Regardless of keep indoors smoke recommendation, the Mariners and A’s are nonetheless taking part in

The west coast wildfires have created all sorts of unusual sights, including baseball, which was played last week in San Francisco and Oakland amid an orange sky and falling ash. (The Giants later postponed two weekend games, but that was a COVID-19 test that turned out to be false positive.) Although the landscape there was threatening, the air quality in the Bay Area was reportedly safe point (it’s been worse since then and is now “one of the worst in the world”) so the games went on. But Monday brought with it what was perhaps a more worrying situation in Seattle when the Mariners double-headed the A’s, despite clouds of haze and numerous air quality warnings:
Quite hazy in T-Mobile Park, but the game as double header with A starts as planned at 2:10 p.m. PT. pic.twitter.com/9kpFe48pRg
– Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) September 14, 2020
Air quality measurements in the early morning. Most of the places are very unhealthy or dangerous. No publication of the latest smoke model run with a model that underestimates current smoke in the region. System offshore weakening today. Less chance of showers and lighter winds = little improvement in smoke. #wawx pic.twitter.com/1s6OPmozaa
– NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) September 14, 2020
Some players wore masks during the game, including A’s midfielder Ramón Laureano. He made a great catch while holding his mask on:
We wouldn’t believe it either if it wasn’t Ramón #RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/albQjN8yTv
– Oakland A’s (@Athletics) September 14, 2020
Meanwhile, many Seattle businesses (which have not yet closed due to COVID-19) closed on Monday, and local officials have given encouragement to stay indoors (via Capitol Hill Seattle):
Air quality is going to be unhealthy, very unhealthy and dangerous in most parts of West Washington today due to the abundance of smoke near the surface. Very unhealthy to dangerous air quality means everyone should stay indoors. Avoid all strenuous activities. If it’s not too hot, close windows and doors, set the air conditioner to recirculation, and use a HEPA air filter if possible. People with heart or lung disease, or people who have had a stroke, should consult their doctor to get out of the area and wear a properly fitted breathing mask if they need to go outdoors. Obey fire bans and evacuation orders.
Here are some more quotes from Dr. Phil Swartzendruber of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency on local radio site MyNorthwest.com:
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency recommends staying indoors as much as possible with the windows closed.
Dr. Phil Swartzendruber of the agency told CBS that people are essentially inhaling microscopic tar and creosote, similar to what could build up in your chimney.
“That’s exactly what the smoke is,” said Swartzendruber. “So it goes deep into the lungs and goes into the lungs. This can make the system worse and place stress on the heart and lungs. “
According to the National Weather Service, the current air quality alert for the region has been extended to Thursday. That could mean that the Giants’ scheduled games against the Mariners on Tuesday and Wednesday do not go particularly well.
It is fairly understandable why everything is being done to play these games. The shortened season this year and the adjustments made thanks to COVID-19 postponements have created quite a schedule crisis for many teams. This includes the A’s, who currently play four games in 57 hours in three cities. They lost to the Texas Rangers at Arlington on Sunday in a game that started at 2:40 p.m. Eastern. Then they flew to Seattle for a makeup double-header from games that were postponed September 1-2, and then flew to Denver (8:40 p.m. East) for an evening game against the Rockies tomorrow . So there is no easy way for them to invent these games if they were moved again, and there is no indication that the air in Seattle is getting better anytime soon. And on Monday afternoon, the air in Seattle has improved slightly thanks to some rain showers, so it’s not quite as bad as it was earlier in the day.
At the same time, there are definitely some concerns about playing games with such poor air quality. As Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle wrote on Monday, A manager Bob Melvin mentioned that team and league officials are concerned when the air quality index is above 200 (“very unhealthy”), as indicated by the NWS Seattle tweet above , the AQI was over 300 (“dangerous”) in much of Seattle early Monday. So there are certainly some potential problems there. And these problems can continue this week.
[The San Francisco Chronicle; photo via Joe Nicholson of USA Today Sports]