MLB pros share how a cold Opening Day can change everything in a game
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Apr 1, 2021 2:45 PM EDT
Workers at Wrigley Field clear snow before the Chicago Cubs home-opener baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, in Chicago. The Cubs' game against the Pirates was postponed a day because of persistent snow that covered much of Wrigley Field, creating a scene more reminiscent of December than April. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
America's Pastime under a beating summer sun may be what you picture when you picture a memory of baseball games. However, with Opening Day starting this week, many areas around the country still have snow and winter on the mind.
Cold-weather games aren't a super rare occurrence amid the Major League Baseball season schedule that starts in March with Spring Training and ends in October (or rarely November) with the World Series. But, there's also a reason why those March preseason games are played in the perpetually warm states Florida and Arizona.
That reason?
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Fernando Rodney stands on the mound during a snow squall during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The Twins won 7-3. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Because cold games can be no fun. For the players trying to stay loose in the dugouts, for the fans bundled up in the stands -- and especially for hitters trying to make contact with the ball.
"In my personal opinion, it changes how much I attacked the inner-third of the plate to righties or lefties," Cleveland Indians pitcher Logan Allen told AccuWeather. "Teams get extremely uncomfortable in cold weather, so if you jam them it could take them out of the rhythm not only for the at-bat but for the at-bats to come."
This week, all 30 MLB teams were scheduled their seasons on April 1, the first time since 1968 that the league would have seen every team play its first game on the same day, but weather forced the postponement of one game before the first pitch could have been thrown.
While the early-April start won't matter much to some teams hosting in warmer locations, such as the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres or Miami Marlins, some more northern cities will have bitter temperatures to battle alongside their opponents this week.
Cleveland opens its season in Detroit playing the Tigers and could certainly be one of those teams making weather-conscious gameplan tweaks. As Allen told AccuWeather, a drop on the thermometer could not only affect the in-game strategy, but also how teams prepare beforehand.
For a pitcher like Allen, the right pregame preparation routine is needed to ensure proper flexibility and the adequate energy needed in order to hit the ground running from the very first inning.
"You have to start [preparing] a little earlier, sometimes make sure your body is just a touch warmer," Allen said. "Make sure you’re extra hydrated because you don’t realize [you're thirsty] because it’s cold."
Cleveland's pitching coach Carl Willis agreed with Allen, adding that moisture is another important component for pitchers to consider. On a cold night, low temperatures can zap the moisture on a pitcher's hand, making it more difficult to grip a ball and throw it accurately.
Willis himself was a pitcher with the Tigers, Reds, White Sox and Twins from 1984 to 1995. On Opening Day in 1985, Willis was playing for the Reds in Cincinnati against the Montreal Expos.
The game would feature multiple snow delays, frigid temperatures and gusty winds. By the end, Willis found the ball in his cold pitching hand with the game on the line.
"My most memorable cold-weather moment was Opening Day of 1985 when I as with the Cincinnati Reds, we beat the Montreal Expos with Terry Francona in the dugout and the game was delayed twice due to snow," Willis recalled to AccuWeather. "For some ungodly reason, [Reds' manager] Pete Rose put me in the game and I pitched the eighth and ninth and picked up the save on Opening Day."
As the Indians prepare to play the Tigers on Thursday, Willis could find himself dealing with déjà vu.
AccuWeather meteorologists say temperatures for the game are unlikely to be far above freezing and a brief rain or snow shower along with gusty winds are likely.
Father east, the weather has already readjusted the schedule for the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. The teams were originally scheduled to play on Thursday afternoon, but forecast showers forced the game to be rescheduled until Friday.
Meanwhile, back in Cincinnati, the Reds will be opening their season against the Cardinals in conditions that might also be similar to Willis' 1985 memories, although likely less extreme.
"Fans can expect the day to be partly sunny, breezy and chilly," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. "Wind gusts up to 35 mph are possible with the high temperature for the day reaching 41."
The weather is expected to be dry throughout the game.
The conditions may feel like a shock for local residents partly because of how nice conditions have been in the days leading up to the season opener. The city has seen thermometers crack the 70-degree mark six times in March, far above the historical average.
Comparatively, Thursday's forecast high of 41 would fall nearly 20 degrees short of normal.
Similar situations are also likely to leave Nationals' fans cold in Washington, D.C., as the team opens its season against the New York Mets. A morning shower should give way to drier conditions in the afternoon ahead of first pitch at 7:09 p.m., local time, although the nighttime start means temperatures are likely to plummet below 40 towards the end of the game.
