I do Special olympics .I can tell lots of stories of weather but I remember game we play at the state softball campionships we played in the the 3 place game and the weather was forecasted to be bad in fact I saw it on rader when we left the hotel .When we got to the field we started the game and I was in durout when the pitcher slipped off the pitchers rubber .The pitcher had tennis shoes on they first delayed the game cancelled the rest of it .
A good example of whether to cancel a game or not happened in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. At game time, there was excessive rain, and the umpires determined that the playing field was too wet to play ball, cancelling the original day of the game. Then, on the next two days, it also rained relentlessly, and the umpires made their decision to cancel Game 5 on those days as well. Actually, all these were postponements. On the 4th day, the skies cleared up in Boston's Fenway Park, and finally, Game 6 of that World Series resumed.
Ever since that biggest of cloud-to-ground positive lightning bolts that almost struck the field at Arlington Stadium in TX over 10 years ago on a summer day from a supercell thunderstorm approaching the stadium (and the resultant deafening crash after the flash), causing the MLB players and umpires to run for the hills as the thunderstorm approached, umpires have changed protocols nowadays regarding thunderstorms approaching baseball playing areas. I am guessing that crew chiefs may have lightning detection alarms on their pockets - if the detection alarm goes off when the storm approaches, that umpire signals the players and other umpires to get off the field ASAP, knowing that lightning is nearby and can hit anyone who stays on the field. After all take shelter before the rain approaches from the storm, they will leave the thunderstorm stuff to the tarpulin workers instead. After the thunderstorm passes, the crew chief will usually have a 30-minute-or-more window where it is not going to be safe to resume play until no more thunder is evident (or lightning) after 30 minutes, to avoid bolt-from-the-blue strikes. This will satisfy the National Weather Service's flash-to-bang rule regarding thunderstorms (more particularly, their rules on lightning safety).
When the topic of rain comes up, I tell the players this: "I hate to call games on account of rain. However, I'd hate to call an ambulance even more, so I'm going to have to use my best judgement." I mean it, too. I'd rather get the games in if possible, but I'm not going to risk center field catching a bolt from Zeus in the process.
Not me becoming an umpire one video at a time 🤭
I do Special olympics .I can tell lots of stories of weather but I remember game we play at the state softball campionships we played in the the 3 place game and the weather was forecasted to be bad in fact I saw it on rader when we left the hotel .When we got to the field we started the game and I was in durout when the pitcher slipped off the pitchers rubber .The pitcher had tennis shoes on they first delayed the game cancelled the rest of it .
A good example of whether to cancel a game or not happened in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series at Fenway Park between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. At game time, there was excessive rain, and the umpires determined that the playing field was too wet to play ball, cancelling the original day of the game. Then, on the next two days, it also rained relentlessly, and the umpires made their decision to cancel Game 5 on those days as well. Actually, all these were postponements. On the 4th day, the skies cleared up in Boston's Fenway Park, and finally, Game 6 of that World Series resumed.
Ever since that biggest of cloud-to-ground positive lightning bolts that almost struck the field at Arlington Stadium in TX over 10 years ago on a summer day from a supercell thunderstorm approaching the stadium (and the resultant deafening crash after the flash), causing the MLB players and umpires to run for the hills as the thunderstorm approached, umpires have changed protocols nowadays regarding thunderstorms approaching baseball playing areas.
I am guessing that crew chiefs may have lightning detection alarms on their pockets - if the detection alarm goes off when the storm approaches, that umpire signals the players and other umpires to get off the field ASAP, knowing that lightning is nearby and can hit anyone who stays on the field.
After all take shelter before the rain approaches from the storm, they will leave the thunderstorm stuff to the tarpulin workers instead.
After the thunderstorm passes, the crew chief will usually have a 30-minute-or-more window where it is not going to be safe to resume play until no more thunder is evident (or lightning) after 30 minutes, to avoid bolt-from-the-blue strikes. This will satisfy the National Weather Service's flash-to-bang rule regarding thunderstorms (more particularly, their rules on lightning safety).
When the topic of rain comes up, I tell the players this: "I hate to call games on account of rain. However, I'd hate to call an ambulance even more, so I'm going to have to use my best judgement." I mean it, too. I'd rather get the games in if possible, but I'm not going to risk center field catching a bolt from Zeus in the process.