The New York Mets and Washington Nationals sat through a four-hour rain delay on Saturday. Fans were given few updates throughout the process.
Saturday night was a disaster for New York and Washington fans hoping to catch the first of a three-game set between these NL East rivals. The rain was horrible throughout, and as the infield continued to sop and the outfield looked more like a marsh, most reasonable fans knew a rainout was coming.
The league — and perhaps Nationals, though that has yet to be proven — was determined to get this game in. Which is why they made fans wait hours on end for a product that never came. Mets-Nats was suspended, and will be made up with a doubleheader Sunday.
MLB owes Mets, Nationals fans an apology
Perhaps the worst part isn’t that the game was postponed after four hours of waiting, but that fans who choose to re-attend the 12:35 p.m. doubleheader will only be allowed to watch the first leg, rather than the second game as well. This is unusual in the modern game.
“Due to inclement weather, tonight’s game has been suspended. Game 1, the continuation of today’s game, will begin at 12:35 PM tomorrow. Game 2 will begin at 4:35 PM. All tickets and parking passes from today’s game will be honored for the 12:35 p.m. game only,” the Nationals tweeted last night.
Thousands of fans remained at the game, hoping to finally watch some baseball. When the hammer came down, they all booed.
“They kept getting a report that it was going to stop. And it kept moving in and filling in right behind it,” Buck Showalter said. “This is a good field, good facility and a really good grounds crew,” Showalter said. “They tried everything to get it playable, but there’s a safety issue there, too. I feel bad for the fans.”
Yet, it’s those same fans whose time was wasted, and now must leave in between legs of a seven-inning doubleheader.