The end of the baseball regular season means that I begin to turn my attention to trip planning for the year ahead.
In my estimation, this is the best way to spend the months between now and the first pitch of Spring Training. It’s also a good time to think about past adventures, whether from months previous or from several years ago.
Perhaps it’s the arrival of cooler weather where I live, but I’ve been thinking about some of my ballpark visits over the years in which weather was a major factor. While I’ve encountered my share of rainouts throughout my travels — about a dozen since 2010 — I’ve also been to games with memorable weather.
There are five such games, presented here in chronological order, that stand above the rest:
5. Cold in Syracuse (April 14, 2013)
You might look at the city and date listed above and think, “Uh, yeah, no kidding.” It’s not exactly a shocker that April in Central New York can be chilly. While there are some drawbacks to traveling this early in the season, particularly to ballparks without roofs, I love getting my season of travel underway in April. When I saw that the then-Syracuse Chiefs were scheduled to host the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in an April doubleheader, I knew I had to be there — regardless of what Mother Nature had in store.
While there wasn’t any precipitation to speak of, the twin bill was as cold as I’ve ever been at a ballpark. The high for the day was just 46 degrees, which isn’t exactly baseball weather. This was one of the rare times that I wore a knit cap and gloves to a ballgame, and although they helped a bit, it wasn’t long before I was cold enough to be shivering. Although I’d done my best to dress warmly enough, the fact that I was outdoors from before noon until close to 7 p.m. was enough to chill me to the bone. And I wasn’t the only one, as players on both teams used all sorts of apparel in an effort to keep from getting too cold.
Weather aside, there were some memorable highlights during this visit. I had a great behind-the-scenes tour of NBT Bank Stadium, got an autograph from former MLB pitcher Jeremy Accardo, and ended up with a pair of foul balls. I even ate a hot dog topped with macaroni and cheese, which helped to keep the chills at bay for a moment. Although there were certainly some moments in which I was uncomfortable, I’m glad I attended this pair of games. Whenever I get a little cool at a ballpark, I’m able to quickly remind myself that I’m not as cold as I was on a day in Syracuse in April of 2013.
4. Rain in Philadelphia (July 13, 2013)
You know those “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it rain this hard/I can’t imagine it raining any harder” downpours? I experienced one of them on July 13, 2013, in Philadelphia. To this day, this is the heaviest rain I’ve ever experienced at a ballpark, and it’s nothing else comes even close. I was in the City of Brotherly Love on the eighth day of a baseball trip that would serve as my first visit to Citizens Bank Park. The day was really muggy from the get-go. I often had trouble with photos because my camera lenses were fogging up.
I remember having a blast wandering around the ballpark throughout the game. I’d recently bought a new telephoto lens for my DSLR camera, and this was the first trip I was using it. I checked out Citizens Bank Park from dozens of different vantage points, happily snapping photos as I went. Until some sprinkles appeared. Soon, the sprinkles began to fall harder, causing the game to be delayed in the eighth inning. Like most fans, I scrambled for the dry confines of the concourse, and I remember standing shoulder to shoulder with wet and somewhat cranky Philly fans for a delay that lasted nearly an hour.
The rain lightened enough to allow the teams to finish the game sometime later, but it began to pour heavily soon after the final out. If you’ve ever been to CBP, you know that the parking lots around the ballpark are vast. I’d parked in a distant lot to save a few bucks, which meant that I had a lengthy walk to reach my vehicle. I’m guessing the walk from the closest CBP gate to my car was about seven or eight minutes. Not a big deal with average weather, but unpleasant in a downpour. I remember breaking into a run as soon as I left the ballpark and running the entire way. There was standing water in several areas of the parking lot, and I just pounded through them. By the time I reached the dryness of my vehicle, I was absolutely soaked. Wet to the underwear. When I changed out of my wet attire back at my hotel a short while later, I discovered my passport in the pocket of my cargo shorts. It was so wet that it had curled into something of a “C” shape. I dried it out and partially flattened it by placing it on top of the air conditioning vent in my room while having visions of not being allowed back into Canada because of this document’s condition. Until I renewed it several years later, the passport remained warped — a unique memory of a rainy day in Philly.
