Greg Mitrik's job is to organize thousands of adults playing softball and kickball this spring in the Pittsburgh Sports League. For much of this month, that job has consisted of staring out the window and checking storm radar.

Since the start of the spring season on April 11, rainy weather has forced Mr. Mitrik to cancel every game on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Though the season is nearly 3 weeks old, some teams haven't played a single game.

"It's been brutal, nightmarish to say the least," he said. "Half my day is spent driving around from field to field seeing what the conditions are like. When they finally look good enough, that's when the rain hits."

The Pittsburgh region hasn't suffered from the dramatic -- and deadly -- severe weather lately that some parts of the country have.

But Pittsburgh has seen an abnormal and thoroughly annoying amount of rain. The rainfall has caused headaches and irritation for Mon Wharf parkers, construction companies and particularly participants in outdoor sports.

"It's a disaster," said Mike O'Brien, athletic director for Fox Chapel Area School District. "This is the worst spring we've had in a long time."

Officially, the Pittsburgh area has seen 5.12 inches of rain in April, which is 2.32 inches above normal rainfall for the month. For the year, we've seen 17.49 inches of rain -- 6.45 inches above normal, said meteorologist Brad Rehak of the National Weather Service.

For Mr. O'Brien, that translates to countless hours on the phone trying to reschedule games that have been canceled due to thunderstorms or poor field conditions.

Some sports are trickier than others, he said. The track for track and field events usually holds up pretty well even in bad weather. Youth soccer games played on artificial turf are also relatively unaffected, said Harry Levinson, of the Pittsburgh Dynamo soccer organization.

Tennis can be moved to an indoor tennis facility, though there's an additional cost involved with hiring a bus and renting court time. "In a typical year, you might have to schedule two matches indoors out of 12 or 15," said Mr. O'Brien. "This year it's been almost all of them."

For baseball and softball, which actually need several hours of fairly clear weather and relatively dry field conditions, Fox Chapel is now canceling some "non-section" games completely -- a highly unusual step that recognizes there just won't be time for games that are not required.

Instead of playing 20 games in a baseball season, teams this year may only be able to squeeze in 14 or 16 games, Mr. O'Brien said.

For Mr. Mitrik, the director of the Pittsburgh Sports League, the adults who play in his sports leagues have been fairly understanding.

Most express "pity" for his position right now, though a couple of teams that haven't been able to play any games have asked for -- and been granted -- refunds.

"We're staying as positive as we can," he said, telling players, "if you pray, pray for sun."

And speaking of positivity, at least we're not living in 1858, when Mr. Rehak said Pittsburgh saw 6.6 inches of rain in April.

Then again, they probably didn't have to schedule quite as many kickball games back then.