Tampa Bay Rays avoid rainouts this year after Milton forced them outdoors
The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, was shredded after Hurricane Milton tore through St. Petersburg, Florida, on Wednesday evening.
TAMPA, Fla. – Mother Nature dealt the Tampa Bay Rays a literal and figurative blow last summer when Hurricane Milton blasted Tropicana Field with 100+ mph winds, leaving their home stadium in tattered ruins.
This summer, more of an olive branch.
The stadium damage forced the Rays to play their home games this season outdoors at nearby Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, home of the minor league Tampa Tarpons.
PHOTOS SHOW EXTENSIVE DAMAGE INSIDE TAMPA BAY RAYS’ TROPICANA FIELD AFTER HURRICANE MILTON
With the heart of baseball season also squarely in the heart of Florida‘s summer thunderstorm season, fears of frequent rainouts were justified. Major League Baseball even adjusted the Rays schedule to move two series that were scheduled in summer to earlier in the season.
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Image taken with drone) In this aerial view, the domed roof at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, is seen ripped to shreds from Hurricane Milton’s powerful winds in St. Petersburg. The storm passed through the area on October 10, 2024, making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key, Florida.
(Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays) -
Photo of Tropicana Field after being severely damaged by Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Fla. on October 16, 2024.
(Will Vragovic / Tampa Bay Rays)
The plan has worked. With only three home games left through Sunday and a favorable forecast, the Rays appear they are going to miraculously make it through their entire season without any home games getting postponed or suspended due to rain.
FOX 13 Tampa Chief Meteorologist Mike Dellegatto reported that the Rays are going to be just one of six teams who play in uncovered stadiums to not suffer any rainouts this season. The other five are all the California-based teams in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco.
“Uncomfortable heat and humidity is the deterrent to outdoor baseball in #Florida,” he posted on X. “Not rain outs.”
That’s not to say rain hasn’t been a thorn. The Rays have had about a dozen home games suffer rain delays of varying lengths through the season.
It’s a much better outcome than the Tarpons had during their 2023 season, which featured 20 games that suffered rain delays, suspensions, or postponements out of 66 scheduled home games, according to their social media posts — though most of those occurred in July, when this season, the Rays only had eight home games.
The Rays are set to return indoors next season to a repaired Tropicana Field.
The Rays are 40-39 this season at home through Friday night’s loss against the Boston Red Sox. But overall they are 75-79, in fourth place in the American League East, and on the fringe of being eliminated from this year’s playoffs.
Milton was responsible for 12 deaths in Florida and caused an estimated $34.3 billion in damage, nearly all in Florida, according to NOAA.
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