NEW YORK — The Monday morning dog walk in Queens provided just a little bit of hope that there might be baseball, a quick jaunt outside with only clouds overhead, until the final couple of minutes when some drops started falling from the sky.
Around the same time that the drizzle started, there was a tweet from the Yankees.
"To fans attending Opening Day: we're currently assessing today's weather forecast and hope to have a better idea of next steps in ~30 mins," it read.
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In 2016, this is the best way to keep people updated. It wound up being 47 minutes until the announcement followed, but when it did, at 8:30 a.m., the Yankees got word out before issuing their press release on the news of the day.
Today's Opening Day game is postponed due to inclement weather; will be made up tomorrow, April 5th. Stay tuned for official press release.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 4, 2016
When the Yankees made their announcement, it still was possible that it would turn out to be a day that baseball could be played. It still was the right decision.
Light rain was in the forecast through evening, maybe the kind of rain that the Yankees and Astros could play through, maybe with some windows of dry weather — but also maybe not. The forecast for Tuesday is cold, but clear. So, why take a chance of trying to squeeze Monday's game in, maybe getting someone hurt in wet conditions and maybe not getting the game in anyway?
It's disappointing for everyone to have to wait another day for baseball that counts after six months without it, but it's just one more day and the baseball winds up being better as a result.
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This is, after all, the reason that Major League Baseball puts an off day between opening day and teams' second games. Opening day is special and if it has to be pushed back, it can be pushed back one day instead of making a doubleheader or finding a random mutual off day during the summer.
Making the decision to call the game at 8:30 in the morning, rather than waiting and trying to see if baseball will be possible, also is doing right by the fans.
There may be people who took off from work on Monday and can't do the same on Tuesday, but at least some would be able to reshuffle their schedules to get to the ballpark for the opener. Those who can't make it on Tuesday can get tickets to any other game for the rest of the season, of course. Those who can make it on Tuesday get a much better experience of not sitting in the rain for potentially hours on end.
The Yankees may not have been able to get a win on Monday, but their early decision, correct action and good communication were a victory for everyone involved.