Sunshine delay
 

I am sure some/most of you have had this, but it was a first for me.

Tournament this weekend, 6:30PM game, and the sun was setting just above the treeline perfectly and directly in straight away CF.

Catcher wasn't ready, so Coach went to take the first warm up pitch, and was almost killed by it. Luckily he caught the pitch, but he made a very strange noise in the process. :eek:

I delayed the start of the game by about 10 minutes.
Strangest weather delay I have ever seen.

there probably needs to be more of that ....... i've been in several situations where if the ball was hit at me I'd be lucky to see it

I read some decades ago in Sports Illustrated of a varsity hardball game in upstate NY that, due to the same circumstance, was, in the PU's words, "sunned out". It was said they'd already cancelled quite a few games for snow-covered ground, so a sun cancell'n was especially vexing.

One thing I wonder is whether you may be seeing this on fields where you wouldn't've previously, because they're playing deeper into the calendar than previously. I don't remember seeing softball games this time of year when I was that age. The sun may line up in ways that weren't anticipated when the season came earlier.

Would you stop the game if any of the fielders had the sun in their eyes? Certainly don't stop the game if the umpire has the sun in their eyes?

Hasn't happened to me personally, but I have seen it at a tournament I was working.

Men's FP tournament, game is in about the 3rd or 4th inning as the sun is setting behind center field. New inning starts, first pitch comes in, catcher has to move his glove at the last minute to catch the ball.

PU: Hey, catch....could you see that pitch?
Catcher: Not really, that sun is brutal.
PU: Agreed....TIME!

About a ten minute delay until the sun dropped below the horizon and the game continued.

This was in July.

I can deal with the sun in my eyes, but if I'm the PU, I want to make damn sure that the catcher can see the ball....

I never thought of stopping either a softball or baseball game until I read this article because it reminds me of a H.S. baseball diamond here in NW Ohio.

The problem only exists during Summer league games (which all have a 06:00pmEDT start time). MTD, Jr., and I have umpired Summer league games on this diamond as recently as this past Summer.

The diamond's orientation is NW to SE from HP to 2B and sits down in a depression. The Sun problem begins every evening approximately between 07:10pm and 07:20pm and lasts for about 15 minutes.

The F6, F5, and the BU (if he is in the C or D position) cannot see the ball from the time the pitch is approximately two thirds of the way to the plate until the ball is fielded by either the F7 or F8. There has been numerous occasions when I have asked the F6 if he saw the batted ball and his response was not until the outfielder fielded the ball.

It is not a pleasant feeling knowing that you and the infielders cannot see the pitch or the batted ball coming at you.

After reading posts in this thread I am considering the possibility of stopping the game the next time I umpire there during the Summer for the safety of the players. Losing the ball in the Sun is one thing, but not being able to see the pitch or to see the ball come off the bat is another thing.

MTD, Sr.

We have a field here where you cannot see anything if in B. In summer ball, it usually happens in the middle of the game.

I have decided that I don't want to get killed out there so I move into C with a runner on first. I know it doesn't fit the mechanics book but so be it.

We renamed the field Stonehenge :cool:

I have never seen a field where the land was so flat beyond the outfield with no obstructions (buildings, berms, etc.) where a pitcher in a FP game would be in the sun below the hip of the pitcher. Then again, there are some pretty good sunglasses out there.

"10 min. delay while the sun goes down."

But we don't have lights!

I had never seen one before either.
And this was 10-u.

Of course it is a bit crazy for a ball field to be positioned so that pitches are coming out of the sun, but it happens. I had one like that in a high school game years ago. I just worked through it as best I could till the sun had dropped below the horizon.

Here in the Great Northwest, the sun takes a large path over the course of the year. It sets in the northwest in mid summer and southwest in the midwinter.

I've not had to have a sun delay but it could happen on some fields. I know there have been times on two of our fields where a ball hit to right field might be tough to call fair/foul. And a ball thrown from that area might be tough to see.

Since it may only be ten minutes before it becomes safe again, it might be a considered alternative to taking one's chances....

Rita

As long as you are willing to do that for EVERY defender, not a problem

On Tuesday in my MS game, the coaches agreed to a 15 minute break for the sun to set, in PRE GAME.

It was a good break in the game for my partners and I to get on the same page in the 3-Umpire system. Kind of a little intermission.

Sun sets directly in center field during the fall at this field.