Well, that's precisely what happened yesterday in Baltimore as the Orioles hosted the Chicago White Sox in what was originally scheduled to be the finally of a three game series between the two American League clubs. Due to security concerns regarding the current unrest in Baltimore, Major League Baseball and the Orioles decided to move up the start time for the only game played in the series and lock the fans out. A majority of the rioting and looting took place within just a few miles of the Orioles stadium, Camden Yards.

The two teams played the game as if it was in front of a packed house, with intro music, between inning fills songs and player announcements going on as per normal. Foul balls and home run balls went unclaimed, and Oriole firstbaseman Chris Davis tossed on ball into the stand out of habit, and it remained an unclaimed souvenir throughout the game. Some die hard Oriole faithful refused to be denied, catching as much of the contest as they could from outside the park.

It was the first game in Major League History to be played in front of an empty stadium. The previous low attendance for a major league game was way back on September 8 1916, when 26 people "packed" Shibe Park in Philadelphia to see a game between the Philadelphia Athletics and the New York Yankees. The A's defeated the Yankees on that day by an 8-2 score.

Oriole catcher Caleb Joseph was either making a statement regarding the situation, or he's blocked one two many pitches in the dirt as he signs autographs for those not in attendance before the game. Joseph went on to go 2-for-4 on the day in front of the unpacked house. For the record the Orioles, coincidentally enough, defeated the Sox 8-2 powered by a three-run home run from Chris Davis in the first and seven shutout inning from Ubaldo Jiminez.

The Orioles now travel to St. Petersburg, FL to "host" the Tampa Bay Rays in a three game weekend series which was originally slated for Camden Yards, but was moved to Florida due to the unrest.

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