I can't believe we're in Oakland. The 1972 Series was scheduled so that the three games in the American League city would begin at twilight, the rationale being that more people could see the midweek games on television. That concept, of course, was first advanced by Finley. Baseball adopted it so it could fire a few rounds in the Nielsen rating wars. As any fan also knows, baseball is at its worst when played in twilight.
Hitters have difficulty in picking up the flight of the ball as it comes off the mound.
A low, fading sun and intermittent islands of light and shadow in the background bewilder a batter. Five years ago the All-Star Game was begun in Anaheim, Calif. at twilight. It lasted 15 innings and produced 30 strikeouts. Just before the scheduled start of Tuesday's third game, a huge cloud floated in above Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and dumped enough hail and rain to force a postponement. On Wednesday the weather turned fine, but the grounds remained soggy.