The Guardians have some decisions to make about "when to schedule the first pitch" for their home opener due to the total solar eclipse set to hit Cleveland on the same day, according to Ryan Lewis of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. The start time for the Guardians' game against the White Sox on April 8 "remains to be determined" in part because the moon "will entirely block out the sun for roughly three minutes and 50 seconds" in Northeast Ohio at 3:13pm that afternoon. People “will need special glasses to view the eclipse” taking place from 2:00-3:13pm, and then again from 3:17-4:29pm. That effectively means 2:00-4:29pm “is a no go for baseball.” The Guardians are looking at 5:10pm or 7:10pm “as the most likely game times.” The possibility of playing the game earlier than the eclipse that day “isn't really feasible.” Meanwhile, traffic concerns also play a factor -- the Great Lakes Science Center, where NASA will be broadcasting the day's events, “is expecting 50,000 people to view the cosmic phenomenon,” while basketball fans "could still be in town" following the NCAA Women's Final Four at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 2/2).
