I was sitting here thinking about the lucky folks who are in Florida and Arizona right now taking in spring training games. More than likely these contests (such that they are) take place under sunny blue skies and moderate-to-warm temperatures, meaning that some bodies are going to be in shock when they have to open the season in some chilly climate.
At least there’s a saving grace, for the most part. On Opening Day and for some number of days afterward, the majority of games are played in the day, meaning temperatures in the 40s and 50s can be bearable if the sun is out.
Growing up in northwest Ohio, I played a lot of my youth baseball either during the day or in the early evening when the sun was out. (The very first league I played in was on unlighted fields; fortunately in the later part of spring it was light until 9:00.) Even when I moved on to high school baseball, I don’t think we ever played a night game. Yeah, we may have played on a few chilly 45 degree days, but the sun helped out.
On the other hand, when I played softball for a couple years at the local park, all the games were at night. Temperature-wise, that wasn’t so bad for late summer but the beer was cold afterward nonetheless. Getting up for work the next day after a 9:30 game across town, though…
But the reason I started to write this was as an ode to our Sunday home games at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. They come in two varieties: 2:05 for the first half of the season and 5:05 for the second. And it doesn’t matter to me when it is 95 degrees with humidity to match, I love it. They make sunscreen and diet Pepsi for a reason.
Last April it seemed like spring was a bit chilly, so those Sunday games were nice as long as the sun was out. It was hoodie weather to be sure, but I’m sure the players thought it was just fine. And we did have one of those “sweat running down your butt crack” games (as my wife would call them) later on in the season.
Now I get that, once the lighting technology was sufficient, it was better for attendance to have games at night, after most of the workers were home and could attend in the coolness of the evening. It’s no surprise that the average daily attendance surged from maybe 4,000 a game in 1934 (the year before the first night games were played in the majors) to nearly 15,000 by 1959, when all but Wrigley Field had lights. Even now with the Shorebirds, Sunday games are near the bottom in average attendance, although they do just a bit better with the 5:05 starts later on in the summer. If it weren’t for night baseball, the minor leagues would cease to exist.
But there’s a part of me that wishes they had more businessman’s specials. It’s not quite the same going to a game where 80% of the crowd is kids enjoying the day out of school, and the place is all but silent in the late innings as many of them had to take the bus back. (Some years ago, I went to one of those contests that became a doubleheader thanks to a previous rainout - by the end of Game 2 there were maybe 100 people in the stands because all the kids had to go.)
So enjoy your time in the spotlight, Florida and Arizona, and soak up some of that sunshine for me.
Until next time, remember you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there.