Friday’s postponement of Game 4 of the ALDS between the Rays and Guardians in Cleveland was the first postseason game postponed since Game 4 of the Cubs/Nationals NLDS at Wrigley Field in 2017. More on that below.
MLB handled tickets for the postponed game in an odd fashion. Here’s what they said in a press release about the postponement:
Fans with tickets to the original ALCS Game Four on Friday, October 15th may use those same tickets for ALCS Game Five on Sunday, October 17th at 5:08 p.m. (ET). Gates will open at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
Fans with tickets for the originally scheduled ALCS Game Five on Saturday, October 16th do not need to take any action. That game will now be played as ALCS Game Four. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. (ET) for the 8:08 p.m. (ET) first pitch.
So if you held a “Home Game 2” ticket for Guardians/Rays Friday, you’re now going to be able to go to “Home Game 3” on Sunday — and now those who thought they were going to Game 5 on Saturday are now going to Game 4.
Before Friday, the most recent postseason postponement was Game 3 of the 2022 World Series between the Astros and Phillies in Philadelphia. That year’s WS schedule was pushed back a day as a result. Here are some other significant postseason postponements over the last few deecades.
1962: World Series Game 6
Look at the playing dates for the entire 1962 World Series. There’s a four-day gap between Game 5 and Game 6, and even in 1962 it didn’t take that long to get from New York to San Francisco. Three days of rain in the Bay Area pushed Game 6 back, and that was after Game 5 in New York had been postponed by rain there. That meant just two Yankees starters, Ralph Terry and Whitey Ford, threw games 4 through 7. Terry wound up throwing a 1-0 shutout in Game 7 to win the series for the Yankees.
1975: World Series Game 6
This is, of course, one of the most famous games in baseball history, won by Carlton Fisk with a 12th-inning home run. But rain in Boston had postponed this game three times, giving the teams four days in between Games 5 and 6. Luis Tiant, who started Games 1 and 4, thus came back for Game 6, though he was long gone from the game by the time Fisk won it with his homer.
1986: World Series Game 7
The Mets, as you know, won Game 6 with a miracle 10th-inning rally. They didn’t get the chance to win the World Series the next day, though, as rain in New York postponed Game 7 for a day. The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but back-to-back three-run innings won the game, and the Series, for the Mets.
1989: World Series Game 3
Just as Game 3 was about to begin at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, the Bay Area was hit by a major earthquake. Here is ABC-TV’s pregame show. At about 4:35 into this video, you can see the feed simply drop out and be replaced by a still frame, with Al Michaels speaking by phone:
The 1989 World Series was delayed by 10 days, and then the Athletics completed a four-game sweep by defeating the Giants in Games 3 and 4 at Candlestick Park.
2008: World Series Game 5
This wasn’t a postponement, but rather a game suspended due to torrential rain and wind in Philadelphia. Since the suspended-game rules of the time did not permit for a game to be suspended if it wasn’t tied, the teams played until Melvin Upton (then known as B.J. Upton) scored to tie the game 2-2.
Check out some of the commentary in the Retrosheet boxscore of this game:
RAYS 5TH: Baldelli reached on an error by Rollins; Jimmy Rollins fought with the rain and gusting wind trying to catch the ball; Bartlett grounded into a double play (second to first) [Baldelli out at second]; Kazmir struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 0 LOB. Rays 1, Phillies 2.
RAYS 6TH: Iwamura was called out on strikes; Crawford grounded out (first unassisted); Upton singled to shortstop; Upton stole second; Pena singled to left [Upton scored]; Ruiz allowed a passed ball [Pena to second]; Longoria flied to center; game suspended due to heavy rain and winds at 10:39 PM; resumed at 8:40 on 10/29; the first suspension in World Series history; temperature at the time of the resumption was 44 but it was dry; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Rays 2, Phillies 2.
This led to the rule change providing that every postseason game must go at least nine innings and if any such game is interrupted by weather and cannot be completed on the day it’s started, it will be suspended, no matter what the inning or game situation.
Joe Maddon was the manager of that Rays team. In 2018, when the Cubs and Braves played through a cold, wet, windy rain and the Cubs came back from an eight-run deficit to win 14-10, Maddon called that weather worse than the 2008 World Series game:
“I thought the 2008 World Series game I participated in was the worst. It just got surpassed,” Maddon said. “This is not baseball weather. The elements were horrific to play baseball in. That is the worst elements I ever participated in in a baseball game. Ever.”
2017: NLDS Game 4
The postponement of NLDS Game 4 between the Cubs and Nationals was the first postseason postponement for the Cubs in the divisional play era.
It was played the next day and the Cubs lost 5-0, with Stephen Strasburg striking out 12. The teams then traveled to Washington for Game 5, a wild contest won by the Cubs 9-8. But the rainout had cost the teams an off day for travel, and then the Cubs had to travel to Los Angeles to begin the NLCS two days later — a trip interrupted by an unscheduled stop in Albuquerque because of a “health issue,” later determined to be José Quintana’s wife falling ill on the flight.
Would the 2017 NLCS have gone differently for the Cubs if not for the rainout and that diverted flight? Obviously, we’ll never know.