Rain does a plethora of things; It makes grass get green, functions as a poor man's car wash and adds pertinence to ponchos. It also delays the start of baseball games.
The rain delay is a common occurrence in Major League Baseball, with the script playing out as follows; the grounds crew jumps into action, pulling the tarp over the field in a manner which they've obviously rehearsed, the literal "fair-weather fans" head for the parking lot and the die-hards don team-emblemed ponchos and umbrellas.
The television and radio commentators recap the team's previous
contest(s), preview the pending game, break down the stats, trends,
match-ups and weather reports, until finally they are forced to send it
to alternative programming.
If you're watching the game on ESPN or FSN, you'll probably get a highlights show or maybe even another game, but if you're watching on TBS or WGN, you may find a sports bloopers or television out-takes program. But on the rarest of occasions, you'll see the zenith of rain-delay programming, "This Week in Baseball."
TWIB, as it's affectionately referred to, has been chronicling baseball's goings-on for 31 seasons and, in all honesty, I've rarely seen it without "Rain Delay" superimposed in the corner of the screen. I'm certain it's probably aired weekly somewhere (Saturday on FOX... after the cartoons, I believe), but it may find it's widest audience during in-climate weather.
Imagine the producers of TWIB, sitting around their newsroom all week, watching games and hoping for rain; performing rain dances in conference rooms; calling old men with osteoarthritis in every major market, delighting in news of sore knees -- hoping that "this is the week."
By no means am I slighting the show -- it's a fantastic half-hour, with long-running features such as "TWIB Notes," and "How 'bout That?," their weekly highlight reel. And after 31 years, I'm certain TWIB is immune to poor ratings and focus group feedback, though they might want to keep a weather-eye out for domed stadiums and drought.
On the web: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/video/twib/index.jsp
If you're watching the game on ESPN or FSN, you'll probably get a highlights show or maybe even another game, but if you're watching on TBS or WGN, you may find a sports bloopers or television out-takes program. But on the rarest of occasions, you'll see the zenith of rain-delay programming, "This Week in Baseball."
TWIB, as it's affectionately referred to, has been chronicling baseball's goings-on for 31 seasons and, in all honesty, I've rarely seen it without "Rain Delay" superimposed in the corner of the screen. I'm certain it's probably aired weekly somewhere (Saturday on FOX... after the cartoons, I believe), but it may find it's widest audience during in-climate weather.
Imagine the producers of TWIB, sitting around their newsroom all week, watching games and hoping for rain; performing rain dances in conference rooms; calling old men with osteoarthritis in every major market, delighting in news of sore knees -- hoping that "this is the week."
By no means am I slighting the show -- it's a fantastic half-hour, with long-running features such as "TWIB Notes," and "How 'bout That?," their weekly highlight reel. And after 31 years, I'm certain TWIB is immune to poor ratings and focus group feedback, though they might want to keep a weather-eye out for domed stadiums and drought.
On the web: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/video/twib/index.jsp
