Major League Baseball did not ask Hurricane Helene to interrupt the two fantastic wild card races. But the league isn’t blameless in avoiding the worst-case scenario announced Wednesday: the possibility of the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets playing a doubleheader on Monday, the day before postseason play begins.
The ripple effects of the announced postponement of Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games, a series that could decide both teams’ seasons, are enormous. The competitive disadvantages of playing 18 innings before a Wild Card Series cannot be overstated. (But if one or both games are somehow unnecessary, they won’t be played.)
Could it have been prevented?
Maybe.
MLB has the power to enforce logistics, to force either team to play wherever and whenever they want, as long as the union agrees. But traditionally they have tried to please both teams, and in this case that was impossible. The storm that would shut down Atlanta for two days was preceded by the perfect storm of events that would make this a huge headache for the league.
Thursday’s game is in addition to an April 10 game that was postponed after the Mets went through pre-game preparations and batting practice and were unwilling to come back early and burn off a bad day. So they requested that MLB adjust the game to this September series, not only an unusually long wait for a make-up game, but also a function of a more balanced schedule in which division teams play each other less, complicating realignment opportunities. (The Braves agreed to the proposal.)
To all our fans across Braves Country who will be affected by Hurricane Helene, stay safe. pic.twitter.com/AZ99CPQ7BJ
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 25, 2024
The Mets probably wouldn’t have wanted to move Thursday’s game to last Monday, another shared day off between the two clubs, because they had a Sunday night game behind them.
The Braves were concerned about the expected sellout crowd, and earlier in the week forecasts had made it feasible for Wednesday’s game to be played, a possibility that became increasingly remote as the weather forecast worsened. On Tuesday, as the league considered a time change, forecasts looked better in the evening. It started raining shortly after noon on Wednesday in Atlanta, and pushing up the game’s start time would have mattered little unless the two teams agreed to an unprecedented morning start. (MLB doesn’t like to start games that are unlikely to last at least five innings.)
Both teams – who were in contention but yet to secure a spot in the play-offs – were ultimately looking out for their own interests, which should come as no surprise. What is up for debate is whether the league, which entered into talks with both teams on Monday, should have acted bolder with its power and forced the series to be played at a neutral venue, or changed the schedule completely with a match on Monday and two more Tuesday. Maybe.
On the one hand, the weather forecast looked very different earlier this week and all three sides thought Wednesday’s match would not be a problem. The hurricane won’t hit Atlanta until Thursday, with schools closed Thursday and Friday, and the possibility of one makeup game — not two — seemed considerably less daunting. The decision to change the series would have to come no later than Sunday, when it wasn’t even clear how bad the storm would be or whether Atlanta would be in its path.
It would have been unprecedented – and also a logistical nightmare – to decide earlier this week to move all or part of the series to a neutral venue, a venue that would have required both teams to be on board and proactive, which was not the case . the case. For a high-stakes series, it’s understandable that the league didn’t want to pull the plug on a highly anticipated sellout series.
It would have angered at least one, and probably both, teams if they had changed the format of the series and given them back Thursday’s day off, especially as it became clear to everyone involved that Thursday would not be feasible. But with the regular season coming to an end and countless teams fighting for their lives in the playoffs, it might have been better to err on the side of caution in this case as well. That might have required something unpleasant and unprecedented, even if both teams were angry about it and decided to move up a series, even if the weather forecast had not yet crystallized.
Because the downside is a nightmare, and it could be even more complicated if the AL wild card hopeful Kansas City Royals, who will play in Atlanta this weekend, have travel issues getting in. (If they can’t play Friday, that would almost certainly be a doubleheader on Saturday.)
MLB has – in recent years – set the schedule so that each team plays at the same time on Sunday to close out the regular season. It creates excitement, drama and allows you to level the competitive field as best as possible. Everyone can reset on Monday. Unless you’re the Braves or Mets, who might want to complete 18 innings as a way to prepare for a do-or-die Wild Card Series that could start on the road.
The only hope now, for both the teams and the league, is for Arizona to fade away and make those games so meaningless that they don’t get played. (It’s widely believed that both teams would prefer a day off than playing for just a playoff seed.) The alternative is bad for the Braves, bad for the Mets and just plain bad for baseball.
(Photo: Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)