Washington (AFP) – Heavy rain washed out Major League Baseball’s “Speedway Classic” on Saturday, suspending play in the first inning and postponing the finish at Bristol Motor Speedway until Sunday. A record MLB regular-season crowd of more than 85,000 spectators was expected to watch the unique contest on a specially built ballpark on the infield of the US stock car oval track. Instead, the Cincinnati Reds grabbed a 1-0 lead over the Atlanta Braves moments before the contest was halted.
“We’re going to suspend tonight’s game. We’ll be back tomorrow,” MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill said. “We’re optimistic there’s a better weather forecast for tomorrow.” Each team had a day off scheduled Sunday to allow for such a postponement, but whether or not the scene could recapture the special pre-game atmosphere of Saturday was uncertain. The expected crowd would have broken the MLB regular-season attendance mark of 84,587 set in 1954 at Cleveland Stadium when the New York Yankees faced the Cleveland Indians.
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“It’s pretty incredible, man. This place is full,” Cincinnati’s Spencer Steer said as he looked at the stands before the game. “Never really dreamed of this. You think of 85,000 people you think of NFL or college football. A very incredible opportunity.” The iconic 64-year-old US stock car high-banked oval racetrack in rural northeastern Tennessee typically fills all 146,000 seats for NASCAR series races.
“It’s awesome,” Atlanta’s Austin Riley said. “Any time you can go outside the boundaries of the baseball world and do something new like this and bring baseball and NASCAR together, it’s unbelievable.” In 2016, a collegiate American football game in the speedway infield dubbed the Battle at Bristol drew 156,990 fans to see Tennessee beat Virginia Tech 45-24. An NFL exhibition game on the Bristol infield between Washington and Philadelphia in 1961 drew only 8,500 spectators back when seating capacity was only 18,000. MLB built a baseball field in the infield between turns three and four, bringing in several tons of gravel to create a level field and removing a building from what would become the outfield.
“These games are special,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “There’s history in the making right here, something nobody has ever done, so it’s an honor to do this.” A storm arrived just before the scheduled start to delay the opening pitch by almost 2.5 hours. Cincinnati scored the first run when Matt McLain, Elly De La Cruz and Austin Hays hit three singles in a row with one out in the first inning, rain already puddling on the left side of the infield. Play was stopped moments later.
“Got wet really fast,” Hays said. “I was kind of shocked when I got up there. The (batters’) box is soaked already so they made the decision we need to try to dry it up just enough. It has been a fun experience but the game is why we’re here so we’ve got to get it in.” The Reds are 58-53, 3.5 games behind San Diego for the last National League wild card playoff berth, while the Braves, the 2021 World Series champions, are 46-63.
MLB’s previous regular-season games at special venues included at the Field of Dreams movie ballpark in an Iowa cornfield in 2021 and 2022. MLB has also staged regular-season games in Australia, South Korea, Japan, England, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
© 2024 AFP
