Softball in The Last Frontier

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by UmpireErnie

I am jealous of all of you! Our high school season is scheduled to open April 22 but a couple of feet of spring snow has but that in jeopardy. I drove past one complex where the majority of Anchorage games are played and they trying to snowblow the fields.

I am hoping for a lot of sunshine this week!

Umpire Ernie:

Don't be too quick to be jealous. My first H.S. game (baseball or softball) was supposed to be on Monday, April 01st (no April Fool's Day jokes please). It was a girls' varsity softball game and was canceled because the game time (05:00pm) temperaturee forcast was 38F with a windchill factor of 28F.

Yesterday I umpired a boys' varsity baseball DH at 10:00am. The temperature was 40F with a windchill factor of 30F and the temperature and the wind never did get better. MTD, Jr. was supposed to be my partner but had to scratch because a work scheduling screw up but ended up being assigned a girls' JV softball DH with a start time of 01:00pm and it was canceled because of the cold weather.

MTD, Sr.

[Manny A]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

Don't be too quick to be jealous. My first H.S. game (baseball or softball) was supposed to be on Monday, April 01st (no April Fool's Day jokes please). It was a girls' varsity softball game and was canceled because the game time (05:00pm) temperaturee forcast was 38F with a windchill factor of 28F.

If games here in northern VA would've gotten canceled due to those conditions, I would've umpired about 6 or 7 less games so far this spring. There have been three of my games where it was snowing. I have worked only one game (out of 11 total) in short sleeves.

But I guess things are much better here than up in AK.

[HugoTafurst]

I don't suppose you want to hear how miserable it was yesteday when a I got out of the car after driving about a00 miles south and felt like I was in a sauna - about 85F and about 90% humidity...
Those days arent supposed to start till June/July...

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by HugoTafurst

about 85F and about 90% humidity...

That's called a coolfront here.

[Insane Blue]

Sorry to hear all the bad weather stories. I have had 1 game rescheduled due to rain. I have been able to work 6 HS Baseball and 24 HS Softball games since February 25th.

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

That's called a coolfront here.

Hmmm a heat index of 102 is better than 108 granted but it's not much of a difference at that point.

[NDblue]

23" of heavy, wet snow put a huge damper on ball around here. We haven't been able to get any high school baseball or softball in and just a few college softball games have been played so far. None have been called because of low temperature, just soggy swamplike fields that are unplayable.

[SWFLguy]

I remember my days back in central NY when we might be lucky to get a game in before May. Late winter snows, melting snow/rain making fields unplayable. Then we'd have wall to wall double headers to try to get in enough games before play-offs. There were a few years when you'd begin play in late March and have few postponements and cancellations, but they were few and far between. Here we might begin at the end of January and have play-offs into late April, early May. Much better.