Would this be a rainout?

[thehef]

So it's 1974 and World Series games 3, 4 and 5 are scheduled for Boston, all at 8:30 pm Eastern. The actual Boston weather for those days was as follows:

Game 3, Tues 10/15: Drizzle from 11 am to 2 pm, overcast until around 9 pm, at which time it's light rain throughout the night.
Game 4, Wed 10/16: Non-stop rain all day. No game.
Game 5, Thu 10/17: Overcast, no rain
The next few days are overcast, but dry.

So, assuming this series goes the distance, how would the schedule have played out? Would Fenway have dry enough to begin with on 10/15 to get through most of the the game with light rain? And then games 4 and 5 would've been played on 10/17 and 10/18, after a 10/16 rainout? Or would both 10/15 and 10/16 have been rained out, and the middle three games would've been played on 10/17, 10/18, and 10/19?

I use actual weather history to - when applicable - influence my postseason schedule, and in my '74 sim the Red Sox have won the AL East, knocked off the defending champ A's, and are about to meet the Dodgers in the World Series. So that's why I'm wondering about this one...

[BigRed75]

I would probably play Game 3, then push back Game 4, if it were me.

[cheo25]

That is a great idea about the weather. I play historical and follow the dates and game times, but I never consider the real-life weather in the actual city in that year. I may add that to my league going forward. Thanks for a great idea!

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by thehef

So it's 1974 and World Series games 3, 4 and 5 are scheduled for Boston, all at 8:30 pm Eastern. The actual Boston weather for those days was as follows:

Game 3, Tues 10/15: Drizzle from 11 am to 2 pm, overcast until around 9 pm, at which time it's light rain throughout the night.
Game 4, Wed 10/16: Non-stop rain all day. No game.
Game 5, Thu 10/17: Overcast, no rain
The next few days are overcast, but dry.

I suspect the Tue. Oct. 15 gets played, given what you've listed. There'd have been about six hours to get the field in playing condition.

The Wed. Oct. 16 game looks probable to be postponed. That game would be made up the next day, with the game scheduled for Thu. Oct. 17 pushed back to Fri. Oct. 18, using up the off day. I'm not sure if the Sat. Oct. 19 game would be played as scheduled, or if both games in the NL city would also be pushed back a day; I suspect the former, given the preferences of television for sticking to the original playing dates as much as possible.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

I suspect the Tue. Oct. 15 gets played, given what you've listed. There'd have been about six hours to get the field in playing condition.

Possibly. Hard to say... I wonder what the thinking would've been if (assuming weather forecasts that turned out to be accurate were available) MLB knew they had several hours to get the field ready, but they also knew that drizzle would arrive 20-30 minutes after the first pitch, and would not let up all night. That might tend towards a postponement, but (again, making an assumption about the forecast) knowing that there was no way a game could be played the next day might suggest they play it in the rain...

I'm thinking it's more-likely they play the Tuesday game in the drizzle. That said, in my '74 series I'll probably postpone both the Tues & Wed games because that makes it more-interesting ... (from the perspective that I find it very interesting reading about the '62 & 75 World Series' & how the weather and postponements affected pitching rotations.)