A standard baseball game is nine innings long. Like a lot of outdoor sports, the game relies on good weather every single day. When inclement weather hits, there is a bit of scrambling to get the game in and completed.
If it’s a lengthy weather delay, there is such thing as the 4.5-inning rule in baseball. Technically speaking, any game that is through the top of the fifth inning has the opportunity to be called. This has standings and baseball betting implications.
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What is the 4.5-Inning Rule in Baseball Betting?
If the weather stops play any time after the top of the fifth inning is completed (4.5 innings), and the home team is winning, the game can be officially called due to weather from a betting perspective.
At the MLB level, those in charge try to avoid making that call until the last possible moment when they have no choice. Not only do most teams want to play the game out, but it can have some serious betting ramifications.
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How Often are Baseball Games Called Early?
Major League Baseball teams try to get games in however possible. They are always striving to complete nine innings like normal, but there are times when scheduling doesn’t allow it. There are other times when the weather just doesn’t hold up, and it’s impossible to wrap everything up as normal.
The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Pittsburgh Pirates often lead MLB with the most rainouts and rain delays. In general, the Northeastern quarter of the United States gets the most inclement weather during baseball season, while the Southwest gets the nicest weather. Keep in mind that some teams in very rainy climates like Miami, Tampa Bay, and Seattle have roofs to eliminate rainouts.
How Does Baseball Handle Rain Delays?
The answer to this question may vary depending on the level of baseball being played. For example, in Major League Baseball, rain delays are generally handled by the teams’ groundskeepers. They will use a tarp to cover the field and protect it from the rain. Once the rain stops, they will then remove the tarp and begin preparing the field for play.
Minor League Baseball, on the other hand, does not have access to as many resources. The resources dwindle more and more down the list, as local leagues usually rely on volunteers to come out early to the field to prep. As a result, they may simply wait out the rain delay and hope that the field dries out enough to resume play.
How Do Baseball Teams Avoid Rain Delays and Cancellations?
Baseball takes a few measures to eliminate the chances of a game being called early or canceled altogether. While there are no perfect solutions, rainouts and rain delays happen very little compared to past seasons.
Indoor and Retractable Roof Stadiums
Teams in less than ideal weather cities have significantly cut down on weather issues thanks to having a cover over the stadium. For teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, they play entirely indoors on a turf field. Since they play in one of the hardest and rainiest markets in baseball, this move makes sense.
The Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, and more have retractable roofs for indoor and outdoor play. Teams will decide whether to close the roof or keep it open way before the start of the game. If there’s a chance of inclement weather, most of them will automatically start the game with a closed to avoid any last-minute changes.
Most will find these retractable roofs in areas where rain is particularly problematic. In cities like Los Angeles, it rains so infrequently that neither team has talked about making an indoor/outdoor option a reality.
Early Rescheduling
Baseball teams pay close attention to the weather throughout the year. If they see that one day is particularly bad, they may not even try to get it in if there’s time to have a doubleheader the next day. This helps if it happens early on in a series, and it cuts down on fans having to show up and just be sent right back home.
Predicting the weather is never an exact science, but teams have a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen thanks to getting several different inputs from local weather experts. With so much money on the line for each game, it’s worth investing this way.
Planned Scheduling
The people in charge of putting together the MLB schedule each year have taken past data into account to schedule properly. Maybe the biggest example is trying to limit the number of home games for cold-weather cities early and late in the season.
Teams in cities like Cleveland, Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston, and more have all played in games with snow. While it’s impossible to completely avoid this, limiting the chances helps.
July and August are the rainiest part of the year for a lot of the southern teams. Most of them have a roof, so it’s not the biggest deal, but teams like Atlanta and Texas seem to have a fairly lean home schedule during these months.
What Happens to a Bet if There is a Rain Delay?
If it’s simply a rain delay, the bet is put on hold. The rain delay could be just for less than half an hour, and play resumes. As long as it’s finished that day, sportsbooks will treat it as a normal game.
In most cases, the easiest thing for sportsbooks to do is to cancel all bets if play is suspended and planned for another day. It’s not fair for the people playing, nor is it fair for the house. There are a lot of complaints whenever this happens and people have their money held up, and it’s just not worth the hassle to sportsbooks to play the waiting game.
Do Teams Take Advantage of the 4.5-Inning Rule?
Teams will always try to do whatever they can to complete a game. They don’t want a game called in the middle of playing and count it as complete. The goal is to get nine innings completed, and that’s how they want to leave the stadium. With fewer than nine innings, it increases the chances of underdogs winning.
It’s important to realize that all teams will do what they can to complete the game like it should be played. There are rare instances where a team will finish with less than 162 games in a regular season if a game that had rain issues is never made up. Maybe it doesn’t matter in the final standings, so they never fit it back in. This obviously can’t happen in the postseason.
It’s important to know the 4.5-inning rule when betting on baseball, but don’t obsess over it too much. It only happens a few times a year at most for some teams, and it’s just bad luck more than anything else. In some cases, the rule benefits a gambler if the team they wagered on jumped out to an early lead.