‘It’s Bristol, baby!’ didn’t quite have the same impact on Sunday afternoon as it would have on Saturday night. MLB’s first Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway hasn’t gone according to plan for several reasons – several of which could have been avoided with better planning – but the rain certainly didn’t help. The game between the Braves and Reds was suspended, and picked back up on Sunday. While the players were happy to perform in such a unique environment, most of the fans didn’t show up.
It’s tough to blame the fans on this one. FanSided’s Cody Williams explained some of the issues with the venue in a piece published on Sunday morning:
“Obviously, the fans showed up for the Braves-Reds game to start on time and Mother Nature had other plans. However, every baseball park should be prepared for that, whether it’s being played at a standard park or at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Speedway Classic was not remotely prepared, though. While fans were enjoying the usual goods during the rain delay by grabbing food, beer and merchandise, vendors were already running out of these things before we even got to the first pitch,” Williams wrote.
MLB’s embarrassing Speedway Classic display carried over to Sunday
Given what fans reported of their own experience at Bristol Motor Speedway, we cannot blame most of them for not staying the extra night to watch the remaining eight innings on Sunday.
MLB could not control the rain, but they sure should’ve prepared for the possibility of a delay. Heck, summer rain in the southeast isn’t all that uncommon. Couldn’t they have picked a better venue? That, plus an injury to Ronald Acuña Jr. and removal of Spencer Strider on Sunday made this matchup one Braves and Reds fans felt they could skip.
Heck, the concession stands ran out of buns for hot dogs and cheese for nachos! How in the world was this possible? Bristol hosts NASCAR races and is filled to the brim. Surely, MLB should’ve seen this coming.
MLB does not care if fans attend the Speedway Classic
Sure, photos like the one May tweeted above aren’t a great look, but they won’t stay in the mainstream media for long. Had the game been played Saturday night, the house would’ve been packed. That means all of those fans bought tickets – likely very expensive tickets – and merchandise during the rain delay. If the track ran out of beer and food, it means MLB sold its allotment. Congratulations, Rob Manfred, you just made the league a ton of money!
MLB has largely been successful in events like these, including the Field of Dreams game and a contest at Rickwood Field. The All-Star Game goes off without a hitch most seasons. One mishap does not define Manfred’s tenure. If anything, one can only hope the league learns from its mistakes the next time it tries to break an attendance record – bring an extra keg, Rob.
