Top Five Baseball Natural Disasters

Baseball has a reputation for calling games at the sight of the slightest raindrop. But far more severe weather-related events or natural disasters have affected baseball games, some of which resulted in cancellations while others did not.

1. Earthquake (Giants-Athletics, 1989 World Series)
As Game 3 of the 1989 World Series was about to start, the television feed at the Oakland Coliseum was suddenly interrupted, only to be replaced with a sitcom rerun several minutes later. It turned out that an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale had hit the Bay Area. The World Series was postponed for ten days as the region's infrastructure and telecommunications links were restored.

2. Infestation (Yankees-Indians, 2007 ALDS)
We saw a modern-day version of the third plague on Friday night. In the late innings of Game 2, a swarm of midges suddenly descended on Jacobs Field. Yankees training staff repeatedly and fruitlessly sprayed pitcher Joba Chamberlain with insect repellent. With the bugs swarming around him and climbing all over his skin, Chamberlain delivered a wild pitch that allowed the Indians to tie the game.

3. Flood (Pirates-Astros, 1976)
When the Houston Astrodome was constructed, it was supposed to be the panacea for the frequent rainouts that plagued Houston's previous outdoor stadium. Yet, the Astrodome suffered a rainout anyway on June 15, 1976, when torrential rains flooded the area around the Astrodome kept the umpires and most spectators for making it to the stadium while the players and about 20 hardy fans were stranded inside the dome overnight.

4. Snow (White Sox-Blue Jays, 1977)
The first MLB game ever played in Toronto was fittingly greeted by a snow storm. With winds in excess of 20 mph and a wind chill factor of 10 degrees below zero, the game proceeded anyway. The Blue Jays borrowed the Zamboni machine from the Toronto Maple Leafs in order to clear the snow off the infield carpet between innings. The outfield was left covered by snow.

5. Hurricane (Yankees-Orioles, 2003)
With the season winding down and precious few make-up dates available, the Orioles opted to play the final game of a series against the Yankees despite the rapid approach of Hurricane Isabel. It seemed like the entire city of Baltimore -- schools and government included -- had closed down, yet the baseball game, which was moved from 7 p.m. to the early afternoon, went ahead anyway. The teams managed to fight off the elements long enough to play five innings and make the game official, but since it ended in a 1-1 tie, they would have to make it up anyway. After the game, the Yankees' plane was nearly marooned in Baltimore, barely managing to leave the city before the storm became too severe.

Honorable Mention: Disco Records (Tigers-White Sox, 1979)
In one of the most ill-fated promotions in MLB history, Bill Veeck and the Chicago White Sox held Disco Demolition Night in between the two games of a doubleheader. Fans were encouraged to bring their old disco records to the stadium. After the first game concluded, the records were assembled into a box in the outfield which was promptly blown up. The explosion carved out a hole in the outfield grass as fragments of records rained down everywhere. Rowdy fans rushed the field and rioted, which resulted in the White Sox forfeiting the second game of the twinbill.