Getty Image / Mary Diciccio
Monday night was supposed to be a big night in the Bronx. Yankee Stadium was supposed to be the host of the winner-take-all game 5 of the ALDS with the Cleveland Guardians and the home team Yankees. This came a night after Gerrit Cole saved the Yankees’ season by pitching a gem.
But, things did not go as planned on Monday evening, as the weather interfered with plans to play the game. And yes, weather issues do happen in outdoor sports such as baseball.
Yankees and Guardians Fans had to wait nearly three hours to find out whether they would play the game
The first pitch was supposed to start just after 7 PM on the East Coast. But, the rain started coming down approximately a half-hour before that, and the tarp was brought out.
Of course, that rain was in the forecast all day, and they could’ve just postponed it till Tuesday, allowing fans to go home. But, Manfred and company aren’t that smart.
So, people waited.
I like to think all the rain delays before have prepared me for this moment. Just gotta trust your preparation and execute. Same game.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) October 18, 2022
and waited…
Given that the tarp is still very much on, pretty much no shot this game starts before 10. Which is not the ideal circumstances for the most important game of anyone's season, but life is not played under ideal circumstances. So here we are.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) October 18, 2022
Finally, at 9:35, the game was postponed.
This is the 2nd rainout in the series after game 2 was postponed last Thursday. This means the winner of tomorrow’s game will have to play 7 times in 8 days potentially in the ALCS.
People are furious with the handling of the situation
people are rightfully upset by this.
Gates opened to fans at 5 pm. The Yankees and MLB announced at 6:20 pm that the scheduled 7pm game would start in a delay. There were no official updates between the announcement of the delay and the announcement of the postponement at 9:35 pm. Awful.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) October 18, 2022
One of the worst botch jobs by MLB that I can remember.
They knew the forecast tonight for a full day. Still had everyone show up like everything is normal then proceed to give no updates for 2.5 hours, all while *hoping* the forecast magically improved?
I mean what the hell.
— Andrew (@Andrew_Rotondi) October 18, 2022
And, some think it helps the Yankees a ton as it gives their taxed bullpen a chance to rest.
.@mlb delaying so yankees can get the bullpen a little recovery time. WEAK
— baseball gabb (@BaseballGabb) October 17, 2022
.@mlb delaying so yankees can get the bullpen a little recovery time. WEAK
— baseball gabb (@BaseballGabb) October 17, 2022
Not a good look for a league that struggles mightily with their public perception!