The Cardinals plane ran into mechanical problems in St. Louis, delaying the team’s trip to Boston for Game 6 of the World Series and leaving an opening for a lot of jokes at their expense.
Manager Mike Matheny said the aircraft difficulties left the players stranded on the runway for hours, with little word of when they would take off.
The delay wouldn’t hurt the team much in terms of preparation. They had not planned to work out on Tuesday, their off day in the World Series. After winning only one of three games in St. Louis, the Cardinals are returning to Boston in a three games to one hole.
There was no word as to what caused the plane troubles for the Cardinals, but there had been heavy rain in St. Louis during the day on Tuesday.
Some fans took the situation as a bad omen for the Cardinals, who have dropped two straight games in the series and struggled to find offense.
Baseball players — and fans — tend to be a superstitious bunch, so something like the Cardinals plane getting stuck on the runway is seen by many as a shot from the baseball gods
Ironically, St. Louis was interrupted in its last game by a paper airplane floating its way onto the field.
The situation wasn’t lost on Twitter.
Where’s the paper airplane guy when you need him? RT: @Haudricourt Bad omen for Cardinals. Stuck in St. Louis with plane problems.
— Tim McGinnis (@Aisle424) October 29, 2013
There were also plenty of jokes at expense of the Cardinals, who won Game 3 thanks to a controversial obstruction call .
Will Middlebrooks blocking the #Cardinals team charter #worldseries #obstruction #redsox pic.twitter.com/8aIoiD872h
— nick osterholt (@nicko5150) October 29, 2013
Michael Wacha, who is slated to start Game 6 on the mound for St. Louis, said the Cardinals on the plane were making the most of the delay by watching movies and relaxing.
