The Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were set to square off in MLB's first-ever Speedway Classic on Saturday. The highly anticipated event, held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, sold more than 85,000 tickets. Unfortunately, the weather in Bristol didn’t cooperate as Mother Nature rained on Major League Baseball’s parade.
After a lengthy rain delay the Speedway Classic was officially suspended on Saturday, according to the Braves’ X account. Play will resume at 1pm on Sunday.
Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on field operations, broke the news. “We’re gonna suspend tonight’s game, we’ll be back tomorrow at 1pm,” Hill told Ken Rosenthal, per FOX Sports: MLB. “We’re optimistic [about] a better weather forecast for tomorrow,” Hill added with a nervous chuckle.
Rain interrupts MLB’s Speedway Classic
It was clear the league wanted to get the game in and avoid sending nearly 90,000 fans home unhappy. But conditions on the field made it impossible to continue. The infield was saturated by the deluge, as rain water pooled in the base paths.
The teams couldn't even complete a full inning of play on Saturday as the game was suspended with one out in the bottom of the first. Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead on Austin Hays’ RBI single before the stoppage.
The Speedway Classic is a first-of-its-kind event for MLB, billed as the first baseball game played inside a NASCAR track. It’s also the first major league game played in the state of Tennessee.
Players from both teams embraced the unique experience. “Everybody’s excited and everybody has been walking around and just watching the whole day. Because who knows when we could be playing in a NASCAR stadium again. It's actually really cool,” Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies said of the event.
MLB is all-in on the NASCAR collab, which included a pregame concert featuring performances by Tim McGraw and Pitbull. The teams even designed special uniforms for the Speedway Classic. And Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson wore Ricky Bobby-inspired gear for the event, per Jim Day.
While the weather delay is unfortunate, the game will be played. Atlanta and Cincinnati will try again Sunday afternoon, taking the field in the middle of the enormous 146,000-seat racetrack at 1pm.
