Selig Bullish On MLB's Handling Of Game Three Weather Issues

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig yesterday applauded the events of Yankees-Phillies World Series Game Three Saturday, which featured an 80-minute rain delay and the first use of instant replay in a World Series game. Closely echoing a 91-minute rain delay to start Game Three of the Phillies-Rays World Series in '08, this year’s delay was made as a strong storm enveloped the metro area shortly before the scheduled 7:57pm ET first pitch. But Selig, who conferred at length with the umpires and representatives for both teams prior to the game, said he never considered postponing the event, encouraged by weather reports that showed the bulk of the storm moving out of the area rather quickly. Rain and mist, however, did return to Game Three in the late innings, but did not get heavy enough to create another delay or a suspended-game to resemble last year’s World Series Game Five. “We were looking at six different weather forecasts, and everybody wanted to play,” Selig said. “Both the Yankees and Phillies felt strongly about it, and looking at the information we had, everybody felt it was OK to proceed. And thankfully it all worked out.” The rain delay prevented a full introduction of both teams’ rosters until prior to last night’s Game Four ( Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal ). But in L.A., Bill Shaikin wrote Saturday night was "not a night fit for baseball, let alone championship baseball." MLB "repeatedly treats its paying customers with such disdain." It started raining at about 7:20pm Saturday night, and fans "got no updates, about how long the rain might be expected to continue or when the game might start." They heard nothing until 8:50pm, "when the decision was made to start about 9:15." The game finally got underway at 9:17, and ended at 12:42am ( L.A. TIMES, 11/1 ). THAT'S THE TICKET!  The players’ pool for MLB postseason compensation stands at $58.97M following last night’s Game Four, an all-time high and 15% higher than a year ago. The money, generated from 60% of the net gate receipts of the first three games of each Division Series and first four games of each LCS and the World Series, is largely a function of the stadium capacities of the participating playoff teams. And deep playoff runs by the Yankees, Dodgers, Phillies and Angels, each of which play in ballparks with seating capacities of more than 45,000, aided the growth of the pool. Postseason ticket prices were generally held steady this year. Player distributions for the eight playoff teams and four non-playoff second-place clubs will be voted upon and made later this year. Meanwhile, as expected, secondary market tickets for the Philadelphia-based World Series games fell considerably as the dates for the three games approached and the Phillies fell behind in the Series. As of yesterday, tickets for the three Citizens Bank Park games sold on StubHub for an average of $874, down from $908 on Saturday. But purchasers between Saturday and Sunday paid $523, down sharply from $618 between Friday and Saturday. On FanSnap, a metasearch engine of more than 50 ticket resale sites, listings for tonight’s Game Five fell between Friday and Sunday by at least 20% in every category of seating at the stadium. Average list pricing on FanSnap, however, remains at about $1,000 per ticket ( Fisher ). STAND BY ME : Game Three was devoted to Stand Up 2 Cancer, part of the four-game run of charitable dedications to start the World Series. A live PSA promoting the cancer-research cause aired in the middle of the 2nd inning Saturday. The spot, produced in partnership with MasterCard, included participation from CBS News' Katie Couric, ESPN MLB analyst John Kruk, and actors Terrence Howard and Minka Kelly, each affected by cancer either personally or within their families, and closed with a live shot of the Citizens Bank Park crowd. The Stand Up 2 Cancer events also featured hit-it-here signs posted in left-center field and right-center field, with home runs striking the signs generating a $1M donation by MasterCard to Stand Up 2 Cancer. No balls struck the signs, but Phillies RF Jayson Werth came close to doing so on both of his Game Three home runs. Game Four, meanwhile, was devoted to the RBI program ( Fisher ). SECURITY CHECK : In N.Y., Mark Feinsand reports "additional security was installed in the outfield for Sunday night's Game 4 after fans spent the early innings of Game 3 on Saturday throwing coins" at Yankees OFs Melky Cabrera and Nick Swisher ( N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/2 ).

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