Weather concerns bring back memories of Series postponements

Major League Baseball moved the start of Game 2 of the World Series an hour earlier Wednesday night in an effort to avoid some potentially dicey weather. With two Great Lakes cities hosting games in outdoor ballparks at this time of year, there was always a possibility that rain could intervene at some point this series.

Wet weather has played a significant role on several occasions in the World Series. Here are a few of the most famous instances in which the baseball was put on hold for a little while:

2008: The Philadelphia Phillies led the series 3-1, but their bid for a championship was interrupted when Game 5 was suspended in the sixth inning , tied at 2. Two nights later the teams were back to finish the game, and Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay 4-3 to close out the series.

Before Game 5 was suspended, it looked like there was a chance the Phillies could be crowned champions with a rain-shortened victory, but Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena hit an RBI single to tie it just before the game was stopped. Less than a month later, commissioner Bud Selig announced that baseball would enact a rules change stating that postseason games cannot be shortened because of bad weather.

1986: After losing Game 6 on Bill Buckner's error, the Red Sox appeared to have caught a break when Game 7 was postponed. That allowed Boston to start Bruce Hurst, who had been excellent in that series, for the finale, but the New York Mets won 8-5.

1975: With Cincinnati leading the series 3-2, the Reds and Red Sox had to wait out three rainouts before Game 6 at Fenway Park. Boston famously staved off elimination on Carlton Fisk's 12th-inning homer before Cincinnati won Game 7.

1962: The New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants waited through three straight rainouts before Game 6 was finally played at Candlestick Park. The Giants won to force a Game 7, but New York took the finale 1-0.

1911: Thanks to a Series-record six consecutive rainouts, there was a weeklong break between Games 3 and 4. The Philadelphia Athletics eventually beat the New York Giants in six.

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