Why Did MLB Move Cleveland Indians Games To Milwaukee?
Listed in:If you haven't heard, the Cleveland Indians will play their three game series against the "Anaheim" Angels in Milwaukee's Miller Park. Cleveland has been suffering some pretty nasty weather recently, forcing the postponement of the Indians' entire series against the Seattle Mariners, and the weather doesn't look like it'll clear up in the next few days.
Milwaukee was the obvious choice because of the roof... Wait a second. Milwaukee? The city named after an Algonquin term for "the good land"? It's 436 miles from Jacobs Field! There are several MLB cities that are closer to Cleveland. Could the games have been played in any of those cities' ballparks? While none of the ballparks in question have roofs, let's look at the weather and scheduling concerns to see if there was a better solution. [Puts on Amateur Meteorologist Cap(tm)]
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CINCINNATI - 244 miles
In the Queen City, the Reds are on the road this week, and it looks like it'll be clear enough to play three games at Great American Ballpark, by which time the Tribe will be playing the White Sox, an intra-division rival with enough future dates to make scheduling makeups easier.
CHICAGO - 343 miles
The Windy City has two ballparks (when one team is home, the other is almost always away), and the weather should be clear enough for three games, especially if a double header is scheduled for Tuesday or Thursday to get around Wednesday's wetness.
PITTSBURGH - 134 miles
If moving the games to Cinci or Chicago couldn't work out for some reason, it might have been possible to move games to the Steel City, where the Pirates are having their opening series this week. The logistics of having four different teams play three double headers in a row through scattered rainshowers must be daunting, and it can't be great for the turf, but it would be the shortest drive for Cleveland fans. Hell, bus companies could probably make a killing shuttling the crowds.
DETROIT - 169 miles
Snow makes this option a non-starter.
BALTIMORE - 376 miles
The weather doesn't look great, and the O's are at home this week, so it'd probably be impossible to get all those games in.
WASHINGTON, DC - 376 miles
Weather is a little worse than Baltimore, but the Nats are away.
MILWAUKEE - 436 miles
The ballpark has a roof, and the Brewers are away. It's automatically an attractive site because the weather isn't a concern at all. However, I can't get over the projected seven-hour drive from Cleveland. Without stopping. Through sketchy weather. For comparison, the drive from San Francisco to San Diego would take roughly the same amount of time, and one needn't worry about driving through sleet and snow.
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While the MLB.com story makes it seem like the Indians made the decision, other sources give credit for the decision to MLB. Apparently, Houston was the only other city seriously considered for the game. Houston, Texas!
Milwaukee wasn't the only option the Indians and Angels considered when talking about a move. On Sunday, the two clubs were floating the idea of moving the series to Anaheim, though that would have presented the logistical concern of having the Tribe make a cross-country flight on short notice and the Angels making a cross-country flight Thursday night for a scheduled Friday game in Boston.Playing the series in Houston's Minute Maid Park was another possibility, but Milwaukee won out.
Who decided the game should be in Milwaukee is important because we're probably not going to be given the reasoning behind the decision. While Miller Park's retractable roof means Milwaukee makes sense, I'd like to see a full explanation for why Bud Selig's hometown got the games. It appears getting the games in the books was 100% of MLB's concern, and the roof carried the day, even though it means fans living in Cleveland get shafted.
