The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are mired in one of the oddest stories of the MLB season so far.
Their first pitch on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates will be at 6:29 p.m. local time (9:29 ET). That’s nine minutes earlier than their standard 6:38 p.m.
The reason? A complicated rule in the Collective Bargaining Agreement means that the exact latest minute the Angels can start a game on a getaway day is 6:29 p.m. local time.
They fly to Minnesota after the game for a road series against the Twins.
It’s standard operating procedure in MLB for getaway day games to be played in the afternoon.
But The Athletic’s Sam Blum reports that the Angels play more night getaway games than anyone else.
“I don’t think it should be allowed, to be honest,” Angels outfielder Taylor Ward told Blum. “I think there definitely should be rules in place to prevent that. Because it’s kind of crazy.”
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Generally speaking, according to Blum, later weekday starts result in higher attendance and more revenue generated.
Blum also reports that the Angels won’t even be able to fly out of one of their preferred airports (LGB or SNA) because of 10 p.m. curfews there, so they’ll likely add an additional 30 minutes to their travel by having to fly out of LAX.
The Angels play at 6:40 p.m. local time in Minneapolis on Friday. They won’t be getting a ton of great sleep.
Ward says he thinks this situation “gives other teams an advantage,” referring to who the Angels play in their next series.
The Angels also play a night getaway game later this season ahead of a two-time-zone road trip again, on July 10 when they host the Rangers and then head to Houston.
L.A. might play just fine on Thursday night against the Pirates.
But the Angels could be in for a rough Friday against the Twins, because of travel arrangements that would’ve been easily avoided.
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