Rain delays aren’t supposed to happen at Marlins Park, the baseball venue for the Miami Marlins. It has a retractable roof. But on Monday, Opening Day, the team’s management failed to close the roof before a downpour drenched the stadium.
Team president David Samson said Marlins officials — he included among a group of three — monitor the weather using applications on their phone whenever the roof is open. In this case, Samson said, he guessed wrong about which direction a storm cell was headed.“I tried to predict a cloud would go north and it went south on top of us, and the roof closed as quickly as I could get it closed, short of me pushing it,” Samson said. ”“So we had a 16 minute rain delay, which is the first ever at Marlins Park.”
Marlins don't have a meteorologist consultant. Instead, three team executives monitor weather forecasts on APPs.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) April 6, 2015
Let the record show John Morales, a broadcast meteorologist based in Miami, knew the showers were headed towards the Park, as he tweeted to his followers:
Haré to tell you this #Marlins fans, but these showers are moving towards MMarlinsPark. #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/wDKLzt1vq2
— John Morales (@JohnMoralesNBC6) April 6, 2015
The Marlins, apparently, have opted not to hire professional meteorologists, as many major league team do, to assist with weather-related decisions. I suppose they feel having a weather-proof facility affords them the luxury of not needing to pay for expert meteorological advice.
But someone still has to make a go or no-go call on engaging the roof. Forecasting the development, motion, and duration of “pop-up” showers and storms in South Florida is notoriously difficult. It requires knowledge of complex sea-breeze patterns and an understanding of when and under what conditions the activity will “pulse” up and down.
No doubt, the Marlins could probably get away without paying for a meteorological consultant by simply keeping the roof closed whenever there’s a chance of rain. But if it wants to avoid another embarrassment, the management team might consider finding a pro to assist when there are close calls.
.@Marlins we have a few...hundred...meteorologists we can lend you next time.
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) April 7, 2015