AP
A nor’easter pounded much of the East Coast, wiping out six baseball games and postponing the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s major league debut in five cities on Sunday.
The storm also forced the final round of the Verizon Heritage golf tournament in Hilton Head Island, S.C., to be suspended until Monday. Aqueduct canceled its Sunday card because of the strong wind and heavy rain.
In New York, the Washington Nationals’ three-game finale with the Mets was rained out, along with a doubleheader in Pittsburgh featuring the San Francisco Giants against the Pirates. In Baltimore, rain washed away the Orioles’ bid to complete their first four-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals since 2002.
In Boston, the Los Angeles Angels’ game against the Red Sox was postponed, along with the Houston Astros’ game in Philadelphia against the Phillies.
It was the most postponements in one day in the Major Leagues since April 12, 1997, when eight games were postponed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
No makeup date had been determined, but the Mets rescheduled their Robinson celebration for Friday night at Shea Stadium against Atlanta.
Other teams across the country celebrated the 1947 debut of Robinson, the first black player to break the color barrier that dominated the major leagues for nearly 70 years.
“It’s kind of disappointing a little bit because we wanted to be on the field,” Mets shortstop Jose Reyes said. “This is a special day for baseball and for Jackie Robinson and Jackie Robinson’s family because he did a lot for this game.”
In Pittsburgh, the teams planned to play two games because Saturday night game’s also was washed out — the first time since PNC Park opened in 2001 that the Pirates called off consecutive home games because of weather.
A makeup date was not immediately scheduled, partly because the Giants aren’t scheduled to return to Pittsburgh again this season. All the Pirates planned to wear Robinson’s No. 42, as did Barry Bonds and other Giants.
At the PGA event, a marshal was hit by a falling tree limb and sent to the hospital in Hilton Head. William Millon was later released with minor injuries.
