The National High School Baseball Championship begins on the 7th. Koshien Stadium, where the tournament will be held, will celebrate its 100th anniversary on the same day. However, in recent years, games have been played in scorching heat, and talk of holding the tournament at a dome has frequently come up. Is this even possible? Is this a problem that can be solved by changing the venue? I pondered these issues ahead of the tournament. (Miyahata Yuzuru)
A “cooling time” was set aside at the end of the fifth inning to allow players to hydrate and cool down. This was at Koshien Stadium in August last year.
“High school baseball should be held in dome stadiums soon,” “It would be better if dome stadiums were rotated around the country.” Such voices can be found on the Internet. In fact, in recent years, games have been held at Koshien even on “dangerously hot” days when people were urged to “avoid strenuous exercise and non-essential outings.”
◆ A 10-minute “cooling off period” and a two-part system in the morning and evening may be introduced…
As a measure against the heat, last year the Japan High School Baseball Federation introduced a 10-minute “cooling time” after the fifth inning. Starting from this tournament, a “two-part system” will be introduced, dividing games into morning and evening on some dates. The start times of semi-final and final games will also be brought forward. If a “special heatstroke alert” is issued the day before a game, discussions will be held on whether to cancel the next day’s game.
◆ Even professional athletes suffer from heatstroke during night games
Even so, there are cases of professional baseball players suffering from heatstroke during night games. Some are of the opinion that “Koshien should be turned into a dome.” However, Koshien is surrounded by residential areas. Relocating it to a nearby area is not realistic due to its historical background. Even if a dome were to be built in the same place, there would be problems with the construction time and the limited space available, so it would not be easy.
Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka City
Holding the event at other domed stadiums would also likely be difficult, as issues regarding usage fees are likely to arise.
Daisuke Nakajima, a sports writer who is knowledgeable about high school baseball, said, “When I ask the players, they all say, ‘I want to play at Koshien.’ It’s the ‘sacred ground’ and symbol of high school baseball. I want them to be able to play at Koshien.” On the other hand, he also supports “holding the games at the dome,” saying, “Even in regional tournaments, there are a lot of players who have to be substituted midway through due to heat stroke. The Japanese summer is no longer a good climate for playing sports. If you think about the health of the players, a dome would be better.”
◆ Proposal to hold league matches in Hokkaido
Koshien, which opened a century ago, has been the scene of many historical events in high school baseball. However, only one team can win the championship flag each year. Many other baseball players essentially end their club activities when they lose in the regional tournament.
In an effort to change this situation, a league summer camp will be held in Hokkaido this August for high school seniors who did not make it to Koshien in the summer. The camp will be hosted by the Japan Baseball Innovation Association (Osaka Prefecture). On the final day, the camp will be played at Escon Field Hokkaido, the home field of the professional baseball team Nippon Ham Fighters.
Escon Field in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido
Nakajima said, “I understand how wonderful Koshien is and the dedication to it, but what will happen when it gets even hotter in the future? Perhaps if we hold it in another location, it might turn out to be a fantastic tournament.”
One issue is the location of the event, but some are also of the opinion that the dates should be changed.
Sports writer Kobayashi Shinya, who previously served as manager of a junior high school hardball baseball team, points out, “Japan’s baseball season now runs from September to October. High school baseball’s peak is too concentrated in the summer. It would be fine to have league games stretch into the fall.”
◆ “Ending in summer” – club activities called into question
Kobayashi is also one of those who question the “tournament format” of high school baseball, which ends in the summer. “In other sports, such as soccer, some club activities hold their final tournaments in the winter, but the majority of baseball club members finish their club activities before the summer vacation. Is that in the interest of high school students? The ideal high school life should be one in which students balance sports and studies until they graduate.”
The debate over whether to hold the event at the dome venue is a hot topic. It also seems to include a point on the nature of club activities for high school students.
2024-08-01 13:25:47
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