After being postponed Wednesday, the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees game may be at risk of being played again on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the MLB postponed the game between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees, slated to be played in the Bronx. Air quality was in poor condition across New York City due to smoke that blew over across the Canadian border from wildfires on the Eastern side of the country.
While there was hope, if not optimism that the smoke would dissipate and air quality would restore itself by Thursday, the two games today (one rescheduled from yesterday, and the originally scheduled one that is now the tail of a doubleheader) look in question as well.
Bryan Hoch reported that the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene & NYC Emergency Management is recommending outdoor events be canceled, postponed, or moved indoors.
Not good considering the series now has two games that need to be played still.
So, with that in mind, here are some guesses as to how this could be handled if the game is in fact postponed.
Could the Yankees and White Sox still play?
As of now, the league and two teams could play the game, legally speaking. There has been no formal ban from local or federal decision-makers on outdoor events, at this point this is merely a recommendation.
It would be a bad look for the teams to play and have fans at risk in the stadium, though. One option is for the league to play the games without fans in the stands, akin to games during the 2020 pandemic season. That, however, still puts players, managers, essential stadium staff, and broadcasters at risk with the air quality.
The other option, if they need to play the game today, would be relocation.
Possible alternatives for Yankees to play home games at during air quality warning
If the game is moved to a different or indoor facility, there are some options, however, none are logistically simple.
There are no close-by indoor facilities that are going to be able to host an MLB game on such short notice. Toronto is the closest active indoor MLB facility, but the Blue Jays have a home game today.
Buffalo might be an interesting option. The AAA stadium there is outdoors, but air quality has improved significantly in Western New York compared to downstate, and should be safer for hosting a game. The stadium was upgraded recently to MLB specs when the Blue Jays used it as their home field in 2021. The Bison are out of town in Toledo, so the stadium is ostensibly available for a game.
Other close-by stadiums include PNC Park (Pittsburgh), Progressive Field (Cleveland), and Great American Ball Park (Cincinnati), but all three are hosting events today. Comerica Park in Detroit is the closest active MLB stadium that is vacant today.
Will Yankees and White Sox play today?
At this point, there is no official word. That said, if I had to guess, my guess would be that the two games scheduled today will not proceed.
Air quality is still bad, and optically it would be bad for the MLB to have these games played. The other option is playing the games elsewhere.
But a relocation assumes that both teams would be able to move their equipment and staff needed for two full games in a matter of hours, an extremely tall order that feels much more complex than simply postponing both games and making them up in the later months of the season. Even if they go to the closest option, Buffalo, they would need to charter planes and go through a logistics gauntlet to make it happen before the scheduled 3 p.m. first pitch of the opening game.