2:30 PM | "Cold" World Series resumes tonight in Boston where history can be made; "Home Run Weather" app index drops to a 0 by game time

Discussion

Tonight could be a historic night in Boston, Massachusetts as the World Series shifts back to Fenway Park and the Red Sox can clinch at home for the first time in 95 years. Despite two world championships in the last nine years, the Red Sox have not clinched a World Series at home since 1918. The weather for this World Series has been quite chilly; especially, during Games 1 and 2 in Boston with temperatures primarily in the 40’s. In fact, the “Home Run Weather” app index has at times dropped to the lowest value possible, 0 on a scale of 0 to 10, indicating very unfavorable weather conditions for home runs.

The weather looks quite chilly again for tonight’s Game 6 in Boston and indeed the “Home Run Weather” app index drops rapidly this evening to a reading of 0 by game time. Perhaps, not even the cold weather with temperatures in the 40’s can stop David Ortiz, the hottest hitter in baseball. If the Cardinals force a Game 7, the weather actually would be noticeably milder on Thursday night in Boston, but there will also be the chance for showers as a frontal system approaches from the west.

In terms of the coldest World Series games ever (and the records are sketchy pre-1970’s as MLB did not track weather records), the most memorable game occurred in Game 4 of the 1997 World Series in Cleveland, Ohio between the Indians and the Florida (now Miami) Marlins. The first-pitch temperature for that game was 38 degrees with a wind chill in the teens. Snow flurries fell throughout the game and ice patches actually formed on the infield. The first two games of that Series were played in Miami where temperatures were in the high 80’s. The second coldest game in recent history was the first game of the 1979 World Series in Baltimore, Maryland between the Orioles and Pirates with first-pitch temperatures right around 40 degrees and a steady, chilly rain falling.

Perhaps the most memorable game with respect to weather and the World Series is likely Game 5 of the 2008 World Series between the Fighting Phils and the Tampa Bay Rays. That game began on October 27th with 50-degree temperatures and rain falling and was suspended in the 6th inning as the rain became too heavy. The game could not be resumed the next day as a powerful nor’easter continued to pound away on the Philadelphia region with a cold, steady rain and even several inches of accumulating snow in nearby Bucks County, PA. Finally, two days after the game began, Game 5 resumed on a cold night in Philly with first-pitch temperatures at 44 degrees along with a gusty northwest wind - and the Phillies went on to clinch the title.