Bees Home Opener Rained Out
Apr 9, 2019, 10:46 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — It’s been a while since we’ve seen the boys of summer out at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City.
And it’s going to be a little while longer since it’s not quite summer at all.
“We’ve been moving water all day just trying to keep it off the dirt,” said Jeremy Langlois, who is the assistant groundskeeper for the Salt Lake Bees.
Rain and baseball just don’t go well together.
Even though the groundskeepers do their best to try and make it work.
“We literally have tarps under this tarp to prevent the infield from getting soaked because once it’s soaked, it’s unplayable,” said Langlois. “If it’s too soft, you’ll have players slipping and sliding and that’s a safety hazard we can’t afford.”
Some fans showed up anyway for the home opener Tuesday evening, hoping the game might somehow still be played.
The rain was just too much. @SaltLakeBees game for tonight has been postponed. They’ll try to play a doubleheader tomorrow. #KSLTV #baseball pic.twitter.com/I8kr4VrHb3
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) April 9, 2019
“We like to come early for batting practice and hang out,” said season-ticket holder Jon Bray.
However, as it became apparent the large grey tarp wasn’t going to be moved, and the rain kept falling, Bees general manager Marc Amicone decided to make the call at about 5:30.
“I know a lot more right now about radar systems and how those work than I ever thought I would know,” said Amicone with a slight laugh.
At least it’s only rain.
Amicone keeps pictures in his phone from three years ago when the Los Angeles Angels were going to play an exhibition game at Smith’s Ballpark and canceled because of snow.
“I don’t know why. It’s a bad memory,” said Amicone when asked about why he keeps those pictures in his phone.
That game still hasn’t been made up.
However, the home opener is now planned as part of a doubleheader Wednesday—if the weather holds up.
“We’ll try to get two in tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully Mother Nature cooperates,” said Langlois. “We’ll stay here until it stops raining, because we can’t leave it like this. If that water settles and gets through, it’ll get the dirt wet. And then we’re back to square one.”
