It was a red flag for Major League Baseball (MLB) at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
The Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds was suspended in the first inning because of rain, soaking a record-breaking crowd for the first regular-season game in Tennessee. The plan was to resume the game after press time last night.
The first delay at the historic bullring of a racetrack came after the ceremonial first pitch featuring a pair of Hall of Famers in Johnny Bench and Chipper Jones, joined by NASCAR drivers Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. The second with one out in the bottom of the first led to the game being pushed back a day, much like a red flag in motorsports.
Photo: AFP
Fans who stuck out the first delay of 2 hours, 17 minutes started heading toward the exits before the game was postponed, with the Reds holding a 1-0 lead.
It was an unwelcome detour for the long-planned event mixing baseball and NASCAR.
“We’re going to suspend tonight’s game ... We are optimistic for a better weather forecast for tomorrow,” MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill told Fox.
Photo: AFP
The rain made life difficult for the players before the suspension. A bat flew out of TJ Friedl’s hands as he led off for the Reds. A pitcher seemed to catch his footing going to cover first base.
The MLB Speedway Classic was first announced nearly a year ago as part of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s push to take MLB to places where baseball is not played every day live. MLB played a game at the Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa in 2021 and 2022. Alabama and North Carolina, too.
Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott showed up on Saturday afternoon at Bristol wearing a cut-off version of a NASCAR race suit. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, Abbott said he wanted something to wear for a special game.
Photo: AFP
“I grew up around NASCAR,” Abbott said. “Just went on eBay and found a couple options, and luckily that was the one that arrived in time. I had a couple of backups. I know who Rusty Wallace is too, so I actually do know the backstory behind it.”
Long before the fans departed in the rain, they were entertained by a 33.5m Ferris wheel to go along with food trucks, live music, pitching tunnels and batting cages. Fans also had a chance for photos with the Commissioner’s Trophy, and Clydesdales outside the historic racetrack.
Inside, star Tim McGraw performed and was joined by Pitbull.
Before the weather moved over the area, players stood in the back of pickup trucks with their numbers emblazoned on the side and rode around the half-mile racetrack. Some used their phones to document the moment. For introductions, the Braves and Reds walked between a pair of cars decked out in Atlanta and Cincinnati colors.
Then the tarp came out as rain that had been falling around Bristol much of Saturday turned heavy and delayed the start.
The first delay led to the Braves switching starting pitchers. Spencer Strider, who grew up in nearby Knoxville, got a bigger ovation than Reds starter Chase Burns, who is from Hendersonville and played at the University of Tennessee. The Reds stuck with Burns despite the delay.
Strider warmed up. The Braves chose not to risk his third start in this situation, coming off a second elbow surgery.
The rain stopped long enough to take off the tarp and start the game.
Michael Waltrip, who raced plenty at Bristol, restarted the festivities by quoting his brother Darrell: “Boogity, boogity, boogity. Let’s play baseball boys”
Atlanta went down in order at the top of the first inning, but there was another rain delay after Austin Hays hit an RBI single for Cincinnati in the bottom half.
MLB did not try to sell every ticket inside the speedway that drew 156,990 for the Battle of Bristol college football game in 2016. The track, with a racing capacity of 146,000, could host 90,000 or more, even with sections blocked off.
Officials announced on Monday last week that more than 85,000 tickets had been sold — topping the previous paid attendance of 84,587 set on Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees.
A batter has to clear 122m to hit anything out of center field, 114m in the alleys and 100m down each baseline. Pulling a ball down the line raises the prospect of a ball bouncing off the racetrack beyond the outfield wall.
“Honestly, my first thought, I can’t believe they did all this for one game,” Braves first baseman Matt Olson said of his first visit to Bristol. “To be able to set all this up, get a playing surface ready, set the stands up in order to have the proper viewing, it’s pretty incredible.”
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