Brendan Hurson, of Baltimore, holds a sign as fans view a baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox Wednesday, April 29, 2015, from outside of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The game was played in an empty stadium amid unrest in Baltimore over the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Major League Baseball and the Baltimore Orioles made the decision to play their game Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox with Oriole Park closed off to the public, making it the first Major League Baseball game without any fans in attendance.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the decision made Tuesday afternoon to play in an empty stadium was “in the best interest of fan safety and the development of city resources.”
Though many will undoubtedly criticize the decision, the league must continue playing games despite the turmoil currently taking place in Baltimore.
Major League Baseball and the Orioles acted for the safety of the fans by closing the game off to the public, and decided to act strong and in the best interest of the league. The Orioles have even moved their scheduled series at home this weekend against Tampa Bay to St. Petersburg instead of having it in Baltimore.
The game was televised, broadcast on the radio and followed by the many Orioles fans throughout the state of Maryland and around the country.
The solutions aren’t perfect, but we can’t be too critical of the decisions being made. I believe the move to play the game in front of an empty stadium was the best possible decision.
Though many will criticize the decision made by the Orioles and the MLB, the league can neither risk the injury of its supporters nor allow the injustice in Baltimore to intimidate them.
One baseball game will not bring back peace in a city that once had it; nor will it make all the crime and looting stop. But the Orioles and the MLB made the right decision by continuing to play inside the confines of Camden Yards.
The Major League club chose wisely when it cancelled their game Monday night against the White Sox as riots were forming and danger lurked right outside the ballpark. There was a strong possibility of injury or damage towards the fans and their stadium during the Monday and Tuesday games—something that would still be a threat had 47,000 people filled the stadium yesterday.
In the end, it’s just a baseball game. A time and a situation like this is when we as sports fans put the game in perspective. A great deal of damage has already been done to Baltimore. It will be nearly impossible to determine the exact amount of damage the riots have caused the city. It will be impossible to tell what Freddie Gray’s death will truly mean for the legacy of Baltimore.
It was a strange scene to see Camden Yards empty and a game without fans, but the city of Baltimore cannot live in fear.
“Play ball.”
