Chilly or downright cold-weather baseball games have become a bit of a nuisance for some Braves, who on Tuesday afternoon at Nationals Park had their seventh consecutive game with a first-pitch temperature below 60 degrees.
Sometimes way below 60, such as the 27-degree, snow-delayed game Friday at Colorado, the second-coldest game ever at Coors Field.
Or Monday night’s game at Washington, when the first-pitch temperature was 45 and fell as the night wore on and a steady drizzle fell throughout, making it even more uncomfortable than the below-freezing game in Denver according to some players.
“I think next year I’m going to have it put in my contract that I can’t pitch until May,” Braves veteran reliever Peter Moylan joked. “I cannot get on the field until at least May, when it gets above 60 degrees.”
But seriously, the Aussie sidearmer is one of those who acknowledges the early-season weather has been tough to deal with. The Braves played their 12th game Tuesday, and the temperature has been above 60 in only three of them.
The forecast for a three-game series in Chicago that starts Friday is fairly grim after the series opener: On Saturday a high of 43 degrees with a 90-percent chance of thunderstorms; on Sunday, high of 38 with a 90 percent chance of snow.
“I’d like to say you get used to it,” said Moylan, 39, who’s in his 12th major league season. “You’re used to being able to get a sweat going, get a nice lather, but in this weather there’s nothing you can do to get yourself warm enough and prepared. Like in Colorado, I was pitching with no feeling in my toes. It’s unbelievable.
“You’re sitting in the bullpen and you think it’s not bad, because you’ve got heaters going and you’re sitting still. Then you get up and walk outside, and the difference between the bullpen and the actual main field is incredible. So I’m warming up, warming up, my toes feel like (expletive), you run out, you’re thinking they’re going to get feeling, you get no feeling. So that was miserable.
“Then the other night it was misting (in Washington), so you’re running out and you’re cold, but you’re wet, so it’s just. ... I mean, there’s nothing you can do except try to ignore it. But for me it just doesn’t feel like baseball yet.”
Braves reliever Sam Freeman, who was tied for the majors lead with seven appearances through 11 games before Saturday, said the main difference pitching in cold weather was trying to get warm. “You notice it, it’s harder to get your legs loosened up, that kind of thing,” he said.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson said he grew accustomed to playing in cold weather at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where the team practiced outdoors with temperatures in the 30s during fall workouts and played games in similar conditions in mid-February. Still, he said there are factors that make it difficult to play in such weather.
“Honestly, you want to know something that affects people that not many people realize, is when it’s cold it’s hard to drink water (to stay hydrated),” Swanson said. “Because you don’t want to drink, like, cold water when it’s cold, you know what I mean? It’s almost like room-temperature water is the way to go, but even then you don’t have a thirst for it (in cold weather).
“So that kind of takes a toll on you, that’s kind of an underrated part when it’s cold. Also when it’s windy and just kind of beating down on you.”
But Swanson said the Braves have discussed the fact that early season isn’t the only time it’s likely to be cold for baseball. October can be cold, and that’s when every team hopes to be playing for the entire month in the postseason.
“I think one thing that we’ve kind of talked about is, if you want to get to where you want to get to, it’s what the weather’s like later in the year,” Swanson said, “and I think it’s valuable to play in it now and get accustomed to it. ... Once you get going and get the blood flowing and everything, it’s usually not too bad. It’s just a matter of being able to keep moisture in your hands, for throwing. Obviously it’s important for pitchers, but at the same time it’s important for us, too, to be able to be confident with the grip so we can throw across the diamond.”
Hard-throwing reliever A.J. Minter, an Alabama native who complements his upper-90 mph fastball with an outstanding slider, said cold is just something you deal with.
“I guess it takes getting adjusted to, but at the same time you don’t think about it when you’re on the mound,” he said. “Just going out and pitching, like any other day. I mean, yeah, it might take a little bit longer to get warmed up, but once you get warmed up it shouldn’t affect you at all.”
The left-hander’s five appearances before Wednesday included only one game with the temperature above 60 degrees. But Minter said weather had nothing to do with his surprisingly low strikeout total (one in five innings before Wednesday) or the two hits and a walk he allowed in his past two appearances, including a double he gave up Tuesday night when temperatures were in the 40s when he entered the game at Washington.
“I haven’t really been a rosin-bag guy; just grip-and-rip it,” he said. “At the same time, it hasn’t really affected me much. The biggest thing for me is, I’m getting in trouble just not getting ahead in the count. Early in the count, that’s where I’m getting in trouble. But that’ll come, it’s still early in the year. I’m still not worried about it, just going out there and competing….
“Everyone’s going out there throwing fine. Just got to find something deep down and get through the inning.”
