MINNEAPOLIS — In Twins Territory, fans put a circle on April 7, 2022 — Opening Day at Target Field.
As we know, the Twins won't play on Thursday as originally planned because of the forecast, but what you probably didn't know is that decision is made by a different team altogether — the weather team.
When Major League Baseball decides to play ball in April, the Twins rely on teammates you may not have known we had.
"The Twins are really the only team that have meteorologists on site," said Twins meteorologist Mace Michaels. "A lot of teams coordinate with various companies or with TV meteorologists just to talk about weather and giving timing, but the Twins are only one I'm aware of that have anyone here."
But why do we, the Twins, go to length to have a weather team?
"We're special and weather in Minnesota is special, as everybody knows," Michaels said.
The Twins went back to outdoor baseball when Target Field opened its gates a dozen years ago. And as you may recall, that first April was real nice, averaging temperatures in the upper 60s...but overall?
"April is by far the toughest month for all of us," Michaels said. "There's almost always some kind of conflict."
In April of 2018, the Twins had to call off three games in a row against the White Sox because there was a white out. A three-day snowpacolypse ended up bringing 16 inches to downtown Minneapolis.
Although that won't be the case tomorrow, Michaels says it won't exactly be great baseball weather.
"It's still gonna be 38 degrees. It's gonna be windy, with gusts maybe 40 mph, and spits of rain and snow," he said.
Those were the facts that led to tomorrow's postponement, and those were the facts the weather team — consisting of Mace and one other meteorologist — had been watching for, for days.
"I've been looking at it for the last 15 days; as soon as it hit the models," Micheals said. "Rain is our immediate concern. If you are going to have rain or snow, baseball and weather like that just don't get along."
Because it's bad for the players, a bummer for the fans, and a bust for the vendors, in a case like this, you just have to call it.
Right now, the Twins are scheduled to play the Seattle Mariners Friday instead.
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