WATCH ABOVE: Orioles play ‘closed to public’ game in empty Baltimore stadium
TORONTO – The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2 on Wednesday, but there were no cheers from the crowd and no fans left the game at the top of the 9th to beat traffic.
Camden Yards was quiet as the Orioles faced off against the White Sox where no fans were allowed into the stadium marking the first time its ever happened in Major League Baseball history.
Closing the game to public was made in the wake of protests over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, which turned into a riot Monday prompting Baltimore’s governor to call in the National Guard to restore order. The city has been on edge since Gray’s death earlier this month from a mysterious spinal cord injury while in police custody.
Two previously postponed games on Monday and Tuesday will be made up on May 28 and the decision to go ahead with Wednesday’s game was decided as it was the best time to fill out schedules for both teams.
The game’s starting time was also moved up five hours to 2:05 p.m. so it would finish well ahead of the 10 o’clock curfew imposed Tuesday.
As the two teams went at it in front of an empty 47,000 seat stadium the snapping sounds of leather gloves or the crack of a baseball bat connecting with the ball rang hollow.
When Orioles’ slugger Chris Davis hit a three-run homerun off White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija to give Baltimore a 4-0 lead in the first inning the only sounds came from fans watching from behind iron gates or the deck of a hotel overlooking the stadium.
Despite the absence of fans, the Orioles carried out traditions like playing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh inning stretch and announcing the attendance.
“Today’s official paid attendance is zero,” the announcement echoed through empty rows of seats.
The move to close the game to public was unusual for the MLB, which cancelled games after the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles and terrorists attacked New York and Washington.
The World Series was even put on hold in 1989 after an earthquake hit San Francisco.
Back in Canada, professional hockey players said they would find it difficult being in the same situation.
“I couldn’t imagine that feeling,” Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty told the Canadian Press, “it’s very unfortunate circumstances and it’s tough to see stuff like that going on.”
Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan compared the game to a practice atmosphere.
“It’s too bad what’s going on there,” Stajan told the Canadian Press. “Obviously they’ve got to do what they’ve got to do.”
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said prior to the game that it shows how important the fans are to the game.
“It makes you realize how unimportant really in a lot of ways this is compared to some things that are going on,” Showalter told reporters. “You try to keep that mind and look at things realistically, where this fits in the scheme of things. You prioritize what’s important and we tried to do that.”
*With files from the Associated Press
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