Ask the UEFL - Testing for Fog and Other Perils of Play

At nearly all levels of baseball, the sport's rules state that play shall be halted when lack of visibility poses a safety or playability risk to players or other persons. Last week, college umpire-in-chief William Van Raaphorst turned to a unique experiment to test for fog density during a USC-LMU game. The real-world science lab worked, as visibility was deemed too poor to allow play to continue.

The Rule: For reference, NCAA Rule 4-2-b states that "the umpire-in-chief may consult with the game administrator to determine suspension, resumption or termination of play" in the event of "bad weather or unfit conditions [that] prevail during a game." 5-8-c requires the umpire to wait a "reasonable amount of time (not less than 30 minutes)" before calling the game, and uses the delightfully devilish phrase, "any cause that puts patrons or players in peril."

In professional baseball, the citation is OBR 5.12(b)(1) for a game in progress ("The umpire-in-chief shall call 'Time' when in his judgment weather, darkness or similar conditions make immediate further play impossible"). Rule 4.03(e) requires the UIC to wait at least 30 minutes after suspending play before calling the game, and allows UIC to "continue the suspension so long as he believes there is any chance to resume play" (in a few years, perhaps the Rule Committee will change it to "so long as the umpire believes...").

NFHS (high school) rules are similar: "'Time shall be called by the umpire and play is suspended when...the umpire considers the weather or ground conditions unfit for play" (5-2-1.b). High school allows an umpire to call the game, rendering it final, after 30 minutes of suspension (unless the game is part of a state series, or other exceptions determined by the local governing body or state).

Summary of Jurisdiction (time when a party has authority to decide whether to play/stop a game):
1) Pre-Game: In general, the home team determines whether or not to start a game.*
2) Game Has Started: The umpire determines whether to suspend or restart a game.^
3) Between Two Games of a Double-Header: Treated like in-game; the umpire has jurisdiction.

*College uses "coach and the director of athletics (or rep) of the host institution," while high school uses "home coach," and professional ball uses "home team" (OBR 4.04[a]).
^In pro ball, the umpire-in-chief assumes jurisdiction when he receives the home team's batting order. In NCAA, the umpire is officially in charge of the game upon receipt of both teams' lineups.

Seagulls caused a suspended game in 2017.

Testing for Fog: As for determining what exactly "any cause that puts patrons or players in peril" (NCAA),  "conditions make immediate further play impossible" (OBR), or "unfit for play" means, that's left to umpire discretion. As for how to make such a judgment call, that's similarly up to the umpire.

Then again, perhaps some perilous conditions are more obvious than others. Recall the rain and circling seagulls that caused a suspended game in Japan during the 2017 NPB season when umpires deemed the birds too dangerous to allow play to continue.
Related Post: NPB Game Suspended After Flock-of-Birds Delay (8/31/17).

It just so happened that UIC Van Raaphorst found that the best way to test for fog was to hit a baseball into the sky and see if tracking the ball posed an issue. It evidently did, and the game entered a fog delay, ultimately resulting in termination of play for the rest of the night. Because the game hadn't yet gone the requisite five innings (or 4 1/2 with the home team in the lead), the game was postponed and will be made up at a later date.

I just wouldn't want to be the right fielder during that test. Video as follows:

Anatomy of a Tie as Cubs-Pirates Game Ends in 1-1 Draw

Thursday's Cubs-Pirates game ended in a tie for the first time in MLB since 2005, when the Astros and Reds finished their game even at 2-2. Rules discussion: Is a tie ever an acceptable outcome in Major League Baseball?

PNC Park's final game of 2016 ended in a tie. 

Thursday's game in Pittsburgh ended as a tie in the 6th inning due to persistently poor weather at PNC Park. HP Umpire and Crew Chief Brian Gorman had called for the tarp just one hour and fifteen minutes into the game, but after waiting out another hour decided to formally suspend the game in the top of the 6th inning with a 1-1 score when the weather forecast began to look exceedingly bleak.

Whereas Official Baseball Rule 4.04 concerns Weather and Field Conditions prior to the game's first pitch (and states that the home club shall determine whether such a game is to be played [unless the game is the second game of a double header, in which case the umpire shall decide]), OBR 7.02 addresses already-begun games terminated prematurely, with 7.02(a)(5) and (6) used most frequently when a rain delay occurs: "A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated for any of the following reasons...(5) Weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead; or (6) It is a regulation game that is called with the score tied."

Thus, Rule 7.02(a)(6) states Thursday's Cubs-Pirates game was suspended at the time Gorman opted to terminate the game due to weather...So how could a suspended game "that must be completed at a future date" result in a tie and a called game?

A rain delay turned into a called game at PNC.

Rule 7.02(b)(4)(B) states how a suspended game that has progressed far enough to become a regulation game AND is the last scheduled game between the two clubs during that season (Thursday's was the final game between Chicago and Pittsburgh in 2016) shall be treated: "If the score is tied, the game shall be declared a 'tie game'" BUT that the game "must be played [to completion]...if the League President determines that not playing such game might affect post-season play, including eligibility for the post-season and/or home-field advantage for any post-season game."

Because the Cubs had already clinched home field advantage by virtue of clinching the best record in the National League, and because the Pirates had already been eliminated from playoff contention, Thursday's Cubs-Pirates game qualified as a meaningless game, as far as post-season implications are concerned: A Chicago win or loss would not change anything about the playoffs, and, thus, Thursday's game, as the last scheduled game between the two clubs, was properly declared a tie.

Wrap: Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 9/29/16 | Video of Tie Game available via "Read More"