The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox are an offensive powerhouse. The team ranks third in the Cape League in hits (198), first in runs (150), and first in RBI (135). However, in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss against Wareham, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox recorded only two hits. They were unable to turn the victorious momentum from the prior game, a 7-3 win against Chatham, into a two-game win streak. Still, two Y-D players have opinions on whether the smoke was the reason for the team’s lack of success.
Cape Cod, Mass. is one of many regions affected by a recent decrease in air quality caused by Canadian Wildfire “smoke blankets”, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The smoke has spread from at least 128 confirmed wildfires in northwest Canada. At Wednesday’s 5 pm EDT game time, the Air Quality index surpassed 90 which AccuWeather rates as “poor.” This resulted in decreased visibility at Red Wilson Field.
One player who felt that the decrease in visibility made a noticeable impact on his performance was Y-D left fielder Caleb Daniel (Georgia Tech), who said that the smoke made it “decently” more difficult to make plays in the outfield.
“I definitely did not see the ball off the bat every time, but I ended up making every play,” Daniel said.
At the plate, Daniel’s smokey experience was ironic. He thought that the smoke made it easier to see pitches from the batter’s box, although he joked that it “didn’t look like it” from his lack of hits. He went 0-for-3 with one strikeout, one flyout to left field, and one flyout to center in the smokey matchup. The left-handed hitter ended the game with a .183 batting average and .279 on-base percentage this season.
“I saw the seams pretty well,” said Daniel. “I have blue eyes…I don’t know if it was anything with that, but I actually saw [the pitches] pretty well. Maybe later in the game it was harder to see, but other than that I saw it pretty well.”
Y-D second baseman Phoenix Call (University of California-Los Angeles) felt similarly.
“It wasn’t as bad as you’d think,” said Call. “The only part I’d say was not so great was at the end of the game, just because it got darker than usual.”
Call, who hit tonight from the leadoff spot, went 1-for-4 with a solid base hit to center field, and is now hitting .211 with a .601 OPS this season. He also put on a defensive show at second base, where he went errorless in a game of heavy ball traffic.
As the smoke continues to blow through Cape Cod, only time will tell if, or how, it continues to impact Y-D’s performance.
