The dangerously frigid weather and relentless snow sweeping Pittsburgh this weekend bring to mind Pirates games played in wintry weather. Not to the extremes we’re seeing today, mind you. One of the many reasons baseball is the world’s greatest game is that its start is a sign that winter is coming to an end. Even so, occasionally games are played in adverse weather conditions, for several reasons. One is television. Maybe the home team doesn’t want to postpone a game with high ticket sales. Maybe the visiting team isn’t scheduled to come back for the rest of the season. Whatever the reason, professional and college sports organizations stopped caring about the fans in the stands long ago. Let’s relive four such games.
Four Times the Pittsburgh Pirates Played in Snow and Cold
April 7, 1977: St. Louis Cardinals 12, Pirates 6 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh
There was excitement about the 1977 Pirates. Their string of early-1970s dominance in the National League East Division ended in 1976. In 1977, there was a new manager in Chuck Tanner, who hailed from nearby New Castle, new personnel, and, as if to create a visual reminder that things had changed, colorful new uniforms. Unfortunately, for the debut of Tanner and his “Lumber ‘N’ Lightnin’ Gang,” they were greeted by snow and temperatures in the 20s. Moreover, regardless of which players comprised their roster, the Pirates of the 1970s were never a cold-weather team. I was there, bundled up in layers as though it were a Steelers game, with three friends.
The game was essentially over in the top of the first inning, when the Cardinals scored four runs thanks to three Pirates errors. However, the only error that might be attributed to the cold was on a double-play ball hit back to pitcher Jerry Reuss. The ball slipped out of his hand as he threw toward second base. St. Louis led, 12-3, after the top of the eighth.
It made no sense for my friends and me to be there that long, except that leaving ball games early was against our religion, and we were young and used to the 1970s Pirates coming back from steep deficits. Indeed, they scored a run in the eighth and two in the ninth as snow was falling, but the rally fell short. Cardinals veteran Don Kessinger, long a Pirates nemesis during his days as the Chicago Cubs’ shortstop, told Charley Feeney of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I don’t remember a game ending under worse conditions anywhere.”
October 10, 1979: Baltimore Orioles 5, Pirates 4 at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore (World Series Game 1)
This World Series was to commence on the previous evening, but snow and cold postponed it. The next night was no better, but it was decided to play the game anyway. Snow fell in Baltimore before the start of the game. The game-time temperature was 38 degrees. Pirates general manager Hardy Peterson asked traveling secretary Joe O’Toole whether he packed ice skates. Former Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince, dispatched to Baltimore to cover the Series for the local ABC-TV affiliate, had the idea to do the pregame show by the hotel’s outdoor pool, clad in swim trunks, drinking cold beer.
Before the game, as commissioner Bowie Kuhn strolled about the muddy outfield in nothing more than a suit, accompanied by an assistant. The outfield looked like a lake, and rain fell, but they told the press that they weren’t seeing what they were seeing. The field was proclaimed “firm,” even though they acknowledged it didn’t look firm.
“Make Them Take Them Off!”
There was more pregame controversy when Orioles manager Earl Weaver saw two Pirates warming up while wearing stocking caps. Weaver charged at two umpires who were chatting with Kuhn, shouting, “Make them take them off!” Tanner suggested that if Weaver was such a stickler to the rules, then Baltimore outfielder Gary Roenicke shouldn’t be permitted to wear the protective mask on his batting helmet. As Tanner and Weaver ranted at each other, and a Kuhn assistant walked away, holding his ears, the umpires ruled that stocking caps would be prohibited, effective with Game 2.
Reminiscent of that 1977 opener, the Orioles scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Although the Pirates would make it close, the game was over then. Pirates starter Bruce Kison, a 1971 World Series hero, couldn’t get a feel for the ball. He lasted one-third of an inning, gave up three hits and two walks, and uncorked a wild pitch. Second baseman Phil Garner threw a double-play grounder into left field. The ball was “like a bar of soap,” Garner told Dan Donovan of The Pittsburgh Press. “The ball was wet and my fingers were numb with cold. I couldn’t feel the stitches and get a grip on the ball.” Warming up between innings, shortstop Tim Foli fired three throws into the dugout. “I didn’t have a feel for the ball, so I just tried to throw it as hard as I could,” he explained to Donovan.
April 4, 2018: Minnesota Twins 7, Pirates 3 at PNC Park, Pittsburgh
It was 37 degrees during the game, but it felt much colder due to what long-time American League center fielder Mickey Rivers once called the “windshield factor.” My wife and I were in attendance to celebrate my birthday the day before. Despite my aversion to winter weather, it was a chance to see Twins star Miguel Sanó, who was going to sign with the Pirates as a teenager, until he didn’t.
Sanó and Pirates center fielder Starling Marte wore ski masks during the game. The light snow could be seen swirling up in the ballpark lights. The Pirates led, 3-2, after five innings, but unraveled in the top of the sixth. Starter Iván Nova walked the Twins’ Brian Dozier and wild-pitched him to second base. The next batter, Eddie Rosario, popped up near home. Looking into the snow, catcher Francisco Cervelli lost the ball, which fell fair in front of the plate. Rosario, who didn’t run, was thrown out anyway. However, Dozier reached third, and Nova later admitted it affected his pitching. Nova gave up two runs, and reliever Dovydas Neverauskas, famous as the only Lithuanian-born major leaguer and who Pirates fans nicknamed “Never Again,” gave up two more runs.
In the top of the seventh inning, when Marte played a fly ball into an RBI single, I looked at my wife and said, “I’m good if you’re good.” We violated my religious beliefs, left the game early, and caught the bottom of the ninth on TV. We saw Twins pitcher Fernando Rodney catch a snowflake on his tongue.
April 5, 2024: Orioles 5, Pirates 2 at PNC Park
The fierce hailstorms didn’t affect the outcome of this game, which was unremarkable except for the videos that went viral. Pirates manager Derek Shelton told Noah Hiles of the Post-Gazette, “I’ve played in snow before. I’ve played in rain. I don’t know if I’ve ever played in two hailstorms. You just kind of adapt and adjust to it. Unfortunately, both hailstorms happened when we were hitting. We need to figure out how we can maneuver that next time.”
Mandatory Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images