Wrigley Fog Delay
Thick Fog at Wrigley Field Delays Cubs-Cardinals Game, Disrupting Pitch Tracking
A thick blanket of fog rolled over Wrigley Field on the Fourth of July, forcing a 15-minute delay in the Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals game. The fog was so dense that players said they simply could not track the baseball in the air. The Cardinals went on to win 3-0.
The bizarre conditions made for one of the stranger weather delays in recent MLB memory. Fog rarely shuts down a baseball game — but on this night, it came close. Yahoo Sports reported that even MLB's high-tech pitch-tracking system was knocked offline by the murky air.
Players Said They Literally Could Not See the Ball
The fog was not just thick — it was blinding. Players on the field told officials they could not see the baseball once it left the pitcher's hand. That is an extraordinary safety concern in a sport where a 90-plus mph fastball can cause serious injury. The umpires called a stop to play.
"We can't see the ball," players said, according to Yahoo Sports. The 15-minute delay gave the fog time to thin enough for play to resume. Conditions remained poor throughout the night, but the game was not called off entirely.
Fog Knocked Out MLB's Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System
Beyond the naked eye, the fog broke something else: MLB's Automatic Ball-Strike challenge system, known as ABS. The ABS system uses radar and cameras to track every pitch with pinpoint precision. On Friday night at Wrigley, the fog shut it down completely.
Yahoo Sports reported that the system could not measure pitch velocity or accurately track ball movement in the foggy conditions. The ABS challenge system lets players dispute a home plate umpire's call. With it offline, that option was gone for the night. It was a rare real-world test the technology failed.
Cardinals Shut Out Cubs 3-0 Despite the Chaos
Despite the wild pregame conditions, the game was played to completion. St. Louis made the most of it. The Cardinals blanked the Cubs 3-0, a clean shutout on a night when the home team could barely see the ball. It was a tough holiday loss for Chicago at home.
Fog Delays Are Rare but Not Unheard of in Baseball History
Fog delays are a genuine oddity in baseball. Rain delays happen all the time. Wind and cold are facts of life at Wrigley Field, which sits near Lake Michigan. But fog thick enough to stop a game is something different. Wrigley's location on Chicago's North Side makes it vulnerable to lake-driven weather.
The Fourth of July timing added an extra layer of irony. Fans at the park for a holiday game instead watched players and umpires squint into the gray sky. It was a memorable night at Wrigley — just not for any reason the Cubs would have wanted.
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