9:00 AM | *Baseball’s playoffs begin tonight in Boston with a game between the Yankees and Red Sox…the weather should cooperate, but it has had an impact on some World Series games in recent history*
Paul Dorian
A view of Fenway Park’s “green monster” – the site for tonight’s “win-or-else” playoff game between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Photo courtesy mlb.com
Overview
Baseball’s playoffs will begin tonight in Boston with a do-or-die “wild card” game between the Yankees and Red Sox at Fenway Park. The weather should turn out to be pretty cooperative with cloudy and cool conditions likely as high pressure sets up shop over northern New England. Weather can certainly play a role in playoffs during the month of October (or November) and has indeed had an impact on the World Series in recent history in terms of temperatures and/or precipitation.
High pressure over northern New England will take control of the weather in the Boston area by later tonight and will actually park itself in that region for several days to come. Map courtesy NOAA/WPC
Discussion
There is light rain at mid-day in the Boston metro region, but the weather should turn more cooperative later tonight just in time for the “wild card” playoff game between the Yankees and Red Sox. This is a do-or-die game with the winner moving on to the next round of playoffs and the loser packing it in for the season. Low pressure along a frontal boundary zone off the New England coastline will pass to the southeast of Boston later this afternoon and high pressure will settle into New England by later tonight and stick around for the next several days. While the weather should be rather benign for tonight’s game in Boston, it certainly has played a role in some of the World Series games in recent history.
Photo from Game 4 of the 1997 World Series in Cleveland, Ohio; courtesy espn.go.com
1997 Cleveland Indians vs Florida Marlins; 1979 Baltimore Orioles vs Pittsburgh Pirates
In terms of the coldest World Series games ever - and the records are sketchy pre-1970’s as Major League Baseball did not track weather records - the most memorable game was probably Game 4 of the 1997 World Series in Cleveland, Ohio between the Indians and the Florida (now Miami) Marlins. The first two games of that World Series were played in Miami, Florida where temperatures were in the high 80’s. The games then shifted to Cleveland for Games 3, 4 and 5 and the weather was dramatically different than in Florida. Indeed, the first-pitch temperature for Game 4 on October 22nd, 1997 was 38 degrees along with a wind chill in the teens. Snow flurries fell throughout the game and ice patches actually formed on the infield. The Florida Marlins eventually won the 1997 World Series with an extra-inning Game 7 victory played in balmy Miami, Florida.
The second coldest game in recent history was the first game of the 1979 World Series in Baltimore, Maryland between the Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates on October 10th, 1979 with first-pitch temperatures right around the 40 degree mark along with a steady, chilly rainfall which no doubt factored into the six total errors, three committed by each team. In fact, Game 1 was originally scheduled for Tuesday, October 9th, but was postponed due to a wintry mix of rain and snow. Back in those days, the World Series began earlier in the month of October compared to today, but that didn’t prevent very cold weather from impacting the beginning of this particular series. The Pirates ended up winning the 1979 World Series in 7 games by winning three games in a row after trailing in the series by three games to one.
The weather maps are shown here at different levels of the atmosphere for the night of October 28th in 2008 which was the day after the rained-shortened World Series game in Philly and the day before the resumed game. On this particular day, very cold air surged into the Philly metro region on the heels of a strong coastal storm and several inches of snow actually accumulated in some suburban locations. Credit Penn State eWall (surface - upper right, 500 mb - upper left, 700 mb - lower left, 850 mb - lower right).
2008 Philadelphia Phillies vs Tampa Bay Rays
One of the most memorable games in the World Series in recent history impacted by weather was Game 5 of the 2008 World Series between the Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. That game began on October 27th in 2008 with 50 degree temperatures and rain falling and it was suspended in the 6th inning as the rain simply became too heavy to continue play – the only World Series game ever suspended. The game could not be resumed on the next day as a powerful early season nor’easter continued to pound away on the Philadelphia metro region with a cold, steady rain and even several inches of snow fell in nearby Bucks County in southeastern Pennsylvania. 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 their second World Series title ever.
2017 Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Dodgers; 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks vs New York Yankees
The hottest World Series game of recent history took place just a few years ago in 2017. In that World Series, Game 1 between the Houston Astros and LA Dodgers had a game-time temperature of 103 degrees played in LA’s Dodgers Stadium. While the Dodgers won the first game of the 2017 World Series, Houston ended up winning the championship in seven games.
The next hottest World Series game was Game 1 between the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees on October 27, 2001 – a game that Arizona won easily, 9-1, in front of nearly 50,000 fans. Game-time temperature for this game was 94 degrees and Major League Baseball requested that the roof stay open at the ballpark in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks went on to win this memorable World Series in 7 games which took place shortly after the attacks on “9/11” and it ended in the early part of November. This year’s World Series could extend into the month of November if it extends to a sixth game.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
CTFV
Valley Forge, PA