That was one heavy rain and lightning storm. The playing field at Nationals Park was a total quagmire.
The downpour so hard you could probably have swam in short rightfield.
The Nationals First Base Dugout was flooding and an employee was bailing water.
No way Our Washington Nationals and The San Francisco Giants could have started. The field was totally unplayable.
The Result--A True Doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 4:35PM. Gates will open at 2PM. The ticket to be used will be those dated June 4th, 2009. Tonight's tickets and parking passes can be turned in for any other game this season, except for The Boston Red Sox Series. No word on what Full Season Ticket Holders are supposed to do with their game tickets from tonight's postponement.
Ladies Night, in which 1000 tickets have been sold, will go on as planned beginning at 4:30PM. Those attending Ladies Night in Garage B can also still take in the game--sort of like The Wrigley Field View--from the parking structure's rooftop. Not sure about player appearances, since a game will be going on.
The Giants' Randy Johnson will go for his 300th Win by starting in the first game--the 4:35PM Start.
Highlights for tonight's dowpour--someone running on the field, evading security for a while before sliding head first into home plate on the tarp.
And Ryan Zimmerman taking some swings with Rick Eckstein in the indoor batting cage. Even better--swinging lefthanded--and the Z-Man was stroking line drive after line drive. Ryan looked comfortable and relaxed from the left side of the batter's box.
Here's The Press Release from Our Washington Nationals.
TONIGHT’S NATIONALS-GIANTS GAME AT NATIONALS PARK POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN
TRADITIONAL DOUBLEHEADER TO BE PLAYED TOMORROW AT 4:35 P.M.
Tonight’s Nationals-Giants game scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. at Nationals Park in Washington , DC , has been postponed due to rain.
The game will be made up on Thursday, June 4, as part of a traditional 4:35 p.m. doubleheader. The Center Field gates to Nationals Park will open at 2:00 p.m.
Nationals right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (2-2, 6.07) will get the starting nod in Thursday’s 4:35 p.m. contest, with left-handed pitcher Ross Detwiler (0-1, 4.80) starting tomorrow’s nightcap, which will begin approximately 25 minutes after the completion of the first game.
All tickets for tonight’s postponed contest, including season tickets, will be treated as rain checks and can be exchanged for same priced tickets for any future 2009 Nationals home game, excluding the three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on June 23, 24 and 25. All rain check exchanges are subject to availability. Tickets can be exchanged at any Nationals Park box office. Nationals Park box office hours are Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Parking passes for tonight’s postponed contest can be used for any future 2009 Nationals home game, excluding the three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on June 23, 24 and 25. All parking passes are subject to availability.
The first Ladies Night of the 2009 season will go on according to schedule on the Roof Top Party Deck beginning at 4:30 p.m. Tickets for Ladies Night must be presented for entry to the Roof Top Deck. Tickets to this event are sold out.
6 comments:
I had tickets for the game in section 136, which is actually the section which the guy used to run onto the field. It was actually rather entertaining.
I'm hoping to finish up my work early enough in the day to make it over to the double header. Hopefully it won't be raining all day, but the weather forecast isn't looking too good right now.
Ridiculous to call the game so late.
Baseball needs to have some form of Fan Bill of Rights, which shall include a passage whereby no game shall begin more than two hours after the originally scheduled start time. Asking the fans, some of whom had brought their children to the game, to wait until 10:45 PM for a final decision was simply rude. The paying customers are treated as an afterthought in these decisions. The notion that they might have played the game last night beginning at 11:00 PM and then told the 20,000 plus fans who had already left that their Rain Checks were invalid is inexcusable.
Thankfully, Nationals Park is a good place to be during a thunderstorm. Lots of shelter and lots of food was available. Picnic tables abound. Personally, I had a good time. Nonetheless, there has to be a time limit on starting the game. If the Giants and Nats only end up playing 160 games, so be it. If the Giants somehow end up fighting the Dodgers for the West crown and they have to play in October out here, then fine, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Last night, the Nationals successfully sold more food and drink than they would probably have sold during an actual game. It is awfully suspicious to leave the game decision in the hands of the team who is profiting from delaying a postponement as long as possible. By the time the final decision was made, almost all the concession stands had been closed or were just about out of food.
Unacceptable to be strung out like that at the Park last night. I heard that Stan was assuring audiences that the game was going to be played. We know how that prediction worked out.
SBF,
Some guys in front of us last night had called up a radar image of the incoming storms on their Blackberry. It was clear at 8:30PM that there was no way the precipitation going to let up. And what about those folks who had great single game seats for last nights game and now those tickets are now only worth comparable seats. So my nice aisle seats are gone and I am at the whim of whatever is available...BS! This was poorly executed and once again the fan gets screwed.
Take Me Out To The Ballgame!
Sam
I agree, it's absurd to wait 3 hours and 40 some minutes to call a game. Especially since it's still not clear whether Metro would have remained open if a few diehard baseball fans/Metro customers were still at the park in the early hours of Thursday morning.
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