The game with no fans

*Photo from Oregon Live*

   Camden Yards was quiet. Very, very quiet. Then you heard the loud crack of the bat and the ball pounding into a glove. There was indeed a baseball game going on in Baltimore. Except there weren't any fans watching. As MLB ponders playing games in 2020 without fans, I thought it would be appropriate to look back at the game on April 29, 2015, without any fans.

   The Chicago White Sox were in Baltimore to play a series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. At this time, Baltimore was in the midst of severe riots, which had forced two of the games to be postponed. They finally decided to play on April 29, but with a massive change. For everyone's safety in the midst of these riots in Baltimore, no fans were to be allowed into the stadium. The Orioles and White Sox were to play in front of the team broadcasters, and just some reporters. That was it. 

   The game got underway, and the Orioles hit White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija hard in the first inning. Adam Jones got the Orioles on the board with a sac fly that scored Alejandro De Aza. Chris Davis then cranked a 3 run homer to right field to make it 4-0 Baltimore. Everth Cabrera then hit an RBI double, and Caleb Joseph plated Cabrera with an RBI single to make it 6-0 Orioles after one inning. In the 3rd, Joseph picked up another RBI single to make it 7-0. In the 5th, a fielder's choice and an RBI ground out got the White Sox two runs to make it 7-2. It didn't stay that way for long, as Manny Machado hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 5th to make it 8-2, which held for the rest of the game.

   Ubaldo Jimenez got the win for the Orioles that day, pitching 7 innings and giving up two unearned runs while striking out 6. Samardzija got the loss for Chicago, lasting 5 innings, giving up 7 runs and striking out 5. The game took just two hours and 3 minutes, and Baltimore had picked up it's 3rd straight win. When Davis took his trot around the bases after his homer, it was eerie to everyone, as they were so used to the crowd reactions to it that it left everyone it stunned silence. 

   Players and coaches spoke out about the situation after the game. Orioles manager Buck Showalter compared the game to an instructional league game because of no fans, while White Sox manager Robin Ventura was just stunned by the silence. Jimenez said that "We all know everything the city is going through, so hat's something you put in your mind, you have to go out there and do something that would be good for the fans." Samardzija said of the game that "It had a little spring training feel to it." Jones said that "A game with no fans, but they were out at the hotel, you could see on the balcony, you could hear them outside the gates. A lot of people were telling me to look up the check-ins on Facebook. So there were people around supporting, just not inside the stadium. But there was still some support."

   Showalter contined on, saying that "It was so quiet, I could hear every word said by Gary Thorn and Jim Palmer(Orioles Broadcasters). That was weird. There was no walk-up music. Guys just walked to the plate and hit. I think the game lasted like 2:05. But you had to be careful what you said to the guy in the on-deck circle, or to the guys on the bench, because everyone could hear it. You really had to be careful around the umpires because they could hear everything. It was so quiet, we didn't even need the bullpen phone. I just yelled, 'Hey, better get (Zack) Britton up!" 

   So yes, MLB has played without fans before. While they didn't anticipate this to happen again after that day, and didn't want it to happen again, that's what will have to happen again if MLB wants to have a season this year.