KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The latest on the World Series, which opens Tuesday night with the Kansas City Royals hosting the New York Mets (all times local):
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3:35 p.m.
Batting practice has been canceled because of rain ahead of the World Series opener, and players will hit in indoor cages.
“I talked to MLB and they pretty much asked, Is it a big factor if we start in a slight drizzle? And I said no,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “Obviously the thing we can’t have is some big front moving in where we stop this thing in the middle of the game. That’s the issue it comes to.”
Matt Harvey was scheduled to start for the Mets and Edinson Volquez for the Royals.
“It’s supposed to stop in the middle of the game sometime,” Collins said. “But if it doesn’t and we get some heavy rain or something has to stop the game, that would be a situation that both teams would have a tough time with.”
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3:10 p.m.
The weather update 4 hours from first pitch at the World Series: Still raining.
The white tarp is still covering the infield, blue tarps are still covering the nicely painted World Series logos. Every television set and camera inside Kauffman Stadium is covered in some sort of tarp to protect against a persistent drizzle.
Meteorologist Mike July in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, says some drizzle might remain at first pitch, but the system should move away about the time the game begins.
Temperatures are expected to dip below 50 degrees once the sun sets — as if anybody will be able to tell when it happens through the thick blankets of gray clouds.
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2:25 p.m.
George Brett will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Royals and Mets open the World Series, reprising his role from Game 2 of last year’s Fall Classic.
The Hall of Fame third baseman is a special assistant in the Royals’ front office.
Singer-songwriter Andy Grammer, who topped the pop charts with his song “Honey, I’m Good,” will perform the national anthem. At the conclusion of his performance, a group of F-18 fighter jets from the U.S. Navy will fly over Kauffman Stadium.
Air Force Technical Sergeant Keisha Gwin will perform “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch. Gwin is a vocalist with the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America.
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2 p.m.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, not far from where the Royals and Mets will open the World Series, will celebrate its 25th anniversary next week.
Founded by the late Kansas City Monarchs star Buck O’Neil, the museum has become a popular destination for baseball fans. But perhaps more importantly, it has continued to raise awareness of the role black players have had in shaping the game.
“This is a rare opportunity to pause and reflect on what has been an amazing journey for a little museum that few gave any chance of succeeding,” museum president Bob Kendrick said.
The White Sox and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-MO) will be presented the Buck O’Neil Legacy Award during a gala on Nov. 6. Also expected to attend are Hank Aaron, who began his career in the Negro Leagues, Ferguson Jenkins, Joe Carter and Jim “Mudcat” Grant.
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1:10 p.m.
Rain could be an issue for Game 1 of the World Series between the Royals and Mets.
There was a steady drizzle falling at Kauffman Stadium about 6 hours before the scheduled first pitch Tuesday. And there was a 40 percent chance, depending on the forecast, that rain would be around when the Royals’ Edinson Volquez is supposed to take the mound.
The rain is supposed to taper off later in the night.
“I would be reluctant to begin a game or even more reluctant to begin the warmup process if I didn’t think we could play a substantial portion of that game,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday.
The Royals already endured two rain delays this postseason. They lost the opener of the divisional round to Houston before beating Toronto in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series to secure a spot in their second straight World Series.
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11 a.m.
It will be 20-year-old Royals infielder Raul Mondesi Jr. rather than Mets shortstop Matt Reynolds who has the chance to make history in the World Series.
Mondesi was added to Kansas City’s roster and Reynolds was dropped from New York’s ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday night. That means Mondesi will have a chance to become the first player in big league history to make his debut in the World Series.
Reynolds has never played in a major league game, either. But he was left off the Mets’ 25-man roster to create space for infielder Juan Uribe, who has been out with a chest injury.
One of the Royals’ top prospects, Mondesi is the son of former big leaguer Raul Mondesi. He spent this season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, hitting .243 with six homers and 33 RBIs.
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