Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP/Shutterstock
ThePittsburgh PiratesandBaltimore Oriolesenjoyed some “backfield” fun Tuesday.
A spring training game between the MLB rivals ended at the top of the ninth inning with Pittsburgh officially winning 7- 4 over Baltimore, prompting the umpires to leave the field.
The players had other ideas, however, and decided to play out the rest of the game backyard style — without any officials on the field, according to several news sites.
The zero-umpire game happened because Baltimore wanted to get some more practice in for right-hander Ofreidy Gómez, so Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton and Baltimore skipper Brandon Hyde had a quick discussion and agreed toplay to the bottom of the ninth inning, per Associated Press.
While teams can shorten or lengthen spring training games to get in more practice, it is up to the umpires if they want to continue the game after a win has already been decided, perESPN.
In this case, theumpires were not on board to keep going, the outlet added.
With the umpires gone, it was up to Orioles catcher Maverick Handley, a non-roster invitee, to call balls and strikes that pitcher Gómez threw, according to the publication.
Umpires don’t have to keep working to the bottom of the ninth inning after a spring training game has been played to a finish under Major League Baseball protocol due to concerns of potential injuries, according to AP.
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This isn’t the first time something like this has happened during spring training.
In 2021, the San Francisco Giants and Cleveland Indiansalso agreed to play the full nine inningsto give their pitchers some more practice, even though the Giants officially won the game 5-4 in the middle of the ninth inning, according to World Today News.
After the umpires left, Cleveland catcher Beau Taylor was left to call balls and strikes, per the publication.
source: people.com
