This weekend’s three-game Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) series between the Chunichi Dragons and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars was postponed due to the dangerous weather of Typhoon Shanshan.
The series, which was going to be held at Vantelin Dome Nagoya, the home stadium of the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya, Japan, was unaffected by rain and wind on the inside. However, the conditions outside are far too dangerous for players, coaches, and fans to attend the games. NPB made the right decision to postpone the series since the safety of everyone involved outweighs playing baseball games.
According to CNN, thousands of residents in southern Japan are left without power, and four million others were urged to evacuate their homes. Torrential wind and rain led to hundreds, if not thousands, of flight and bullet train cancellations and major businesses closing their doors.
“There are fears that the effects of the typhoon may spread further in the future,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said in a news conference Thursday. CNN reported on Thursday that Typhoon Shanshan is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by Thursday night. However, heavy rain and wind are anticipated.
According to Yahoo! Japan, the makeup dates of the three-game series between the BayStars and Dragons are yet to be determined. Both teams are in the bottom three of the Central League standings, with the BayStars in fourth place and the Dragons in fifth.
Friday’s game between the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Mazda Zoom- Zoom Stadium Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Japan, will also not take place due to potentially dangerous rain and wind. The defending champion Hanshin Tigers’ third game of their series against the BayStars was postponed on Thursday.
Each NPB team has around 30 games on their regular season schedule before postseason play begins in October.
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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/
Photo Credit: A notice requesting spectators wear a face mask is displayed on a giant screen at Yokohama Stadium. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
