Oregon Minor League Baseball Game Becomes 1st To Have Eclipse Delay
KEIZER, Ore. (CBS SF) -- An early start for a minor league baseball game in Oregon assured an historic in-game stoppage for Monday's total solar eclipse.
Fans arrived as early as 5:00 a.m. for the game between the Salem-Kaiser Volcanoes and the visiting Hillborough Hops. The Volcanoes, a San Francisco Giants Single-A farm team, moved the start time up to 9:45 a.m. as the eclipe was nearing totality.
Major League Baseball had authorized the game to be halted for the eclipse. After a long top-of-the-first inning in which the Hops scored three runs, the umpires halted the game shortly after 10:15 a.m. to allow the 5,287 fans to see the real show.
The Volcanoes wore eclipse-themed jerseys for the event, which was dubbed "Total Eclipse of the Park." The sellout crowd chanted "Let's Go Science!" at one point and cheered wildly when the eclipse was at its height.
Following a delay of 58 minutes, the game resumed in the bottom of the first inning.
The game marked the first professional baseball game to be delayed by a solar eclipse. The ball used for the game's ceremonial first pitch will be sent to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.