Boston Red Sox fans will have to wait an extra 21 hours to watch their favorite team begin its 2016 season.
The Red Sox’s season opener against the Cleveland Indians, originally scheduled for Monday afternoon, was postponed until Tuesday after the teams deemed the weather conditions around Cleveland’s Progressive Field unfit for baseball.
The Indians explained the postponement in an official statement, saying it was in the best interest of “fan comfort and player safety” not to play the game.
Statement on today's postponement:
Makeup/exchange info: https://t.co/Yg7c0V3a4g pic.twitter.com/BQrxDvHeeE
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) April 4, 2016
“(Tuesday’s) forecast will continue to be cold,” the team added, “but no anticipated precipitation.”
Speaking with reporters at the ballpark, Red Sox manager John Farrell and his players seemed to agree with that decision.
“The moisture in the air, the wet grounds, the wind chill, the overall temperature, the fact that (Tuesday) is better overall conditions — we just want to be sure we don’t go through that start and stop,” Farrell said, via the Boston Herald.
“The wind is the bad part,” shortstop Xander Bogaerts added, via the Herald. “I don’t know if we play in snow and it was snowing out there earlier. … It’s tough. We were big-time ready, anxious to get it out of the way today. It was a day we were looking forward to in spring training, but we just have to wait one more day.”
Had the teams played Monday, it would have been the coldest Opening Day game for the Red Sox in more than 15 years, according to the team’s media relations department.
At 30 degrees in Cleveland, this would have been coldest start-time temperature for a Red Sox game since at least 1999.
— Jon Shestakofsky (@Shesta_HOF) April 4, 2016
Tuesday’s forecast in Cleveland calls for a high of just 34 degrees, but rain and/or snow should not be an issue. Left-hander David Price is expected to start on the mound for the Red Sox, making his Boston debut.
“I’ll be ready to go (Tuesday), and I would’ve loved to have pitched (Monday),” the Red Sox’s top free-agent acquisition said, via the Herald. “But that’s probably not the smartest thing.”
First pitch Tuesday is set for 1:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports Images
