Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Opening day is here at Sahlen Field where our own Buffalo Bisons will play a six-game homestand against the Worcester Red Sox.
The team is keeping close tabs on the weather as we've seen just about everything from Mother Nature of late. The forecast is being kind by Buffalo standards for this time of year, calling for clouds and temperatures dipping into the 50's.
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"I'm hopeful ... the weather has no factor in anything, but we live in Buffalo, so it's certainly going to have a factor at some point," said Buffalo Bisons General Manager Anthony Sprague. "There's probably not a sport where weather has as big of a factor as it does in baseball, and like I said, not just rain - which you could also run into in these early ones - but the cold and the wind can really affect stuff."
Snow or rain, what's the procedure for calling games?
Sprague mentions it's usually just a game by game judgement call.
"We'll talk with both managers and the umpires and see if it's safe for the players to play. [We look at] the field condition for footing - if it's too cold, players could pull a muscle or get hurt actually running the bases, we don't want that."
Baseball fans and pros will tell you that wind has one of the biggest impacts on the game.
"If it's windy, it's going to wreak havoc not just with pitches, but with fly balls, pop ups, throws to different bases. If you have a knuckleballer or a guy that really relies on some off-speed pitches, it really makes it difficult for them. Hitters as well, if you catch one off the the end of the bat or the handle of the bat, you're gonna feel it right in your fingertips and just makes it a little bit more challenging for everyone involved," said Sprague.
If the Bisons do face cold conditions and no precipitation postponing play, they do have the luxury of torpedo heaters and going inside between breaks to stretch-out before going back out into the elements.
Sprague recalls several moments where the games in the beginning of a season were snowed out, but also a time where they removed feet of snow from the field in time for play.
"We had to get a snowblower to try and shoot the snow out of the field to try to get some heat going on the field and then we put black sand on it to try and get some heat, some sunlight on the field. I remember we actually did get the field ready to go and played."
Head Groundskeeper Kelly Rensel says he absolutely doesn't want to hear the 'S' word... SNOW, when it comes to approaching gametime and mentions he hasn't turned on the sprinklers yet because the ground is so cold. However, he'll be ready with the snowblowers to get the field clear whenever snow hits the field.
The grounds team have completed all the prep work they can do before the big first game approaches.
"The weather so far this spring, has not been very kind to us. We've had to really rush and try to get just about two weeks of prep work done in maybe three or four good days that we've had.
We've mowed the field, we've been edging the infield, the warning track, getting the mound level, the bullpen leveled and doing all the pretty work to get this place looking good."
While the cold weather and windchill typically has a negative impact on players, some of the seasoned veterans will tell you that the wind that passes through Sahlen Field gives the team an edge, if you hit the ball the right way.
"The veterans that have been here for one or two years, they talk about it with the younger players, especially early in the season," says Sprague. "The wind when it blows across the field, it is a significant home field advantage. 'If if I hit a ball into the gap and right field, it's probably not going to go out because the wind is going to push it to left field.' They know the little nuances of Sahlen Field."