MLB Got It Right

I’m sure all Rays fans remember watching as the first World Series game in history was suspended in the middle of the sixth inning in Philadelphia. The Rays had their backs against the wall trailing the Phillies three games to one and had just tied the game at two. The umpires got together and decided that the conditions were just too bad to continue and play was halted,

with the Phillies set to bat in the bottom half of the inning.

The weather didn’t get any better as play was cancelled again the next day. Finally, 46 hours after they had stopped play, the game resumed and the Phillies quickly plated a run and regained the lead 3-2. They went on to win 4-3 and captured their first World Series title in almost 30 years. Did the delay affect the outcome of the game? That would be a hard conclusion to reach considering the Rays came back to tie the game at three before giving up the winning run in the seventh. The game, before it was suspended, was almost comical. The wind blew an easy pop-up out of the reach of Jimmy Rollins and players sliding into bases looked like they were hydroplaning across the base paths.

Stopping the game was the right thing to do. I don’t think anyone would dispute that. Should it have ever started? The wind and rain were steady, if not heavy, for the greater part of the night. I sat and watched what was supposed to be the pregame coverage last night on MLB Network and was wondering why they couldn’t. The conditions deteriorated through the night however, and the decision to not start the game in the first place, looked like one of the best moves baseball has made in a long time. Part of me wished they had used the same thought process that rainy night in Philadelphia. This time Major League Baseball got it right and game six will be played in far better weather and promises to provide the same entertaining baseball as the first five games of this series.

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