Here's an unusual addition to the New York Yankees' schedule...
"Postponed: Air Quality."
The Yankees rescheduled Wednesday night's game due to concerns about poor air quality caused by smoky conditions stemming from Canadian wildfires. The matchup between the Yankees and Chicago White Sox is now scheduled to be played Thursday at 4:05 p.m. as part of a single-admission doubleheader.
The New York area has been blanketed by a yellowish haze producing hazardous air quality due to wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia. The city's air quality reached a hazardous level Wednesday, with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation extending its citywide air quality health advisory through midnight.
Air quality in the Bronx exceeded 400 in the afternoon on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index, according to AirNow. A recording over 300 is considered hazardous.
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The Yankees didn't announce the game had been postponed until 4:30 p.m. ET.
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked for Major League Baseball's reasoning on waiting to make a decision
"I just know they were getting together to meet again," Boone said. "It was business as usual for me coming in. I got in around 12-12:30 and didn't really think too much of it. I actually walked outside about 2 o'clock and, like everyone else, was like, 'Whoa!' So, I think if my reaction was similar to Major League Baseball and the world's reaction, I think circumstances changed and it became apparent."
Conditions worsened overnight after the two teams played Tuesday's game through an air quality that at the start of the game was over 150, which is considered an unhealthy level.
Several players on Wednesday afternoon warmed up on the field prior to the announcement that the game was being postponed.
The Philadelphia Phillies' scheduled home game against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday was also postponed.
The WNBA's New York Liberty postponed a home game set to be played Wednesday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn against the Minnesota Lynx. A National Women's Soccer League match between the NJ/NY Gotham FC and Orlando Pride at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey was also postponed.
