View: White Sox-Orioles Play In Empty Camden Yards
(CBS/AP) Following civil unrest and riots in Baltimore in recent days, the White Sox and Orioles took the field Wednesday afternoon at Camden Yards to play without any fans in attendance, as the game was closed to the public. It was believed to be the first times in the history of the four major American pro sports that fans weren't allowed to attend a contest.
The scene was as eerie as you might expect, with the grandstands vacant as Baltimore won 8-2.
The game wasn't played entirely without spectators. A full house of media was in attendance, and some fans watched from behind the iron gate that stands behind the flag court. They cheered when Orioles slugger Chris Davis hit a first-inning homer. In addition, fans were lined up on the deck of a hotel that overlooks the stadium.
A few baseball scouts -- who were allowed in the stadium -- were sitting in the seats behind home plate.
The game is unlike anything we'd ever seen. Foul balls remained in the stands without being retrieved.
A recorded version of the national anthem was played before the game, but the usual tradition didn't follow. A custom in Baltimore is shouting "O!" when the song reaches "O say can you see?" No one did it, although one person in the press box carried on the tradition by saying it under his breath
The usually teeming concourse at Camden Yards was barren, and the concession stands selling $15 crabcakes, $6.50 crab soups and $8 canned beers were locked up.
The lineup board in the Orioles' clubhouse said it all: In the attendance section there was a round "0" in orange marker.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league's adjustment to rioting and looting around Camden Yards takes into account the safety of the people who would be in the stadium and competitive issues.
Here are a few more photos of the jarring scene.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
