Baseball teams trying to fight off Japan's torrid summer heat
On June 27, Tatsuya Imai, an ace pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization's Pacific League, was replaced after suffering heatstroke while pitching at a game held at the team's Belluna Dome stadium in the city of Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
The stadium, which has a roof but no outer walls, lacks an air-conditioning system that covers all corners of the facility.
"We are taking the heat seriously as a challenge," an official said.
Starting this month, large mist sprayers have been installed near spectator seats. For players, new commercial freezers equipped with ice packs have been set up under the dugout.
The Hiroshima Toyo Carp, based in the western city of Hiroshima, are taking measures to cope with the heat during pregame practice sessions.
To reduce players' exposure to the sweltering heat, the Central League team organizes batting practices for its reserve players early in the day and holds the batting portion of its full-team practice indoors.
Team coach Akihito Fujii said, "We are trying to avoid players being overexposed to the sun."
Many professional baseball teams, including the Carp and the Hanshin Tigers, another Central League team, have started to allow players to wear shorts during training.
Most Tigers players have adopted shorts as part of their training gear this month, with Teruaki Sato saying, "I feel more comfortable."
Many teams are also working on heat acclimation efforts. This season, the Yokohama DeNA BayStars held its batting practices outside for a week around June to help its players get used to the heat.
A team trainer said, "We hope that players will be able to enhance their performance even in hotter weather."
Some players of the Chunichi Dragons, based at Vantelin Dome Nagoya in the central city of Nagoya, have conducted running training outside to prepare for games played as the visiting team in open-air stadiums. Pitcher Takahiro Matsuba holds practice sessions about twice a week at an outdoor stadium.
Players are also taking their own precautionary measures, with Jon Duplantier of the Tigers eating umeboshi pickled plums to replenish sodium.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
6 hours ago
- NHK
Dangerous, record-high heat forecast for locations in Japan
Japan's weather officials say that temperatures across the country on Wednesday may reach record highs, posing a danger to people in eastern Hokkaido, including areas near the Sea of Okhotsk. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the heat wave is expected to intensify across the country as a high pressure system blankets the archipelago. The mercury has topped 38 degrees Celsius in several places, including in the town of Bihoro in Hokkaido. Similar readings were seen in the prefectures of Fukushima and Kyoto. In Hokkaido's Shari Town, a woman in her 90s died after suffering from suspected heatstroke. Heatstroke alerts have been issued across Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa Prefecture in the south. High temperatures during the day and cold air above are expected to cause extremely unstable atmospheric conditions. Weather officials say that inland areas may see sudden changes on Wednesday afternoon, including the possibility of heavy rainfall.
NHK
11 hours ago
- NHK
Northern Japan bakes under intense heat
Scorching heat has been hiting Japan, including areas that are usually cooler than other parts of the country. NHK World's Tokuda Ryosuke explores the impacts in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, and meteorologist Tsietsi Monare explains what's behind the conditions.
Japan Times
12 hours ago
- Japan Times
Disappointing start to Nagoya tournament turns into fascinating final stretch
Ten days into the ongoing Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament and Ichiyamamoto — a 31-year-old journeyman who hasn't posted more than 8 wins in a basho since 2023 — stunningly led the race for the Emperor's Cup going into Wednesday's bouts. Coming off back-to-back losing records — with the most recent being a 5-10 outing in May — no one could have predicted such a hot start for the Chuo University graduate. The big question, of course, is whether or not Ichiyamamoto can keep his title charge going over the meet's final third, and become the 12th first-time champion to be crowned since January 2020. Given that he hasn't had to face any of the 16 highest-ranked men over the tournament's first ten days, the answer to that question is 'probably not.' Sumo's schedule makers will almost certainly ensure that if Ichiyamamoto is going to taste glory for the first time, he'll have to do it the hard way. And while he might have sole possession of first place at the two-third mark, a single-win lead over a chasing pack — including former ōzeki Kirishima, three-time champion Mitakeumi, ageless ironman Tamawashi along with rising stars Aonishiki and Kusano — isn't very secure. With newly crowned yokozuna Onosato also just one win further back, it's far more likely that the Emperor's Cup ends up claimed by one of his pursuers than by Ichiyamamoto himself. But even if he ultimately fails in his quest for silverware, Ichiyamamoto has been a bright spot in a tournament where fans' hopes for something not seen in years were almost immediately extinguished. Following Onosato's promotion to sumo's highest rank earlier this summer, everyone in the sport was looking forward to a first title showdown between yokozuna since March 2020. Those hopes were quickly dashed when Hoshoryu suffered three straight losses from the second day and had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury. It was an unfortunate turn of events that means the 26-year-old grand champion will now finish his first three basho as a yokozuna with a record of 18 wins, 12 losses and 15 absences. That's not what anyone involved in sumo wants to see, and the sooner Hoshoryu gets back into action and wins a first title as a yokozuna the better — not just for his own career and legacy, but the sport as a whole. On the other side of the banzuke, Onosato has, by his own lofty standards, not been having a great tournament either. Three losses in 10 bouts doesn't rule him out of title contention by any means, but the sport's biggest star will need to recapture the form shown over the past few months if he is to claim a third straight championship. But even should Onosato lose one or two more matches, it wouldn't be a cause for concern as the first tournament after promotion to yokozuna is notoriously difficult for wrestlers — particularly younger ones — to do well in. With both yokozuna far from their best, there is a bigger window of opportunity for the aforementioned pack currently chasing Ichiyamamoto. Aonishiki (left) beats Oshoma by oshidashi at IG Arena on Saturday. | JIJI Aonishiki's incredible rise continues unabated with the 21-year-old from Ukraine looking like one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the sport despite only having joined professional sumo two years ago. Just three tournaments into his top division career he is making a 2024 column — which was described at the time as far too optimistic — now look understated. Aonishiki is in the opposite situation to Ichiyamamoto. He has won eight of his first 10 bouts while facing only the highest ranked men in the sport. Everyone that he will be matched up with across the final five days will be of a lower rank. In theory that gives the former refugee, who fled to Japan to escape war in his home country, the inside track to the Emperor's Cup. The mental side of sumo is arguably the most important, however, and being in such a high pressure situation at such a young age will be testing. If Aonishiki can hold his nerve in the spotlight it will create another chapter in what is fast becoming one of sumo's most fascinating stories. In his favor is the fact that all the other main title challengers will have tougher run-ins and are likely to drop bouts to each other. Should Onosato not turn things around, it appears as if Kusano and Kirishima are the main barriers to an Aonishiki championship. Kusano, who is making his top division debut, is currently riding a four-month hot streak. The Nihon University graduate reached sumo's highest tier on the back of consecutive jūryō division titles — something that prompted Hiro Morita, longtime NHK announcer and face of the Japan Sumo Association's English-language YouTube channel, to predict an Emperor's Cup win for the rookie in Nagoya earlier this month. Given that, when Takerufuji managed that exact feat in March 2024 he became the first debutant to win the title in over a century, Morita's prediction seemed outlandish at the time. Ten days later that's not the case, and Kusano has a viable path to history over the next five days if he can keep his hot streak going. Kirishima, meanwhile, not only has legitimate hopes of claiming a third title but also an outside chance of making it back to ōzeki should he do so. With a perfect run-in for the veteran adding up to a combined 32 wins over three tournaments — it's a score that would appear to be slightly short of the oft-cited mark of 33. That's not an official guideline, however, and sumo has just one ōzeki currently. A third Emperor's Cup for a former ōzeki could swing things in Kirishima's favor. However things turn out, a tournament that started in a disappointing manner heads into the final stretch with a range of exciting possible outcomes.
