Quake Threw a Mean Curve at Baseball : World Series: Although games have been postponed many times before, mainly because of rain, the 11-day delay between the Giants and the A’s is the longest ever.

This isn’t the first time the Giants and Athletics had to find something else to do during the World Series. Remember 1911?

The New York Giants and Philadelphia A’s met in the 1911 Series and waited six days between Games 3 and 4 because of rain.

The headline in the San Francisco Chronicle read: “Rainy Weather is Killing Interest in the World’s Baseball Series.”

Sound familiar?

The Series resumed Oct. 24 at Philadelphia and the A’s went on to win in six games.

Christy Mathewson, who went 1-2 in the Series for the Giants, said, “A certain amount of rest has done the team good, because I believe that some of the players were a little stale; but too much is going to hurt them.”

It was raining in San Francisco today, and the A’s and Giants were in the World Series again. But rain isn’t the reason this Series is being delayed.

Last Tuesday, 31 minutes before Game 3, the Bay Area was hit by a devastating earthquake, forcing postponement until this Friday. The 11 days between games is the longest in World Series history. For the record, the A’s lead the best-of-7 Series 2-0.

Commissioner Fay Vincent was hoping to resume the Series on Tuesday, but San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos said the city wasn’t ready.

“I think it’s absurd,” Oakland’s Dave Parker said of the delay. “They’re taking a lot away from what the Series represents.”

Eighteen World Series since 1903 have been delayed by rain, cold weather and now an earthquake.

“Baseball is quite good at dealing with the rain,” Vincent said. “But we’re just learning about dealing with earthquakes.”

In 1962, the New York Yankees played the Giants in the first World Series in San Francisco and three games were rained out before Game 6 was played at Candlestick Park.

“The Giants and Dodgers moved to California to get some good weather, and it ended up raining,” Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson said. “We only had two (Series) games rained out in New York during the 1950s.”

In 1951, Game 4 between the Yankees and Giants was rained out, and in 1956, Game 2 between the Yankees and Brooklyn was postponed by rain.

One of the greatest World Series ever had three games rained out. In 1975, the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games and had to wait four days between Games 5 and 6 because of rain in Boston.

It was worth the wait, as Carlton Fisk hit a dramatic home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to win it for the Red Sox.

Game 7 was viewed by 70 million people and the Reds won 4-3 with a run in the ninth inning.

Oakland Manager Tony La Russa said Sunday that the hardest part during the layoff is keeping the players’ concentration sharp.

The A’s and Giants have been holding workouts since the World Series was delayed, but their hearts haven’t always been in it.

“Both sides will lose some adrenalin,” said Sparky Anderson, manager of the 1975 Reds. “You can take lots of batting practice and play all the simulated games you want, but it’s not the same.”

If this year’s World Series goes seven games, it will finish Nov. 1--the latest ever.

“I hope we finish this Series so that the club can start south in time for spring training,” Oakland’s Jose Canseco said.