In Baltimore, A Different Historic Moment: A Fan-less Baseball Game

By Eyder Peralta

Published April 29, 2015 at 2:28 PM CDT

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning of a baseball game without fans on Wednesday in Baltimore.

History was made in Baltimore today: The Orioles played in what the league says is the first Major League Baseball game to be closed to the public.

That meant that players came on the field to no cheers and a home run was marked by the crack of a bat and only a few isolated claps.

Here's video of the first pitch:

The pop of the glove, the click of the keyboard… RT @ChiTribKane: Here’s first pitch from White Sox and Orioles pic.twitter.com/CvV76sFJww
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) April 29, 2015

And video of a three-run home run by Orioles first-baseman Chris Davis:

NPR's Don Gonyea is at Camden Yards this afternoon and he reports that he saw just a small amount of police presence outside the stadium.

ESPN reports that it is believed that fan-less games have been played in the minor leagues. The network explains:

"The Baseball Hall of Fame and John Thorn, MLB's official historian, said they did not think there ever had been a closed-doors big league game, although there have been instances in the minor leagues.

"Thorn said the lowest attendance for a major league game appears to be six when Worcester hosted Troy in a National League matchup on Sept. 28, 1882."

Update at 5:52 p.m. ET. Orioles Win:

The Baltimore Orioles crushed the White Sox 8-2 on Wednesday.