Sound of Silence

45,971 seats sat vacant in Camden Yards as the Orioles played the White Sox in the only recorded Major League Baseball game ever to be closed to the public.

Locked gates and bare concession stands were seen throughout the Yard.

Wednesday’s paid attendance was announced over the loudspeakers as “zero.”

Fans cheered on the game from the Hilton Hotel across the street, with a “Go Orioles” banner hanging from an upper-level balcony.

Orioles starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez threw seven strong innings in front of an empty house.

Manny Machado waited in the on-deck circle with countless rows of empty green seats in the background.

A desolate centerfield bar was one of many eerily quiet concession areas.

No beer was poured, no peanuts were cracked, and no merchandise was sold during Wednesday’s game.

“It hit me when I made contact and you could hear it echoing off the empty seats,” Chris Davis told press after the game, referencing his first-inning home run.

What would normally have been a bustling Eutaw Street corridor stood still for all nine innings of Wednesday’s game.

"We play for the fans. We play for the city of Baltimore. People are always watching,” said Adam jones. And indeed they were, as dozens of fans gathered outside the gates to cheer on the birds from afar.

The Orioles took a 6-0 lead in the first inning of the game.

Despite not being open to the public, the game was still broadcast on MASN.

As the game ended and players headed back into the clubhouse, the stands were silent, but the iconic tune “Orioles Magic” still echoed throughout the stadium.
“I was real proud of our guys, their concentration level,” said Buck Showalter. “This isn't something we prepare for . . . Down the road, there is the chance that our city could be better because of this.”