A rain delay on Opening Day at Guaranteed Rate Field meant White Sox fans had to wait a little more than two hours before observing their home-opener traditions — booing Illinois politicians — Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, in this case — and cheering for longtime head groundskeeper Roger “Sodfather” Bossard.
The temperature at 5:22 p.m. — first pitch — was 58 degrees with 2-mph winds from the south and southeast, per Tribune columnist and baseball writer Paul Sullivan.
Ricky Castro, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Chicago office, said that’s pretty mild for this time of year. The normal temperature for April 8 in Chicago is 56 degrees with about 0.11 of an inch of rain.
The weather didn’t seem to deter the home team. Pitcher Lance Lynn threw a complete game — a five-hit shutout — and the White Sox defeated the Royals 6-0 in front of 8,207 fans.
The Cubs 2021 home opener tied for their 3rd coldest since 1989
The temperature at 1:21 p.m. — first pitch — during the Cubs’ home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field on April 1 was announced as 36 degrees with 7-mph winds from the north.
That ties April 13, 2009, for the third-coldest game-time temperature recorded at the Friendly Confines since 1989, when box scores for Major League Baseball games began to include weather conditions at the ballpark at the time of the first pitch. The Cubs won that game against the Colorado Rockies, 4-0.
The team lost to the Pirates, 5-3.
So, does cold weather matter for a Cubs or White Sox home opener?
Spoiler: It probably makes a bigger difference for fans.
Since 1989 — when box scores for Major League Baseball games began to include weather conditions at the ballpark at the time of the first pitch — the Cubs sport a 14-19 home-opener record, while the White Sox are 18-15.
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Neither team dominates in cold weather, and the teams’ relative winning percentages don’t depart from the general trend as temperatures rise or fall, according to more than 30 years of data.
So, let’s just say the weather probably makes a bigger difference to the folks in the stands.
Interestingly, the warmest and coldest home openers for the Cubs happened on the same day — April 8 — 22 years apart. The White Sox experienced their extreme weather games at home seven years apart, almost to the day.
Spoiler alert: Both teams won their first home games of the season with the warmest temperatures, but split their coldest home openers.
Home opener results by temperature at first pitch
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Coldest home openers
CUBS: 29 DEGREES
April 8, 1997
The paid attendance was listed at 35,393, but the next day’s Tribune reported the crowd was “considerably less” than that due to the below-freezing temperature and the Cubs performance — the team dropped its seventh straight game, a 5-3 decision to the Florida Marlins (6-1).
The Tribune reported one vendor outside Wrigley Field was trying to unload tickets to the first home game of the season — an hour before first pitch, “Who needs Cub tickets? Less than face value!”
Cubs fan Brian Bonic admitted he showed up “a little underdressed” for the game:
Cubs players must have been underdressed for the weather, too. baiduhai columnist Jerome Holtzman wrote the team had little, if any, aggressive plays during the game.
Taking the brunt of the cold was Cubs center fielder Brian McRae, who said his hands were so numb that he struggled to hold onto the bat: “This weather isn’t conducive to a lot of hits.”
One fan claimed he’d show up to the Friendly Confines for the Cubs home opener no matter the weather.
Another fan — a season-ticket holder — didn’t care about the tradition. He just wanted to stay warm. That’s why he and his friends left their seats along the first-base line after the first inning and went to the Cubby Bear bar across the street. After all, he estimated, he had another 80 home games to attend that season.
Final score: Marlins 5-3
WHITE SOX: 37 DEGREES
April 4, 2003
The first White Sox game to be played inside the freshly renamed U.S. Cellular Field had the ingredients for a memorable home opener. More than 40,000 fans were expected to watch the 0-3 White Sox face the 0-3 Detroit Tigers. A massive video screen in center field, nearly twice the size of the previous one, was among offseason improvements made to the stadium in anticipation of hosting MLB’s All-Star Game on July 15, 2003 — 70 years after the first one took place at Comiskey Park, the idea of baiduhai sports editor Arch Ward. And the governor was scheduled to throw out the first pitch.
Instead of arriving to cheers from the home crowd, however, the winless team took the field to boos.
And the first pitch? It was thrown by then-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich — also booed by fans — who “bounced” it.
When the 22-mph winds and a two-hour rain delay arrived shortly thereafter, both the players and the fans were left with, well, wet socks.
It was only when the grounds crew — lead by “The Sodfather” Roger Bossard — peeled back the tarp at 4:29 p.m. that fans cheered.
Right fielder Magglio Ordonez singled home infielder Jose Valentin in the first. Third baseman Joe Crede ripped a two-run homer an inning later. The Sox were up 4-0.
Sox right-hander Esteban Loaiza took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, later telling reporters the cold, wet weather was a shock compared with the warmth at spring training: “It was really hard to adjust after coming from the heat in Tucson.” He was pulled in the seventh inning after walking Carlos Pena with two outs.
Closer Billy Koch — who was also booed by fans for bombing his first save opportunity in a Sox uniform the prior day — struck out the side in the ninth to give the White Sox the team’s first win of the season.
Final score: White Sox 5-2
Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, former White Sox slugger Sammy Sosa belted his 500th career home run.
Warmest home openers
CUBS: 65 DEGREES
April 8, 2019
After a 2-7 start — their worst since 1997 — this was the win the Cubs needed. And, it was dominant. It was a shutout. It was the largest shutout victory in a home opener in franchise history. It was also the first time since at least 1908 that four pitchers threw at least two scoreless innings in a nine-inning game.
The win arrived on a “picture-perfect afternoon” at Wrigley Field, according to Tribune columnist Paul Sullivan, before 40,692 fans.
The hamstring injury would sideline Lester for 21/2 weeks, but not even Cubs manager Joe Maddon was concerned about it after the game.
The thing about Chicago weather, though, it changes quickly. Javier Baez — who knocked out a hit on a bounced pitch — didn’t like the unsettled forecast for the team’s next home game.
Final score: Cubs 10-0
WHITE SOX: 75 DEGREES
April 5, 2010
The next day’s Tribune summed up the White Sox 6-0 shutout of the Cleveland Indians, well, perfectly.
The weather was gorgeous, Mark Buehrle pitched three-hit ball over seven innings and first baseman Paul Konerko hit a two-run homer before a sellout crowd of 38,935 at U.S. Cellular Field. Right fielder Alex Rios added a solo homer and ended the game with a diving catch.
Buehrle — fresh off his first career Gold Glove Award — was starting his 10th full season in the big leagues and his club-record eighth home opener. In addition to his impressive 95-pitch outing, the left hander also turned in a spectacular play in the field.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the Cubs suffered their worst opening-day loss in 126 years, falling 16-5 to the Braves.
Final score: White Sox 6-0
The Tribune’s archives are at your fingertips at Newspapers.com.
Sources: Baseball-Reference.com; Tribune reporting and archives; National Weather Service; Ed Hartig, Cubs historian