A rain delay in baseball occurs when the weather conditions become unsafe for the players. The game pauses, a tarp goes onto the diamond, and the play resumes once the weather gets better. A rainout happens when the game has been canceled and will either conclude or continue at a later time.
If a game is rained out before play begins, it is rescheduled for a later date. If it has already begun and rain falls, several scenarios are used to determine the need to resume play: If a game has completed the top half of the 5th inning and the home team is ahead, the game can be deemed an official game.
In the 2020 MLB season, a new rain delay rule was introduced. An official game is recorded if the game completes the fifth inning (15 total outs per team) or if the home team is leading in the middle of the fifth inning.
Most leagues will proceed as planned if it is simply sprinkling or if the rain is fairly moderate, but on days when there is a heavy downpour or a lightning storm, the league will reschedule the game. It is not safe for baseball players to be running around the field when visibility is low and traction is impossible.
Spectators who have bought tickets for a game which becomes a rainout are issued a “rain check” (usually, the ticket stub is considered the rain check). This can usually be exchanged for a ticket for the make-up date, or for another game later that season.
Inclement weather
In either case, no statistics are counted until the game becomes official. Since most professional baseball games are nine innings long, the fifth inning is used as the threshold for an official game.
In the MLB, the rule is that the head umpire must first delay the game. After 30 minutes of a delay, the head umpire is able to make the decision to cancel/postpone a game if they believe there is no reasonable end in sight to the rain.
A suspended game in baseball occurs when a game has to be stopped before it can be completed, and the game is meant to be finished at a later time or date.
A game is considered a regulation game – also known as an “official game” – once the visiting team has made 15 outs (five innings) and the home team is leading, or once the home team has made 15 outs regardless of score.
4-2-2 The game ends when the team behind in score has completed its turn at bat in the seventh inning, or any inning thereafter if extra innings are necessary. If the home team scores a go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning, or in any extra inning, the game is terminated at that point.
In the MLB, a game will end early due to weather if one team is ahead after 5 innings (or 15 outs) have been completed by each team. Whoever has the most runs after those 15 outs will be declared the winner.
If a game is tied after becoming official, it will be completed at a later date. But if weather causes a game to be cut short after it is official and the game isn’t tied, the results will stand, as we saw in the Yankees’ 2020 Opening Day win over the Nationals in Washington.
Refund Policy for Unplayed Games
In the event that the series for which this ticket is issued concludes before the date on which the Game was scheduled to occur, a refund will automatically be posted to the payment card used for payment of the ticket. No credits will be issued and the ticket will have no cash value.
It’s been a common sight at Wrigley Field and ballparks across the country this year. In the 2018 season, 53 games have been postponed because of weather, tied for the second most since Major League Baseball began keeping track in 1986.
Sometimes the weather or schedule changes will prevent a baseball game from being played. Thankfully, when they are rescheduled, oftentimes, your tickets will be valid for the rescheduled date.
Definition. A suspended game is a game that is stopped early and must be completed at a later date from the point of termination, though not all terminated games become suspended games.
More than 700 games over four recent seasons were played when lightning was dangerously close. During a night when every Major League Baseball team is in action, odds are that lightning activity is unsafely close to at least one of its stadiums, a recent study found.
In baseball, extra innings occur when the score remains tied at the end of the ninth inning. The rules in extra innings are different throughout the various leagues and levels of competition, but the premise remains the same: determining the winner of the game.
Adequate moisture through the skin will act to reduce the hardness of the soil profile and lead to truer bounces and improved playability of the surface.
If it is still raining at game time, we will most likely enter a rain delay. If weather moves out and allows enough time to play, it is highly likely that the M-Braves will take the field. If the game cannot be played, it will be postponed.
In the event of a rainout or postponement, your ticket will be good for any regular season game later in the season and may be exchanged at Four Winds Field box office for a ticket of equal or lesser value subject to availability.
Rainout Policy: If legal game is not replayed or not rescheduled with same ticket valid, the rain check must be exchanged at the Red Sox ticket office in person by the lawful holder or by mail for a ticket of the same price, if available, for any future regularly scheduled game of the current season.
A player on the Suspended List is not paid while on the list but does continue to accrue MLB or minor league service time.