When It Rains, Be Ready Before It Pours: Knowing the Complete Situation Helps When Weather Strikes

By Jon Bible

In 40-plus years of umpiring, the toughest issue I have dealt with is weather. I’m not talking about when a flood comes or lightning strikes two miles away, when just about any umpire would know to suspend play. Instead, I’m referring to times when the field is just mushy enough to make it doubtful whether play should start or go on but it is not clear-cut one way or the other.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of things to keep in mind when dealing with all of the issues surrounding weather. The decisions you make must be supported by rule, but in case rules don’t cover them, remember that player safety must be the main concern. With all the lawyers (and I am one) slithering about, do what you reasonably can to get the game in, but not at the sacrifice of safety.

Final check of weather. Check out the forecast on your TV station or Internet so you’ll have an idea of what to expect. Forecasts can be wrong, but you should be aware of what’s expected in the area. If the game is supposed to start at 5 p.m. and bad weather isn’t set to move in until midnight, then all is well. But if weather is supposed to hit two hours after the first pitch, you’d better know what to do when it does hit.

Meet with both coaches. If a weather situation is expected, get together with the home and visiting coaches when you arrive, tell them what you know about what is coming and when, and see what they know. Remember, the decision to start the game belongs to the home coach or game administration until the umpires assume jurisdiction. Only then can the crew chief make a decision to halt the game. I prefer that decisions related to weather be the product of collaboration and agreement. Notice that I suggest meeting with both coaches. Just because the visiting coach can’t make the decision, it doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be involved.

Schedule improvisation. If the teams are scheduled to play three games in three days and rain is forecast for the third day, find out if they are willing to move the third game away from the weather predictions. Often, teams will make accommodations to get all of the scheduled games in, even if it’s not according to the original schedule.

Ground rules to cover? Especially with conference play, it is important to know what the game-ending procedures are. Does the game have to be played to its completion, or are five innings enough? Is a halted-game rule in effect under which play can resume from the stopping point the next day if it is necessary to stop the game? And will these teams play each other tomorrow so that rule can be implemented? Whether the game is final if stopped today or can be resumed tomorrow will affect my decision-making process in terms of whether and how quickly to stop. In other words, be as prepared as possible in advance.

Know the teams’ situations. I’ve found that it helps to know what situation the teams are in. There may be strategic reasons why a home team coach will want to start a game when your best judgment counsels against it. If you suspect that, it will make it easier to pull the plug once the game is in your jurisdiction. I’ve only done that a handful of times, but my knowing that one team was likely to try to force the game in because it needed a victory, or the other would bellyache about playing because it had recently played a slew of games and wanted some rest, made it easier for me to do what I knew needed to be done. Knowing the individual histories and situations will also make the likely motives clearer when rain persists during a game and the teams suspect that you’re approaching the point of stopping things. Teams that are ahead in the game or have other reasons for wanting it stopped will moan about playing in such awful conditions, whereas teams guided by different motives will urge you to continue playing. Ultimately, you have to understand that what the coaches are saying is often not what they really mean — put their yapping out of your mind and do what your judgment and experience tell you must be done.

What’s available. Find out before the game starts how much water the field holds and whether or not it drains quickly. Also, it’s good to know what kind of tarp (if any), grounds crew (the home team’s players?) and drying agents (such as Diamond Dry) are on hand.

If you start and a steady rain begins early, one issue involved in how long to continue will be the kind of field cover available, assuming there is one. Does it cover the infield or only home plate and the pitcher’s mound? Is it solid or does it have holes in it? Who puts it out? Where is it located? How quickly can it be gotten on the field? If the players are the crew, I’ve always been inclined to cover the field more quickly than if there is a regular crew, because I don’t want to fuel a claim that a player got hurt because of sudden lightning or everyone had to hurry too fast. I will also be quicker to cover if continuing too long might cause us to “lose the field” for later games if we’re in a series or tournament. Conversely, if the field cover is inadequate, I’ll likely play on as long as I can, because covering it would accomplish little or nothing.

Key areas of the field. If the game progresses in a rain hard enough to get things pretty wet but not really to warrant stopping, I pay particular attention to its effect on the mound and home plate area, specifically how it affects the pitcher’s striding motion and the ability of batters to get out of the box. Next I check basepaths and where the infielders are stationed. I don’t worry much about outfielders — even in high school and college these are kids, after all, and they like playing in slop — unless it becomes a lake, and then the condition of the mound, plate and infield is likely to be bad enough to cause me to stop. I will also ask pitchers to tell me if they feel themselves slipping, for I might not detect that. If there is a drying agent available, I’m pretty quick to get it out. Once I see the players start slipping, things have gone on long enough.

Know the rules. If you order the field covered, it is required by some rulebooks and customary otherwise to wait at least 30 minutes before calling the game. Again, the umpires have sole authority in that area, but I like to get the coaches involved in deciding whether to resume. If they can agree to stop or to try to play on, that takes me out of it, unless I think their decision is unreasonable. If they disagree, I have to decide. If we had the field covered, I don’t want to start unless the rain has completely stopped, and for a few minutes, for it is hard to justify stopping again when you started in the rain. If there is a weather radar screen at the stadium or someone can access it on a laptop, check it out before deciding how to proceed.

Lightning. As for lightning, I take no chances. Most rulebooks have guidelines for dealing with that. I’m out of there the first time that I see lightning anywhere close, and especially if the thunder follows within a handful of seconds.

Another thing to keep in mind concerning lightning: Even if you know rain is coming, it is dangerous to require anyone on to the field to cover it once lightning has been spotted. Even if the game gets washed with a tarp sitting on the sidelines, no baseball game is worth risking the safety of a player or grounds crew member.

Legal stalling. In a weather situation, be ready for the gamesmanship to start. The team that is behind will start wanting to rush everything in order to catch up. Meanwhile, the team that is ahead will move at a snail’s pace. The winning team may change pitchers three times in the inning and make two other defensive substitutions. And when his team is at bat, the coach with the lead might request an offensive conference and tell his batters to not swing at any pitches. It is the umpire’s job to make sure the game is played within the rules. Pitching changes, substitutions and slow at-bats are not illegal. Keep the game moving at the same pace as you would if rain weren’t a factor.

Everyone won’t be happy. Rain situations can be very hard to deal with for veteran and new umpires alike. Simply put, they seldom leave everyone happy. If you understand and accept that, you’ll have an easier time dealing with the whining and begging that you may have to endure. In the end, do as much advance planning as you can, put player safety first, try to get consensus among the competing coaches when feasible, but trust your own judgment and instincts and do what you think is right.

Jon Bible is a veteran umpire who has worked six NCAA Division I College World Series. He lives in Austin, Texas.