On Wednesday, April 29, you could hear a pin drop at Oriole Park while the Baltimore Orioles batted against the Chicago White Sox. The stadium was completely empty — aside from a few reporters and team associates — following the unrest in the city.
As previously reported, games were postponed on Monday and Tuesday and the stadium was closed to the public on Wednesday following the violent protests that broke out after the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a Baltimore man who died in police custody on April 19.
“The view of today’s game. #Birdland,” the team’s official Twitter captioned a photo of the eerily empty stadium on Wednesday. “For everyone in #Birdland, it’s the 7th inning stretch! Show us your #BirdlandPride wherever you are today,” the team offered fans, who had to take in the game elsewhere.
Tomorrow’s game between the Orioles and the Chicago White Sox will begin at 2:05 p.m. ET and will be closed to the public.
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 28, 2015
Despite a lack of cheers from their usual fans, the Orioles secured an 8 to 2 win against the White Sox. The team, however, will compete against the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa Bay this weekend instead of Baltimore.
On Monday, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
Former Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis took to Facebook to urge kids off the streets. “No way, no way. No way this can happen in our city,” Lewis said in a video posted to his account. “Young kids, you got to understand something. Get off the streets. Violence is not the answer! Violence has never been the answer! Freddie Gray…we don’t do nothing for him doing this.”
