The Phillies are about to make history and win a gamble with nature
Major League Baseball has never started a season this early, but this year it's getting lucky with the weather.
The Phillies are poised to make history Thursday with their earliest opening day ever — home or away — and, if the forecasts are correct, win a gamble with nature.
Starting the season less than a week after the equinox when winter is still in a rumble with spring — they call this “the summer game?” — is not without atmospheric peril in Philadelphia.
But in this instance the game should proceed “without any weather issues,” said Bobby Martrich, meteorologist with EPAWA Weather Consulting, which provides forecast services to the Phillies.
When Cristopher Sanchez throws the first pitch when the Phils host the Texas Rangers at 4:15 p.m., temperatures are forecast to be around 70 degrees with wind blowing out to right field about 10 mph. Chances are the shadows won’t bedevil the hitters or outfielders as skies are expected to be mostly cloud-covered.
It should be dry through the game, Martrich said. It appears any rain will hold off until the game is well over, likely after midnight.
The outlook for the rest of the series
The summer games may feel more like the winter games during the weekend, with game-time temperatures on Saturday afternoon expected to be in the mid-40s.
Coffee may be selling better than those Schwarbomb sundaes. Sunday should be a shade warmer with readings in the low 50s in the late afternoon when the game gets underway.
On the plus side, “We have it dry through the weekend,” said Nick Guzzo, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
What’s the big hurry to start the season?
This will be the Phillies’ earliest start to a season in the team’s 143-year history, confirmed Michael Teevan, Major League Baseball’s vice president of communications. It also will be earliest for the Rangers and other MLB teams.
The runner-up for a Phillies’ home opener would be March 28, 2019, and the earliest road opener was on March 27, last year.
The 2026 season actually kicks off on Wednesday, with the San Francisco Giants hosting the New York Yankees.
So, what’s the big hurry?
Aside from various marketing and broadcast concerns, the early starts have to do with baseball’s desire to end the season before Election Day, if not Christmas.
The 2009 World Series, which the Phils lost to the Yankees, didn’t end until Nov. 4, and last year’s wasn’t over until Nov. 1.
By contrast, the seven-game 1968 World Series, the last one before the leagues were broken into four divisions, ended Oct. 10.
A big reason for the pushbacks has been the expanded playoff menu.
As it is, the regular season already is 162-games long, and counting the playoffs, less than half of it is played during the actual summer.
In the days before divisional play, the winners of the American and National League pennants met in the World Series. No playoffs. You were in or out.
Now, the postseason involves a best-of-three wild-card round, a best-of-five divisional round, and best-of seven series for the league pennant, followed by the World Series, followed shortly thereafter by spring training.
This year, a World Series game seven would be played on Halloween.
“I guess they probably want the playoffs to end sooner,” said Martrich, “but the downside is having to deal with early season cold instead.”
No winter wonderland this time for season openers
Unlike in some past years, opening days this year won’t feature winter wonderland scenes as nature evidently is being kind to outdoor baseball venues.
The only potential blemish would be a chance of showers in Chicago for the Cubs’ opener, but temperatures are predicted to reach the 70s.
The forecasts are calling for both the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds to be hosting games in June-like heat with highs of 90 degrees in St. Louis and 92 in Cincy.
Overall, for their part, the Phillies couldn’t have asked for much better during a period notorious for its weather volatility.
About the only complaint would be the chill on Saturday, when temperatures in the morning are due to drop into the upper 20s.
Said Martrich, whose company is headquartered in the Lehigh Valley, “I have a tee time scheduled for Saturday morning at 8 a.m., so that’s going to sting a little.”