Rain hit Bristol Motor Speedway just as the Braves and Reds were set to make history.
MLB’s Speedway Classic had all the bells and whistles you’d want from a showcase event. Players took pace laps in trucks around the NASCAR track. Pitbull and Tim McGraw delivered a pregame concert. The player introductions featured pit crews changing tires on cars decked out in team logos.
Even the uniforms got the treatment, with numbers scripted to look like NASCAR car numbers.
Then the skies opened up at 7:20 p.m., right after the national anthem. The tarp came out, players scrambled to the makeshift dugouts, and suddenly baseball’s special night turned into a waiting game.
Here’s where it gets tricky for both teams. Spencer Strider was ready to go for Atlanta, while the Reds had Chase Burns set to take the mound. Both guys had finished their pregame routines and were locked in.
Now what? After sitting around in a rain delay, do you send them back out there for another warmup session? Or do you pivot to the bullpen and save your hard-throwing righties for another day?
That’s the thing about weather delays – they mess with everything. Pitchers’ arms cool down. Timing gets thrown off. Managers start second-guessing their plans.
The real issue is that this game can’t just be rescheduled. It’s a one-off showcase event, the kind MLB doesn’t get many chances to pull off. You’ve got the auto-racing grandstand beyond the outfield fence, a crowd that’s been waiting for this unique experience, and all the pageantry that comes with playing baseball on a NASCAR track.
Mother Nature apparently wanted to test everyone’s patience. All fans can do now is wait and see if they’ll actually get to witness just how special an MLB game at Bristol Motor Speedway can be.
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