‘Total Eclipse of the Park’: 6 minor-league teams will play ball during the eclipse

Sports fans usually dread weather delays, but a handful of baseball teams will take advantage of one Monday for a celebration.

The upcoming total solar eclipse – a rare spectacle that hasn’t hit the U.S. since 1979 – will reach the West Coast around 9 a.m. PDT and reach totality at 10:17 a.m., missing major-league parks during all of Monday’s games, but coinciding with three minor-league contests.

Those host teams are making the most of it, as MLB.com elaborates.

• The San Francisco Giants’ Class A affiliate Salem-Keizer Volcanoes up in Oregon will feature the first “eclipse delay” in baseball history at 10:17 a.m. as part of an event dubbed “EclipseFest.”
• The Bowling Green Hot Rods will host the West Michigan White Caps at 10:30 a.m. CDT, with the total eclipse hitting at 1:27 p.m. Fans will get free eclipse glasses and the teams will don special, eclipse-themed jerseys.

• The Columbia Fireflies’ event, “Total Eclipse of the Park,” will start at 1:05 p.m. EDT, with an eclipse delay around 2:41 p.m.

Here’s a fun fact: When the last total solar eclipse hit the U.S. in 1979, none of these three host teams existed.

The A’s Triple-A club, the Nashville Sounds, will also host an event at First Tennessee Park a couple hours before first pitch. Unable to resist the pun, the Sounds also dubbed their event, “Total Eclipse of the Park.” Those at the viewing party will receive free eclipse glasses. The entirety of the eclipse will end before that game starts.

 

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This story was originally published August 19, 2017 at 4:45 PM with the headline "‘Total Eclipse of the Park’: 6 minor-league teams will play ball during the eclipse."