3. Snow in Syracuse (April 17, 2018)
As a Canadian, I’m no stranger to snow. But I don’t generally expect to encounter it on my baseball trips. Flurries, however, have been in the air on a handful of occasions when I’ve traveled in April, but no day was snowier than April 17, 2018. I love early-season travel, and Syracuse is often a tempting April destination because it’s the closest professional ballpark to where I live. Although I’ve been thwarted by bad weather on a few Syracuse trips over the years, I was hopeful back in 2018 when I made plans to begin my season in “The Salt City.” That hopeful feeling turned to concern as the trip drew close and the forecast worsened. The first game of the trip was postponed due to rain and cold temperatures, which set up a doubleheader for April 17. Perfect! Well, kind of.
I woke on the morning of April 17 to see snow in the forecast, which didn’t exactly make me feel hopeful I’d see 14 innings of action at NBT Bank Stadium. There were flurries in the air by the time I pulled into the ballpark’s parking lot, and heavy winds caused the snowflakes to sting my face. I’d dressed appropriately for the game, so I wasn’t uncomfortable — and I had fun making my way around the seating bowl and noting the various pieces of attire that the players were using to keep warm.
By first pitch, I counted fewer than 100 fans in attendance. That was fine for me, and I moved around from spot to spot and snagged three foul balls. The worsening weather caused whiteout conditions on the field, resulting in a 20-minute game delay after the third inning. Incredibly, the teams were able to complete the first game of the doubleheader — despite some players demonstratively complaining about the flurries impeding their vision. Game #2 was postponed shortly after the first game concluded, and I soon found myself outside the main gates in a mini blizzard — which turned out to be the scene for one of the most unusual ballpark pictures I’ve ever taken.
2. Heat in Fayetteville (July 2, 2019)
Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, NC, is an absolutely wonderful ballpark to visit. I’ve been fortunate to attend several games there over the years, including a pair of contests during the Woodpeckers’ inaugural 2019 season. I fondly remember each of these visits, but the second one stands out because of the temperature. I happened to be traveling through the state during something of a heat wave, and nowhere was that more evident than in Fayetteville.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m not exactly a fan of the heat. And that’s putting it mildly. Still, if I have to be hot, being at a ballpark is a pretty good place to be. I remember being doused in sweat after my first lap around the concourse, and the walk didn’t yield much to see, anyway. Batting practice was canceled on account of the temperature, and I wonder how many staffers noticed me walking around in the heat and wondered who the lunatic was.
Other than the concourse behind home plate, there aren’t a whole lot of shaded areas at Segra. While I did my best to check out the park from every angle and spend time in various spots, I also hung out in the shade when I could. And I definitely made repeated trips to the team shop and suite level, simply to soak up some A/C. I downed several bottles of water throughout my visit, and actually skipped dinner — one of only a handful of times I’ve visited a ballpark and not eaten something. It was just too hot to have any sort of appetite.
1. Heat in Texas (July 8, 2022)
I was very excited to visit Globe Life Field in 2022, even though some friends teased me in advance about how I’d fare in the July Texas heat. Turns out, it was hot. Shocker, I know. How hot? The hottest temperature I saw during my five days in the Lone Star State was 105 degrees, which I believe is the most heat I’ve ever experienced in my life. With little hyperbole, walking out of my hotel and feeling the hot air felt like opening an oven door. I swear that the asphalt in my hotel parking lot felt soft underfoot as it absorbed the sun’s rays. I was thankful I wasn’t barefoot.
This was a rare time in which the temperature actually impeded my ability to explore. As you know, I routinely make one or more laps around the exterior of every ballpark I visit, and I believe this was the first time I skipped this activity. It was simply too hot. When I arrived, I was initially fully eager to thoroughly explore the area — but soon found myself feeling downright miserable because of the heat. I found a shaded area and spent my time there until the gates opened. Globe Life Field’s retractable roof, of course, was closed on this day, so the time spent inside the climate-controlled and comfortable ballpark was a blast.
It wasn’t until the next few days of my visit, in which the temperature was more moderate — that is, in the high 90s — that I felt the gumption to make some laps around the ballpark and document everything. I was glad to have done so, as the area around Globe Life Field is simply one of the best that I’ve ever encountered in my travels.
