Although Camden Yards played host to Baltimore’s 8–2 win over the Chicago White Sox on April 29, it was in front of a empty stadium. Owing to the ongoing unrest in Baltimore, the Orioles decided to close the game to the public.
Playing with no spectators was unprecedented in Major League Baseball until now. It was also the second-fastest game ever (2:03) in which one team scored at least 8 runs.
The broadcast showed players gleefully tossing balls into the empty seats following the third out. The box score, with a big zero under the paid attendance, was the undisputed star of the game.
While a zero crowd is a novelty, some fans may be able to sympathize with the situation—like watching my once-hapless Kansas City Royals, who used to play meaningless September games from 1995 to 2012 before crowds that were nowhere near the announced number.
It was a different baseball experience. You could pick up the faint chatter between players. You could hear players yelling “I got it!” on an infield pop-up. Foul balls landed where no one within 50 rows was there to grab it. If they actually won a game, you could hear the dugout cheering more than their own fans.
