Yankees-Red Sox rain delay fury after game’s start time in Boston moved due to NBA Finals as fans say ‘you gotta laugh’
THE Boston Red Sox game against the New York Yankees experienced a 72-minute rain delay on Friday night.
The game had already been moved from 7:10 pm to 6:30 pm as a courtesy to fans interested in watching the Boston Celtics take on the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Texas.
The initial schedule change was made earlier in the week and announced by Major League Baseball.
However, when fans arrived at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, for the game, they were met with a tarp on the field as the game experienced a delay.
"#FenwayWeather Update: Due to inclement weather tonight's first pitch is delayed. We will provide further updates as they become available," tweeted the Red Sox.
Fans and reporters at Fenway said the stadium's ground crew took the field just before 7 pm to remove the tarp and prepare to resume game preparations.
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"Looks like we will have baseball soon!" Yankees reporter Bryan Hoch wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Hoch later reported that the game would start at approximately 7:40 pm — and he was not far off.
The first pitch of the game was thrown just a few minutes after his estimate.
But that did not stop fans from cracking jokes about the irony of the situation.
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"So much for an early start," one fan quipped on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"So, Boston change the start time 30 minutes earlier because of the Celtics game only for the game to be delayed by rain," another replied.
"You gotta laugh," wrote a third person.
"Let’s get this game in BOYS!!!! Go YANKSSS!!!" a fourth added.
"Red Sox manipulating the weather to avoid this L, how shameless," a user joked.
The Yankees wound up winning Friday night's game by a score of 8-1.
RIVALRY, COME RAIN OR SHINE
Friday's game will be the first time the Red Sox play the Yankees in the 2024 season, continuing their historic feud dating back over a century.
The Yankees and the Red Sox first tested their skills against one another in 1903, just a couple of years after the Yankees were formed in New York.
Five key MLB rule changes in 2024
1. The pitch clock is reduced from 20 to 18 seconds with runners on base. It will remain at 15 seconds with bases empty.
2. When a pitching change is made, the innings timer will reset to 2:00 rather than 2:15 like it did last year.
3. Teams will only be allowed four mound visits per game in 2024, down from five last season.
4. Fielders and defenders blocking bases will be called for obstruction.
5. The runners' lane from home plate to first base has been widened to include the dirt between the grass and the white line.
Competition between players from the two teams rose quickly as they both played major league competitions, coming to a head in 1919.
That was the year that the Red Sox owner at the time, Harry Frazee, decided to trade all-time star Babe Ruth to the Yankees to raise money to fund a musical production, according to the Washington Post.
The deal got Frazee $125,000 upfront and a $300,000 loan — even though Ruth broke the record that year for the annual home runs.
According to some diehard fans, this risky choice kicked off decades of losses for the Red Sox and the beginning of a new era for the Yankees.
"The Curse of the Bambino" is credited with handing the Yankees 26 world championships between 1920 and 2003.
The Red Sox broke the "curse" a year later by beating the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship with a shocking score of 10-3.
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The team won the World Series Championship the same year.
The teams last met on September 14, 2023, when the Yankees again proved victorious, beating the Red Sox 6-5.