The combination of MLB baseball on a NASCAR racetrack was a successful initiative where the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves played on the oval in Bristol, Tennessee, in front of just over 85,000 fans.
However, minutes before the famous “Playball” was sung, the weather prevented a magnificent sporting celebration from taking place, where the teams’ pre-game activities included a NASCAR tire change competition.
The game was delayed for two hours, the players were almost ready to take the field in the MLB Speedway Classic on Saturday, August 2, but the rain returned because it did not want to miss this historic encounter. However, its presence limits activities on the field.
The MLB Classic Speedway began with the first inning, but there was no major activity and the rain returned. Given this situation, it was decided to postpone the game and it will resume on Sunday at 1:00 PM, Eastern USA time.
How was a baseball park set up at a NASCAR racetrack?
The venue was the Bristol oval, where the track is one mile (1,609 meters) long. It is a “reduced” space in the proportions of the great Speedways of the United States. In what is known as the infield, the playing field was set up with provisional stands, but the stands of the racetrack were also used and that is why MLB was able to record a game with an attendance of 85,000 people.
The dimensions of the field are traditional: 400 feet to center field, 330 feet down the foul lines, 375 feet between right and center field, and 384 feet between left and center field. As part of the MLB-NASCAR combination, both teams’ uniform numbers had a Racing-style typography and with car racing allusions such as checkered flags or the insertion of flame images on their caps.
Atlanta and Cincinnati in historic game at Bristol Oval
The game was stopped in the bottom of the first inning, with the Cincinnati Reds, the home team, up 1-0 and with only one out. Field conditions deteriorated rapidly during the inning. The game was finally called off for the night around 10:30 p.m. ET. Both teams had scheduled days off to deal with possible weather contingencies.
Atlanta Braves is in fourth place in the National League East Division with a record of 46 wins and 63 losses, 16 games behind the New York Mets. Their situation looks complicated to qualify for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Reds is in third place in the Central zone of the same League with 58 – 53 and 8.5 games behind the leaders Milwaukee Brewers.
Read the full article here
