Royals fans frustrated over rain delay without rain. Here’s why it happened
Royals fans who attended Wednesday night’s game at Kauffman Stadium got a great look at ... the team’s tarp.
Shortly before the game against the Colorado Rockies was scheduled to start at 6:40 p.m., the Royals announced the game was delayed and included a rain delay graphic with their announcement on X.
One thing fans noticed immediately: It wasn’t raining. And the rain didn’t start at Kauffman Stadium until after 8 p.m.
Kevin Roth, who says he’s a meteorologist who focuses on weather impacts on sports betting, thought delaying the game was a mistake on the Royals’ part.
“KC announced a Late Start, which I do not love,” Roth wrote on X. “This line to the west of KC is barely moving… and should weaken and dissipate as it approaches the metro. I don’t think it even arrives for 90 mins or more… then it would have to clear… That could be a (very) long wait.”
Roth was correct as the rain didn’t start for more than 90 minutes, which seemingly would have given the Royals and Rockies a chance to get a good chunk of the game played.
In their 4-3 win Tuesday over the Rockies, the teams had completed six innings by 8 p.m. And the Royals’ 3-1 loss to the Tigers on Saturday took just 2 hours and 4 minutes.
Who decides on rain delays?
A decision on delaying the start of a game is made by the home team and Major League Baseball, but the road team can add its thoughts, the Royals said.
The Royals consulted multiple weather services and were concerned about the onset of lightning and heavy rain. Unfortunately for the team, the storm didn’t arrive until later than the Royals expected.
The game ended up being postponed shortly after rain began falling at Kauffman Stadium, and fans were not happy. The Royals said they credited fans with tickets for the game overnight, and fans can redeem as early as Thursday.
Here is a bit of what fans were saying Wednesday night about the no-rain rain delay.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Royals fans frustrated over rain delay without rain. Here’s why it happened."
