On this day in 1989, the Toronto Blue Jays hosted the first major league baseball game to be played both indoors and outdoors.
The team knew that rain could be in the forecast when it began play against the Brewers on the night of June 7, just four days after the park's debut. But the roof remained open, in the hopes that they'd still be able to get the game in while enjoying a balmy summer night.
That wasn't the case: In the bottom of the fifth inning, the skies opened, and after a quick phone call to get a radar reading, home-plate umpire Rich Garcia made the call.
As soon as the roof began to lurch, the crowd erupted, and they remained that way for much of the next few minutes as it continued closing. Garcia tried to resume play while the roof did its thing, but the final sliver of sky happened to fall right near home plate, so play was eventually suspended -- allowing fans to stand up and gawk at what was happening overhead. - The debut of the SkyDome's [now Roger Center] retractable roof was like a dispatch from the future of baseball
Happy Friday!
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