Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred made the following statement "We feel like we made the decision that would provide us the greatest possible security in terms of protecting the fans, the players, the umpires, everybody involved in the game." It's not very often MLB games get postponed outside of weather. In fact in Baltimore, there has never been a postponement outside of weather. The last game that was postponed due to riots was in 1992 when four L.A. Dodgers games were cancelled.
I absolutely agree with postponing the game in Baltimore due to riots. Sports in general is a place where fans go for entertainment and to have a good time. Anytime there is violence that could potentially injure fans, players, or officials it will always be ok in my opinion to postpone a game. If Major League Baseball would not have postponed the game in Baltimore there could have been thousands of fans subject to violence and injury. The location of Camden Yards is located downtown Baltimore within blocks of where the riots were happening.
References:
Espn.com. (2015). Retrieved September 10, 2015 from http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12776587/game-baltimore-orioles-chicago-white-sox-postponed-due-riots.
Delatorre, M. (2015). Retrieved September 10, 2015 from http://kfor.com/2015/04/28/fans-prohibited-from-attending-orioles-game-on-wednesday/.
- Andrew
This is a great example of an event changing dates. The MLB season is long enough that it provides plenty of time to reschedule a game like this and given the instability that was present at the time it ended up being both the safe and the smart call. This is one of those instances where no one would be critical of the commissioner for trying to prevent a dangerous situation; however, if something were to have happened, he wouldn't hear the end of it.
ReplyDeleteFantastic example of a postponement of a game. Although it does negatively impact the fan and their experience, ultimately their safety is #1. I like that a statement was issued that gave reasonings behind the decision. What other options do you think the organization could have had? What type of fan activation could have been implemented for ticket holders to the game as a thank you for their cooperation? Free hot dog or souvenir at the next scheduled game perhaps?
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