The Heat Is On

On This Day In History
1987: Lynn Cox swims into communist territory

Quote Of The Day
"There are no limits on how much the heart can love, the mind can imagine or the human being can achieve."
(Lynn Cox)

It was great to get back to watching the High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium again. It stopped allowing spectators for a couple of years during the pandemic. Spectators were allowed in last year but I did not feel comfortable going; not worth catching coronavirus no matter how much I enjoy baseball.

I made a good decision going today rather than yesterday. With the  temperature reaching a high of 37 degrees yesterday, a total of six players had to be removed from the field suffering from heat related injuries. Today there was some cloud and the maximum temperature was a relatively "mild" 32 degrees. Yesterday, my daughter and I had a long discussion about what needs to be done to make this tournament safer, a discussion which is taking place quite widely on social media and on national televsion and radio. With global warming on the rise, it's only a matter of time before one or more of these poor young men will die on the field. Meanwhile, the owners of Koshien stadium, where the event is held twice a year (summer and spring), make obscene amounts of money charging admission fees to the tournament not only to the public but also to the parents of the players. Of course, the players are not paid, they are just high school students playing their hearts out for this, the second biggest dream of all high school baseball players (the first, of course, being to get a contract with a major league team after graduating.)

One suggestion is to put a roof on the stadium; I'm sure the owners have enough money. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as it sounds to put a roof on a baseball stadium. In order to do so, two neighbouring shopping malls and a major elevated highway would need to be demolished. Not really practical. 

Another possibilty is to move the events to the nearby Osaka Dome baseball stadium which does have a roof. The problem with that is much the appeal of the Koshien High School Baseball Tournament is tied to the stadium as much as the tournament so, if it was moved, it would lose an enormous amount of its popularity. 

Probably the most practical solution is to make the games start earlier in the morning, before it gets too hot, have a hiatus during the heat of the day, and then play an early evening and a night game. Inconvenient, yes, but far more preferable than killing these admirable and passionate young sportsmen. 

Eye Of The Tiger