No umps, no problem. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles played a half-inning of an exhibition game in Bradenton, Florida, on Tuesday without the officials. (Watch the video below.)
In a moment reminiscent of a neighborhood-park showdown, Orioles catcher Maverick Handley called the balls and strikes for pitcher Ofreidy Gomez while the Pirates batted, ESPN noted.
Home team Pittsburgh had already officially beaten Baltimore, 7-4, but the teams agreed to play the bottom half of the ninth inning because Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wanted Gomez to pitch.
The umpires apparently weren’t feeling the extra work and could be seen walking away.
“We were told by the league that we could clear it by the umpires and pitch the bottom half of the ninth inning, and I guess [crew chief] Chad Fairchild felt that we couldn’t,” Hyde told The Baltimore Sun.
Here’s a glimpse of what went down:
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