Mike DeJohn, the manager of the State College Spikes, had his hands on his hips, speaking sternly, almost as if he were arguing an umpire's blown call.
The umpires were nowhere near DeJohn, however, because the game was still in a rain delay.
Nearly an hour after the rain had stopped, players from both teams were jogging around the outfield and the grounds crew continued to scatter water puddles that had gathered in center and left field.
The subject of DeJohn's disdain was not the boys in blue, but the general manager of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, Rick Janac. The two stood their ground on the field, discussing the conditions with the umpires as well as Hudson Valley Renegades coach before coming to a consensus.
The fans that still remained in the stadium booed as the game announcer proclaimed that the game was cancelled after a one hour, 56 minute delay. The Spikes trailed 1-0 when the game was called in the top of the fourth.
The cancellation of the game came as a surprise to many fans in attendance.
"When it was coming down pretty hard, we understand they gotta pull the tarp. We step inside and everyone's having a good time. We start a conga line, the macarena, the electric slide, everything you can name," Spikes fan Mike Lenaway said. "But when the rain stopped, come on now. The rain's stopped, the field's dry, we wait for 30-40 minutes and no game? I don't understand who makes that call."
Janac said that it came down to a group decision. In the end, the contest had to be cancelled for safety reasons.
DeJohn said he was defiant about playing but was not the only one to say so. He said the umpires, opposing coaches and even the grounds crew were worried about the conditions of the field.
"In situations like that, we can say it's playable and it's not bad, this, that whatever, if you get a player that's hurt," DeJohn said. " This kid is a prospect, this kid isn't a prospect? That isn't my authority [to determine]. No one has given me the
right to decide in his career."
DeJohn said that if the umpires could not come to a decision, the verdict was ultimately decided by the league president.
Because it was the final game of the year against Hudson Valley, the game will not be made up. Janac said he was unsure of the league's policy if the game was needed to determine a possible playoff seed. DeJohn said the game would not be made up, regardless of the circumstances citing a situation two years ago when the Cardinals failed to make the playoffs by a half-game because of a similar scenario.
"They won't extend the season a day. We have a day off at the end before the playoffs, but they won't extend it," DeJohn said.
Janac said that the normal rainout refund policy, which allows fans to turn in their ticket stub as a pass to attend another Spikes game free of charge, would still apply even though the game had already started.
