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Opening Day freezes fanatics
Unpredictable weather leaves MLB fans in cold
The start of baseball season brings many things to mind: freshly-cut grass, perfectly manicured diamonds, not to mention insanely overpriced beer and peanuts. It also indicates the time of year when you want to stock up on your long underwear, blankets, and ponchos.
Steve Silva, recently noted on Boston.com, that there is a major possibility that opening day for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park could be a washout, considering the National Weather Service is predicting "showers" in the afternoon with a 90 percent chance of rain.
In fact, one MLB opener has already been postponed. The White Sox were set to play the Royals on Monday in Chi-town, but the game has already postponed due to snow.
Opening day in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Mets and Reds could be chilly as well. The forecast in Cincy calls for a high of 43 degrees and a 60 percent chance of rain or snow showers. Baltimore is expecting a high of 51 degrees and showers where the Orioles will take on the Yankees. The Cardinals and Pirates will throw the first pitch on Monday in a potential windy and snowy day in St. Louis, Missouri where the high is expected to be 39 degrees.
Other opening day cities, which are considered warm-weather areas, are: Arlington, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Diego, California, and Anaheim, California. The Twins and Blue Jays will host openers as well, but both those home teams play in domes or have retractable roofs. On the same note, the Twins will move into a new ballpark in 2010, Target Field, which will be "dome-less."
Clearly, MLB cannot simply avoid these chilly cities completely during the beginning of the season. Each team needs its allotted number of home games and ticket sales in order to maintain fair play.
There's really no clear answer for this problem. Moving the start of the regular season is an option, but that could lead to more game "suspensions" late in the playoffs and World Series, like we saw last year in Philadelphia.
As for now, fans will continue to pack new and old stadiums as they cheer on their team with the renewed hope a fresh season brings. But as the sun shines in San Diego and Tampa, and snow falls in Denver and Boston, the show must go on.
Steve Silva, recently noted on Boston.com, that there is a major possibility that opening day for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park could be a washout, considering the National Weather Service is predicting "showers" in the afternoon with a 90 percent chance of rain.
In fact, one MLB opener has already been postponed. The White Sox were set to play the Royals on Monday in Chi-town, but the game has already postponed due to snow.
Opening day in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Mets and Reds could be chilly as well. The forecast in Cincy calls for a high of 43 degrees and a 60 percent chance of rain or snow showers. Baltimore is expecting a high of 51 degrees and showers where the Orioles will take on the Yankees. The Cardinals and Pirates will throw the first pitch on Monday in a potential windy and snowy day in St. Louis, Missouri where the high is expected to be 39 degrees.
Other opening day cities, which are considered warm-weather areas, are: Arlington, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Diego, California, and Anaheim, California. The Twins and Blue Jays will host openers as well, but both those home teams play in domes or have retractable roofs. On the same note, the Twins will move into a new ballpark in 2010, Target Field, which will be "dome-less."
Clearly, MLB cannot simply avoid these chilly cities completely during the beginning of the season. Each team needs its allotted number of home games and ticket sales in order to maintain fair play.
There's really no clear answer for this problem. Moving the start of the regular season is an option, but that could lead to more game "suspensions" late in the playoffs and World Series, like we saw last year in Philadelphia.
As for now, fans will continue to pack new and old stadiums as they cheer on their team with the renewed hope a fresh season brings. But as the sun shines in San Diego and Tampa, and snow falls in Denver and Boston, the show must go on.
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