In New York City, the Yankees will start their season against the Blue Jays in a comparably cold game.
"Rain is likely to linger into the morning before turning dry for the afternoon," Douty said of the game and its 1:05 p.m. first pitch. "Conditions will turn very windy as well with gusts of 40 mph throughout much of the day. The high for the day will reach 48, but AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be in the lower 30s during the afternoon."
The Chicago Cubs will also host the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday afternoon. A windbreaker, a jacket and gloves may be needed as persistent northerly winds are expected to blow all day with temperatures unlikely to crack 40 degrees. That wind will make the temperatures feel like they are in the low 30s throughout the day, Douty said, making Opening Day feel far colder than the average high of 53 on April 1.
Not every MLB player will have to start their season bundled up and in long sleeves, however. Particularly for teams in California and Florida, the spring opener may feel more like midsummer.
The Oakland Athletics open their season hosting the Houston Astros on a warm Thursday evening that should see temperatures dip below 70 degrees in time for first pitch and minimal wind.
Farther down the coast, the Los Angeles Angels will start around the same exact time, shortly after 7 p.m. local time, but will see higher temperatures as they host the Chicago White Sox. AccuWeather meteorologists forecast the game to start with temperatures above 80 degrees.
A similar scene is expected in San Diego, when the Padres host the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:10 p.m. with temperatures throughout the game likely to stay in the low 80s and dry conditions in the forecast.
As Alan Nathan, professor emeritus of physics at the University of Illinois, previously told AccuWeather, high temperatures can greatly impact the way a baseball flies through the air.
“For a long fly ball, a ball hit with a sort of home run trajectory, that’s a ball that’s hit at about 100 mph off the bat, maybe at a 30-degree elevation angle,” Nathan said. “The numbers that I have found just by looking at the data, are that a 10-degree Fahrenheit change in temperature will change the distance by something like 2.5 feet.”
For the Miami Marlins hosting the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday afternoon, those factors could certainly apply as well, with temperatures forecast to be around 80 degrees at time of first pitch, although afternoon rain showers could throw a wrench in game plans.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Sports
MLB pros share how a cold Opening Day can change everything in a game
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Apr 1, 2021 2:45 PM EDT
Workers at Wrigley Field clear snow before the Chicago Cubs home-opener baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, in Chicago. The Cubs' game against the Pirates was postponed a day because of persistent snow that covered much of Wrigley Field, creating a scene more reminiscent of December than April. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
America's Pastime under a beating summer sun may be what you picture when you picture a memory of baseball games. However, with Opening Day starting this week, many areas around the country still have snow and winter on the mind.
Cold-weather games aren't a super rare occurrence amid the Major League Baseball season schedule that starts in March with Spring Training and ends in October (or rarely November) with the World Series. But, there's also a reason why those March preseason games are played in the perpetually warm states Florida and Arizona.
That reason?
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Fernando Rodney stands on the mound during a snow squall during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The Twins won 7-3. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Because cold games can be no fun. For the players trying to stay loose in the dugouts, for the fans bundled up in the stands -- and especially for hitters trying to make contact with the ball.
"In my personal opinion, it changes how much I attacked the inner-third of the plate to righties or lefties," Cleveland Indians pitcher Logan Allen told AccuWeather. "Teams get extremely uncomfortable in cold weather, so if you jam them it could take them out of the rhythm not only for the at-bat but for the at-bats to come."
This week, all 30 MLB teams were scheduled their seasons on April 1, the first time since 1968 that the league would have seen every team play its first game on the same day, but weather forced the postponement of one game before the first pitch could have been thrown.
While the early-April start won't matter much to some teams hosting in warmer locations, such as the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres or Miami Marlins, some more northern cities will have bitter temperatures to battle alongside their opponents this week.
The cold-weather openers
Cleveland opens its season in Detroit playing the Tigers and could certainly be one of those teams making weather-conscious gameplan tweaks. As Allen told AccuWeather, a drop on the thermometer could not only affect the in-game strategy, but also how teams prepare beforehand.
For a pitcher like Allen, the right pregame preparation routine is needed to ensure proper flexibility and the adequate energy needed in order to hit the ground running from the very first inning.
"You have to start [preparing] a little earlier, sometimes make sure your body is just a touch warmer," Allen said. "Make sure you’re extra hydrated because you don’t realize [you're thirsty] because it’s cold."
