Wintry conditions throw off schedule
MLB postponements run rampant
April showers — and snow, sleet and wind — are wreaking havoc on major league baseball.
No Ohtani in Kansas City. No Judge in Detroit. One less off day for a few more teams this summer.
Six more games were wiped out Sunday, running baseball’s total number of postponements to 21 just 2½ weeks into the season. It’s the majors’ highest number through the end of April since it had 26 in 2007, and a couple of weeks still remain this month.
The last time six games were wiped out in a day was Sept. 12, 2008, and that situation partly was caused by Hurricane Ike battering the Gulf Coast. More dicey weather was in the forecast for Monday, and Boston postponed its annual Patriots’ Day game for the first time since 1984.
“If it was up to me, no one would play north of Atlanta or east of Colorado in the first few weeks, but that’s not going to happen,” Braves reliever Peter Moylan said.
Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani was to pitch for the third time before Los Angeles’ game against the Royals was called off because of subfreezing temperatures.
Aaron Judge and the Yankees were set to play a doubleheader against the Tigers after a rainout Saturday, but the twinbill was pulled, too, with icicles all over Comerica Park. The last three games of Minnesota’s series at Target Field against the Chicago White Sox were lost to rain and then a blizzard.
Also postponed were Blue
Jays at Indians, and Braves at Cubs one day after the teams played through miserable conditions at Wrigley Field.
”It’s not about just getting games in,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “You want to be able to play the game on a major league-caliber, championship-caliber level.”
Tough to do on Sunday. The start of St. Louis’ game at Cincinnati was delayed for more than two hours because of the weather.
Fans and players wore ski masks at Citi Field, and free hot chocolate was available at the Fenway Park concession stands.
“I was miserable, nothing short of miserable,” Boston ace Chris Sale said after the Red
Sox beat Baltimore 3-1. “I said it when I came out of the game: ‘This is the most miserable I’ve ever been on a baseball field, by far, not even close.’”
It was 31 degrees in Kansas City with an 18-mph wind, making it feel like 20 degrees. A night earlier, the Angels and Royals finished in snow.
No such worries in San Diego. With temperatures in the 70s, the Padres playfully tweeted: “Attention: Due to weather, today’s game will be … played as scheduled.”
This major league season began on March 29 for its earliest start ever, excluding special openers in international sites such as Japan and Australia. It also spans 187 days, instead of 183, as part of the labor agreement between players and owners, but that extra room to maneuver is taking a hit.
Chicago’s game against Atlanta was rescheduled for May 14, creating a stretch of 11 games in 10 days for the Cubs and 16 straight games for the Braves without an off day.
Cleveland plays 18 games in three cities over 17 days after its weekend against Toronto was rescheduled for a traditional doubleheader on May 3.
The Angels get to return to Kansas City on June 25, between a home series against Toronto and a visit to Boston. The Yankees had a nine-game, three-city trip turn into 11 games and four cities when they were rescheduled for a doubleheader June 4 in Detroit.