THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball

I worked for the Pawtucket Red Sox for 4 years and I can tell you for a fact that they let fans come in before announcing a rainout. I can remember multiple occasions where we knew the game would be postponed about an hour before game time but they welcomed in the fans in and made them sit in the rain until game time, at which point they announced the rainout.

It is all done for a simple reason: Concessions. If you are sitting at the park, waiting for the rain to end, you are going to eat and drink. The tickets are refundable, but as long as they let the fans in, they can cash in concession wise as well. It is a win-win situation for the team.

I live in Chicago.  Back in late April the Sox played the Orioles on a Friday night.  They played one inning and then the rain came and the game was postponed.  First of all, the radar at 7:00 was solid green and yellow from Chicago back to Iowa--a monkey could’ve told you it was going to rain and rain for awhile.  It wasn’t like they had time to get a few innings in and then maybe get a window a little while later.  But they played a half inning anyway.  And like Jay says in post 1, concessions (read: Friday night and beer) had to have had a lot to do with it.  But it also gave Buehrle some early season rest, and it split up the Sox’s lefties (Buehrle and Danks)--Danks went Sat. and Buehrle returned Monday. 

A little different than announcing a postponement late, but the Sox knew what they were doing, and in no way was it in the fans’ interest.