A rainy day in Florida on Monday led to the cancellation of all but one Grapefruit League game, marking the first rainout for the Detroit Tigers at their spring training home since 2016. The sole game that was played saw the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the New York Mets 7-4 in Jupiter.
Despite efforts to reschedule, the New York Yankees' game against the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers was also canceled due to the forecast of sustained rain throughout the evening. The Yankees remained in Fort Myers for their upcoming game against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
Two schedule changes were made on Sunday in anticipation of the inclement weather. The start times for the Yankees-Red Sox and Atlanta Braves-Baltimore Orioles games were pushed back three hours to 4:05 p.m. EST. However, the Orioles eventually announced the cancellation of their game against Atlanta at the original start time of 1:05 p.m.
Other games affected by the weather included Miami vs. Houston in West Palm Beach, Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia in Clearwater, and Minnesota vs. Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte. Unfortunately, none of the canceled games will be rescheduled.
The weather challenges during spring training serve as a reminder to the Tampa Bay Rays, who are facing the prospect of playing their regular-season home games outdoors this year. Due to Hurricane Milton damaging Tropicana Field, the Rays will be playing at Tampa's Steinbrenner Field, which is exposed to the elements.
Major League Baseball made adjustments to the Rays' schedule in an effort to avoid summer rain at their temporary home. The team is set to play the majority of their early games at home before transitioning to more road games later in the season. Additionally, weeknight games in July and August will start later to mitigate potential weather disruptions.
These weather-related challenges highlight the adaptability required in baseball, both during spring training and the regular season.
