MLB postpones two games due to smoke issues

Flags flaps in the wind in front of the sun which is obscured by haze at Yankee Stadium before a game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox was rescheduled due to poor air quality. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

MLB postpones two games on Wednesday due to smoke issues

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 6/7/23

Major League Baseball has been forced to postpone a pair of games Wednesday for a rather unusual reason.

The league postponed the White Sox-Yankees game in New York and the Tigers-Phillies game in Philadelphia due to air quality issues. Both cities are being impacted by heavy smoke from wildfires burning in Canada, which led to both postponements.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post shared a photo earlier from Yankee Stadium, and the haze from the smoke was evident.

The picture does not do full justice to the haze over Yankee Stadium. It feels like 5am/dawn-ish. I came from downtown Manhattan and this thickness/haze is far worse. pic.twitter.com/TTNY52LIK7

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) June 7, 2023

Health concerns were certainly a major motivating factor behind the postponements. However, more practically, some players apparently had concerns about whether they would even be able to track fly balls in the haze.

Concern at Yankee Stadium among players and execs about playing in the smoke is about the viability of fly balls

Carlos Rodon pointed out some balls disappeared into the sky last night, and the smoke is much worse today than yesterday

— Joon Lee (@joonlee) June 7, 2023

The smoke and haze was an issue last night, too, but it appears to have gotten even worse a day later. It’s pretty easy to see why MLB was not prepared to ask players to play through these conditions.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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