Fans won't have to wear their solar eclipse glasses during Monday's game at Yankee Stadium after all.
The New York Yankees had been scheduled to play the Miami Marlins at 2:05 p.m. ET, which is five minutes before New York's first total solar eclipse since 1925 is expected to begin. The Yankees announced Thursday that the start time for the promoted game has now been pushed back to 6:05 p.m. -- well after the moon has passed between the sun and the earth.
The Yankees reconsidered the challenge of playing through the eclipse, including potential in-game delays.
"After discussions with Major League Baseball, the scheduled start time of the Yankees-Marlins game on Monday, April 8 at Yankee Stadium has been changed from 2:05 p.m. to 6:05 p.m.," the Yankees posted on X.
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The team added that ticketholders will be permitted to enter the stadium at 3 p.m. ET.
A shadow is set to be cast over the area for approximately two hours and 26 minutes, with the majority of the sun expected to be hidden at 3:25 p.m. ET.
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The Yankees had promoted the celestial experience with the game's unique start time and a "Yankees Solar Eclipse Day T-shirt" giveaway presented to the first 15,000 fans in attendance, which fans will still receive.
But first pitch will now be well after the moon has passed the sun -- with the two not expected to cross paths again for another total solar eclipse until Aug. 23, 2044, according to NASA.
Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reported earlier in the day that the game's time change was made for precaution and safety reasons.
NASA has warned it is not safe to look directly at the sun during an eclipse without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Perhaps the league realized it might not be wise to have players and fans risk severe eye injury by tracking the flight of a fly ball.
