Baseball got weird on Wednesday.
The Baltimore Orioles took on the Chicago White Sox, defeating them 8-2 in front of a paying audience of zero after the public was shut out due to concerns over the Baltimore riots that happened two nights before.
But it didn't mean nobody was in attendance.
A handful of journalists in Camden Yards shared Instagrams and Vines of the game's strangest moments, from the silent cracks of the bat to a player signing fake autographs to nonexistent fans.
The Orioles silently took the field
O's take the field in an empty stadium. #NoFansGame #OPACY #Orioles #whitesox #mlb A video posted by FAN-I (@fanisports) on Apr 29, 2015 at 11:15am PDT
And hit foul balls to nobody
If a ball falls in empty seats, does anybody ever pick it up?
An Orioles player threw a ball to the fans
Give it to the kid, Chris Davis.
Strike outs were eerily quiet
No cheers, no sighs, just silence.
Caleb Joseph strikes out, but the O's maintain an 8-2 lead in an eerily quiet Camden Yards. #OPACY A video posted by Baltimore Magazine (@baltmag) on Apr 29, 2015 at 1:05pm PDT
The 7th-inning stretch was eerie
The Orioles played "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," which echoed all throughout the seats like some creepy post-apocalyptic baseball experience. "They announced batters and played music but didn't do any promos like kiss cam or crab shuffle," one Instagram user said of the experience.
7th inning stretch at #Orioles game. Pretty bizarre. A video posted by @dmayhugh on Apr 29, 2015 at 12:46pm PDT
7th inning stretch at Oriole Park. The crowd loves John Denver. pic.twitter.com/UO4qxhf8mb— Chris Rongey (@ChrisRongey) April 29, 2015
Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph signed fake autographs
Such a good guy, Caleb.
He thanked his fans from centerfield
Honestly, we really want to hang out with the Orioles catcher.
And then there was Lonely Ball Girl
When your only friends are baseballs.
The saddest ball girl in the whole world. pic.twitter.com/YiEEAvqULP— Logan Rhoades (@LoganRhoades) April 29, 2015
Foul balls slightly less exciting today pic.twitter.com/DLfegH3dXS— GIF The News (@NowThisGIF) April 29, 2015
Gary Thorne imitated Jim Nantz at the Masters
A special moment: "Jones will whack the son-of-a-gun to center field. That's very deep, it's deep and it's off the base of the wall ... Adam Jones has a double, and that green jacket is well within reach, Jim."
In empty Camden Yards, Gary Thorne does his best Jim Nantz at the Masters. An imitation unlike any other. pic.twitter.com/fdIqSx2r8N— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) April 29, 2015
You could actually hear the pop of the glove
Ah, the pop of the glove. #orioles #whitesox A video posted by Britt Ghiroli (@brittghiroli) on Apr 29, 2015 at 12:05pm PDT
And the crack of the bat
The cheering you hear is the fans outside the stadium... Eerie in here. #Baltimore #Orioles #MLB #baseball A video posted by Mike Morgan (@mikemorganphotodc) on Apr 29, 2015 at 11:44am PDT
But Pickles Pub was empty
If you are from Baltimore... or ever been to an Orioles game.. You understand how it's a strange sight to see an empty Pickles Pub on a game day... A photo posted by @juliebeugenio on Apr 29, 2015 at 1:43pm PDT
The game ended and the song "Orioles Magic" was played over the loudspeakers as Baltimore celebrated its 8-2 victory. The game lasted just two hours and three minutes.