Cleveland's pitching coach Carl Willis agreed with Allen, adding that moisture is another important component for pitchers to consider. On a cold night, low temperatures can zap the moisture on a pitcher's hand, making it more difficult to grip a ball and throw it accurately.
Willis himself was a pitcher with the Tigers, Reds, White Sox and Twins from 1984 to 1995. On Opening Day in 1985, Willis was playing for the Reds in Cincinnati against the Montreal Expos.
The game would feature multiple snow delays, frigid temperatures and gusty winds. By the end, Willis found the ball in his cold pitching hand with the game on the line.
"My most memorable cold-weather moment was Opening Day of 1985 when I as with the Cincinnati Reds, we beat the Montreal Expos with Terry Francona in the dugout and the game was delayed twice due to snow," Willis recalled to AccuWeather. "For some ungodly reason, [Reds' manager] Pete Rose put me in the game and I pitched the eighth and ninth and picked up the save on Opening Day."
As the Indians prepare to play the Tigers on Thursday, Willis could find himself dealing with déjà vu.
AccuWeather meteorologists say temperatures for the game are unlikely to be far above freezing and a brief rain or snow shower along with gusty winds are likely.
Father east, the weather has already readjusted the schedule for the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. The teams were originally scheduled to play on Thursday afternoon, but forecast showers forced the game to be rescheduled until Friday.
Meanwhile, back in Cincinnati, the Reds will be opening their season against the Cardinals in conditions that might also be similar to Willis' 1985 memories, although likely less extreme.
"Fans can expect the day to be partly sunny, breezy and chilly," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. "Wind gusts up to 35 mph are possible with the high temperature for the day reaching 41."
The weather is expected to be dry throughout the game.
The conditions may feel like a shock for local residents partly because of how nice conditions have been in the days leading up to the season opener. The city has seen thermometers crack the 70-degree mark six times in March, far above the historical average.
Comparatively, Thursday's forecast high of 41 would fall nearly 20 degrees short of normal.
Similar situations are also likely to leave Nationals' fans cold in Washington, D.C., as the team opens its season against the New York Mets. A morning shower should give way to drier conditions in the afternoon ahead of first pitch at 7:09 p.m., local time, although the nighttime start means temperatures are likely to plummet below 40 towards the end of the game.
In New York City, the Yankees will start their season against the Blue Jays in a comparably cold game.
"Rain is likely to linger into the morning before turning dry for the afternoon," Douty said of the game and its 1:05 p.m. first pitch. "Conditions will turn very windy as well with gusts of 40 mph throughout much of the day. The high for the day will reach 48, but AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures will be in the lower 30s during the afternoon."
The Chicago Cubs will also host the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday afternoon. A windbreaker, a jacket and gloves may be needed as persistent northerly winds are expected to blow all day with temperatures unlikely to crack 40 degrees. That wind will make the temperatures feel like they are in the low 30s throughout the day, Douty said, making Opening Day feel far colder than the average high of 53 on April 1.
A sweaty Opening Day for other teams
Not every MLB player will have to start their season bundled up and in long sleeves, however. Particularly for teams in California and Florida, the spring opener may feel more like midsummer.
The Oakland Athletics open their season hosting the Houston Astros on a warm Thursday evening that should see temperatures dip below 70 degrees in time for first pitch and minimal wind.
Farther down the coast, the Los Angeles Angels will start around the same exact time, shortly after 7 p.m. local time, but will see higher temperatures as they host the Chicago White Sox. AccuWeather meteorologists forecast the game to start with temperatures above 80 degrees.
A similar scene is expected in San Diego, when the Padres host the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:10 p.m. with temperatures throughout the game likely to stay in the low 80s and dry conditions in the forecast.
As Alan Nathan, professor emeritus of physics at the University of Illinois, previously told AccuWeather, high temperatures can greatly impact the way a baseball flies through the air.
“For a long fly ball, a ball hit with a sort of home run trajectory, that’s a ball that’s hit at about 100 mph off the bat, maybe at a 30-degree elevation angle,” Nathan said. “The numbers that I have found just by looking at the data, are that a 10-degree Fahrenheit change in temperature will change the distance by something like 2.5 feet.”
For the Miami Marlins hosting the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday afternoon, those factors could certainly apply as well, with temperatures forecast to be around 80 degrees at time of first pitch, although afternoon rain showers could throw a wrench in game plans.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
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