Postponed by rain: Pirates at Cubs

With our season tickets in hand, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I waited in our house for three hours and 15 minutes before the game between the Cubs and Pirates was finally postponed due to rain. As I have written before, the Cubs new day-of-game ticket policy is not friendly when it rains since one must enter Wrigley Field as soon as they purchase a ticket.

If it is raining, I would recommend buying a ticket from a scalper or a fan on the street if possible. That way you do not need to wait inside Wrigley Field for the entire delay.

The rain started just minutes before the scheduled 1:20 pm first pitch between the Cubs and Pirates which meant the umpires would not start the game in rain, but may have played through if the game had started.

Based on the interruption of the Cubs schedule this season, this must be one of the rainiest seasons in recent years. Not to mention numerous rain delays and two games called before nine innings (May 13 and May 26), this was the fourth game I have attended this season that was postponed by rain. The other three also occurred at Wrigley Field on April 19, May 15 and June 16.

Crosstown Classic Postponed by Rain

In what I believe was a first – the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox planned to play a weekday night game at Wrigley Field Tuesday night. However, with a heavy rain coming down and no letup in sight, the Cubs postponed the game 10 minutes after the scheduled first pitch.

No makeup date has been announced, but I am hoping they will play a day-night Crosstown doubleheader the weekend of June 26th, 27th or 28th when they could play an afternoon game at Wrigley Field and play a night game at U.S. Cellular Field. Precedence has been set for a Crosstown doubleheader as the New York Mets and New York Yankees have played one three times on:

1) July 8, 2000 – day game at Shea Stadium, night game at Yankee Stadium
2) June 28, 2003 – day game at Yankee Stadium, night game at Shea Stadium
3) June 27, 2008 – day game at Yankee Stadium, night game at Shea Stadium

There has been a lot of rain in Chicago this spring. I have attended two White Sox games that were re-scheduled because of rain, two Cubs rain-shortened games, and this was the third postponed game I have attended this season – tying my postponed game record of 2002 and 2003.

Postponed by rain: Astros at Cubs

For the second time this season, I was planning to attend the Chicago Cubs game which was postponed by rain (the first game was on April 19). I was still in the house (the Ultimate Sports Wife and I never enter the stadium during a rain delay until the first pitch is thrown) watching the pre-game show when the game was officially postponed. If you do not have the option of sitting in your house, then I would recommend hanging out in a bar or restaurant until the game actually starts.

After the postponement, Nicole and I decided to eat lunch at our favorite restaurant around Wrigley Field – Pizza Rustica (located two blocks north of the bleacher entrance at 3913 N. Sheridan Rd). There is no other choice but to enjoy the bars and restaurants around Wrigley Field after a postponement.

Sunday Night Baseball: Cardinals at Cubs (Postponed)

For the first time since Friday, April 22, 2005, I was planning to attend a Major League Baseball game that ended up being postponed. Last night’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs was postponed two hours before the scheduled first pitch since it had rained steadily all day Sunday.

Rain Delay Rules
Since the Ultimate Sports Wife and I live so close to Wrigley Field we have one rule we live by – when it is raining, we do not leave our house until the first pitch is thrown. Once the first pitch is thrown, umpires will generally let games play on in a heavy rain. However, by entering the park before the game starts, fans may be susceptible to lengthy rain delays with no option to return to the park if they decide to leave during the delay.

MLB Postponed Game Notes
I have now attended 11 postponed MLB games. Nine of those games have come at Wrigley Field while the other two were at Pittsburgh (1996) and Oakland (1994).

I have attended three postponed games between the Cubs and Cardinals. The first postponed game occurred after Darryl Kyle passed away in his hotel room on June 22, 2002. In the second postponed game, the Cubs and Cardinals played four wild innings in torrential downpours on Mother’s Day (May 11, 2003). St. Louis led Chicago 11-9 when Eli Marrero suffered a severe right ankle sprain. Even though the rains did not let up the umpires called the game after the injury.