The Longest Rain Delay?

[castiglionefan]

Anyone know the longest rain delay in MLB history? I understand no official records are kept for this, but any unofficial totals would be sweet.

My query stems from my first MLB game at Yankee Stadium. My beloved Red Sox were supposed to be taking on the Yankees at 12:20, or something like it. Except the game was delayed for, what I recall to be, 5 hours.

I think Jesse Barfield hit the go ahead homer in, say, the eighth off of Reardon or maybe Jeff Gray.

Any info any of you baseball historians know about this game would be much appreciated. I would love to know if I went to a record setting or really special baseball game.

[BMW]

I don't know an answer, but if someone does, I would be interested in what is the most amount of rain delays for one game before it was finally finished or suspended.

[JoseA]

There was no record of the longest rain delay in history, but on July 2, 1993, the first game of the San Diego at Philadelphia doubleheader was held up for a total of 5:54 because of three rain delays.

Article

Here is all that I can find, interesting that it was close to about 6 hours! Not sure if there was a longer one though, but I could not find any

[JoseA]

Was the game you went to between 1989-1992?

I am looking to dig for more information on the game for you....

[castiglionefan]

Originally Posted by JoseA

Was the game you went to between 1989-1992?

I am looking to dig for more information on the game for you....

I'm almost positive it was in 1990. And what made this delay special, as if a delay outside of a "Sun Delay" at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, MA could be special, is that it was a consecutive 5 hours and 5 minutes.

[JoseA]

This may have been the game you went to:
Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees
May 27, 1991

Gray and Reardon both pitched. Barfield and Hall each had 2 home runs. Yankees win 6-5. Reardon got the lost for the Red Sox after giving up a home run to Hall in the 9th. Darwin started for the Red Sox.

I couldn't find many rain delays over 5 hours, so this may be one of the longest I presume

Link to Boxscore

[castiglionefan]

Who's the man? It's JoseA, even if he's a Bears fan. No info on the rain delay, though? I'll see if I can't do a little research of my own after JoseA did all the hard work.

Thanks for the help!!

[JoseA]

Recap of The Mel Hall Game

If you are a somewhat older Red Sox fan, you probably know what game I'm referring to: Yankee Stadium, Memorial Day, May 27, 1991.

Back then, good tickets were always available and my partner Laura and I were were sitting in the back of the main grandstand on the third base side.

The Red Sox scored first. Jack Clark's grounder was bobbled by Pat Kelly for an error. Mike Greenwell singled to right center and he and Clark advanced to second and third when Roberto Kelly booted the ball for another error. Tom Brunansky's fly ball to the track in right brought in the game's first run.

At this point, an apparently tipsy Red Sox fan in the section across the aisle from us started yelling to any person in a Yankee hat he could see, "One run! That's it! That's all we need!" He kept this up as Tony Pena tripled and Jody Reed doubled. Boston now led 3-0 and this guy kept insisting -– loudly -– that the game was over. "Might as well go home!" After awhile, fans of both teams were laughing at him.

Boston scored single runs in the fourth and fifth and led 5-0. As I recall, the drunk guy got quiet after the third inning or so. I don't think he actually went to sleep, but I don't remember him yelling anything for several innings.

The Yankees got solo home runs from Jesse Barfield (in the 5th) and Mel Hall and Barfield again (in the 7th) to cut the lead to 5-3. After that second Barfield homer, Jeff Gray relieved Danny Darwin. Gray got out of the inning and retired the Yankees in order in the eighth, and turned the ball over to closer Jeff Reardon.

I remember not being particularly secure in seeing Reardon come into the game. I have scanned the bottom of the ninth portion of my scorecard.

Article

Kind of long though, but tells a lot about the game

[JoseA]

Originally Posted by castiglionefan

Who's the man? It's JoseA, even if he's a Bears fan. No info on the rain delay, though? I'll see if I can't do a little research of my own after JoseA did all the hard work.

Thanks for the help!!

No problem, glad to help