halt in the KBO. Per KBO regulations, games may be canceled in cities where the highest daily temperature has reached 35 degrees Celsius for at least two days.
It is also worth mentioning the city of Ulsan, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has been under this heat wave advisory for the past two weeks. Today, the game was listed to be played at Munsu Baseball Stadium, which serves as a secondary home stadium for the Giants. KBO officials said the temperature on the field had reached nearly 50 degrees Celsius (122 F). Additionally, Munsu Baseball Stadium uses artificial turf, and those fields do not cool down easily since there is no shade.
As for the game, the LG Twins scheduled Lee Sang-Young to pitch against Lotte Giants Charlie Barnes. The LG Twins are currently second in the KBO standings, while Lotte is second to last place. The event will be made up at a later date.
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WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/
