Yankees Forced To Deal With Upset Fans After Rain Delay Gaffe

Yankees Dealing With Angry Fans Who Left Ballpark During Monday's Rain Delay

WEATHERING THE STORM: In N.Y., Matt Gagne cites sources as saying that Yankees management was "livid at stadium workers" for the incident, and a "guest-relations supervisor drew the ire of the team's brass." As a result, the Yankee Stadium employees holding "How may I help you?" signs were "issued a warning" before last night's game against the Red Sox. But Yankees Dir of Media Relations Jason Zillo said, "We have about 5,000 event staff on game days. There are too many people for me to say that no one misspoke." Zillo promised that the Yankees "would post more frequent updates on weather reports and possible start times during future rain delays" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/6). Zillo also noted that although the team has a "no re-entering policy, some fans were let back in while others were not, and this problem needed to be fixed" (N.Y. POST, 5/6). On Long Island, Roderick Boone notes the Yankees held the meeting with game-day staff before last night's game in order to "get everyone on the same page when it comes to weather-related delays and devise a way to keep the fans more informed." The Yankees Monday night issued "only two weather-related public address announcements" -- before the original 7:05pm ET start time alerting fans the game was delayed, and another at 8:50pm announcing the game would begin 30 minutes later (NEWSDAY, 5/6).

Writer Says Yankees Have New Culture That Is "Obsessed With Rules"

TIME TO TAKE COVER? In N.Y., Filip Bondy writes it has "become clear in recent years that all major league clubs are loathe to postpone games for a variety of reasons, most of them involving cash registers." Instead of canceling the games early, teams "open the gates, sell refreshments to tormented audiences and wait out inclement weather as long as humanly possible." But Bondy writes, "At the very least, teams ... owe these people a series of reassuring or pessimistic reports, something more than a general pregame weather forecast" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/6). ESPN's Mike Greenberg said, "At any ballpark in America, you schedule a night game and it’s supposed to start at 7:00, and you wind up starting that game more than two hours later and the game ends at 1:00 in the morning -- that’s a subject that I think can be discussed at great length" ("Mike & Mike in the Morning," ESPN2, 5/6).

NOT JUST IN N.Y.: Yesterday's Astros-Nationals game was suspended due to rain with the score tied 10-10 in the 11th inning and will resume July 9 in Houston. The Nationals said per MLB rules yesterday's game is "considered a regulation game and therefore no rainchecks will be granted." In DC, Tim Lemke noted while fans "got more than 10 innings of baseball," they still "didn't get a result." Lemke wrote, "The Nationals, of all teams, should be more sensitive to fans in this situation. Attendance is way down, enthusiasm is low and cynicism is way up. And there is a lingering belief among fans that the team owners just don't get it. If club officials were savvy, they'd offer all fans with tickets to Tuesday's game the ability to come back for any non-premium weekday game" (WASHINGTONTIMES.com, 5/5).

Print This Article