Baseball teams trying to fight off Japan's torrid summer heat

Japan Times

23-07-2025

Japanese professional baseball teams are working on ways to protect their players and fans from the country's sweltering 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.