Corrections are welcome!
Past versions of MLB The Show recognize that the Earth makes one rotation about its axis every 24 hours. When you play a night game, it usually starts in the late afternoon or early evening and as the Earth rotates the sun will set and night will descend upon the ballpark.
MLB 15 not only recognizes that the Earth rotates about its axis, but also orbits the sun while tilted on its axis about 23 degrees.
Why does this matter? Using the graphics and lightning trailer, we can illustrate the position of the sun in the sky for one of the ballparks shown.
Here's Oakland.
The trailer says this is April at 4PM. They do not specify the date.
Here's the position of the sun on April 15th, 2015 at 4PM over Oakland Coliseum.
Now here's May:
Notice how as we move toward the summer solstice, the position of the sun is higher in the sky. This results in shorter shadows.
June:
The summer solstice is Sunday, June 21st, 2015. The sun is at its highest point in the sky, and you cannot see the shadow of the bank of lights anymore from this angle.
July:
As we move into July, you're not going to see huge differences in shadows, but the days are getting shorter and the shadows are going to be getting longer.
August:
Now you're starting to see the return of the shadow of the overhead lights. By September that shadow will cross the foul line. The same is true of the players but that's more subtle. Compare the catcher in September's image to June's.
September:
And if your team makes the postseason, here's October.
Now you can see the shadow from the part of the stadium directly behind home plate.
Going to see baseball games, this element is not something we consciously think of in our minds, but it's something that contributes to the atmosphere of baseball. The longer shadows of September signify the end of the regular season. Going to the ballpark in September or even October if you've got postseason tickets has a different feeling than going in June, and this feature is part of what makes The Show authentic.
It's also neat from an astronomy perspective. I've heard people dismiss this feature as superfluous, but doing this analysis made me appreciate it more.
There's one uncertainty. Is it daily or monthly? In other words, will September 1st's game have a higher sun position than September 30th, or does the change kick in on October 1st?
Past versions of MLB The Show recognize that the Earth makes one rotation about its axis every 24 hours. When you play a night game, it usually starts in the late afternoon or early evening and as the Earth rotates the sun will set and night will descend upon the ballpark.
MLB 15 not only recognizes that the Earth rotates about its axis, but also orbits the sun while tilted on its axis about 23 degrees.
Why does this matter? Using the graphics and lightning trailer, we can illustrate the position of the sun in the sky for one of the ballparks shown.
Here's Oakland.
The trailer says this is April at 4PM. They do not specify the date.
Here's the position of the sun on April 15th, 2015 at 4PM over Oakland Coliseum.
Now here's May:
Notice how as we move toward the summer solstice, the position of the sun is higher in the sky. This results in shorter shadows.
June:
The summer solstice is Sunday, June 21st, 2015. The sun is at its highest point in the sky, and you cannot see the shadow of the bank of lights anymore from this angle.
July:
As we move into July, you're not going to see huge differences in shadows, but the days are getting shorter and the shadows are going to be getting longer.
August:
Now you're starting to see the return of the shadow of the overhead lights. By September that shadow will cross the foul line. The same is true of the players but that's more subtle. Compare the catcher in September's image to June's.
September:
And if your team makes the postseason, here's October.
Now you can see the shadow from the part of the stadium directly behind home plate.
Going to see baseball games, this element is not something we consciously think of in our minds, but it's something that contributes to the atmosphere of baseball. The longer shadows of September signify the end of the regular season. Going to the ballpark in September or even October if you've got postseason tickets has a different feeling than going in June, and this feature is part of what makes The Show authentic.
It's also neat from an astronomy perspective. I've heard people dismiss this feature as superfluous, but doing this analysis made me appreciate it more.
There's one uncertainty. Is it daily or monthly? In other words, will September 1st's game have a higher sun position than September 30th, or does the change kick in on October 1st?
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