Who needs umpires? Pirates, Orioles keep playing after game ends originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
While there are no extra innings in spring training, some fans still got to witness free baseball in Florida on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates' home matchup against the Baltimore Orioles officially came to an end in the top of the ninth as Pittsburgh closed out a 7-4 Grapefruit League victory.
Despite the game already being decided, both managers -- Baltimore's Brandon Hyde and Pittsburgh's Derek Shelton -- wanted to play the bottom of the ninth. There was one problem, though: the umpires wouldn't stick around at LECOM Park.
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But that didn't cause the clubs to simply pack up and head home.
Baltimore and Pittsburgh played the extra half-inning without any umps. Orioles catcher Maverick Handley was given the task of calling balls and strikes. He didn't end up having to make any controversial strike-three calls, with all four Pirates batters putting the ball in the play.
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Who needs umpires?
Something like this has happened before in spring training, and recently. In 2021, