It was difficult to breathe, so Major League Baseball opted for a breather.
The Yankees-White Sox game scheduled for Wednesday night in The Bronx was postponed due to air-quality concerns that made New York and the surrounding areas resemble a dystopia.
In a scene reminiscent of “Blade Runner,” clouds of smoke that had wafted south from Canadian wildfires left New York in a literal haze. There was an orange tint to the sky in The Bronx, which might as well have been Mars.
MLB talked with several clubs affected by the air quality about three hours before the Yankees’ game time and decided against hosting an outdoor game as the city urged people to stay indoors. The Tigers-Phillies game in Philadelphia also was postponed.
The Yankees and White Sox will play a traditional doubleheader Thursday, beginning at 4:05 p.m. The second game will start no earlier than 7:05 p.m. Only tickets dated for Thursday will be valid for the doubleheader.
“I walked out [to the field], and you see the orange coming through the doors, and then you walk out and you’re like, ‘Whoa,’ ” manager Aaron Boone said.
When Air Quality Index values are above 100, the air quality is considered unhealthy. When the game was postponed, the AQI in The Bronx was above 330, which registers as “hazardous.”
Reliever Ryan Weber had never seen a scene like this “except in the movies.” The Yankees canceled outdoor batting practice, though they elected to still ask Carlos Rodon to pitch off the mound to live hitters in a short session. The lefty reported back that “I can’t imagine it’d be easy” to play in the smoke.
“I remember [Tuesday] was pretty hazy out,” Rodon said. “You see some fly balls go up, and I couldn’t even see them off the bat until they started coming down. [Tuesday] was better than [Wednesday].”
The Yankees played through the smoky clouds on Tuesday night, even as their Triple-A affiliate in Moosic, Pa., and the Mets’ in Syracuse canceled home games. It is MLB (in consultation with the Players Association) — and not the Yankees — that has the authority to postpone games due to air quality.
Players did not publicly complain about the conditions Tuesday, when the smoke was evident, but to a lesser degree. Boone said the decision to postpone Wednesday “no doubt” factored in fans, particularly older ones.
“Not a great position for people to be sitting outside in,” Boone said.
There is no standard, in terms of AQI, that the league uses to decide whether to delay or postpone a game. The pair of contests postponed Wednesday were the first major league games postponed because of air quality since 2020, when a Mariners game was postponed and relocated to San Francisco because of the air quality in Seattle, also due to wildfires.
IQAir, an air quality technology company, was more optimistic about the AQI on Thursday. Early Wednesday night, IQAir projected a “moderate” amount of air pollution the next day, which would represent a large improvement. Of course, the wind can change and forecasts can go sideways.
The report Boone heard “was that it was supposed to be potentially a little worse [Wednesday], but clearing and better [Thursday],” Boone said. “But obviously we’ll get here and see.”
If the games are played Thursday, Luis Severino and Lance Lynn will match up in the first game before 27th-man Randy Vasquez will face off against Mike Clevinger in the nightcap.
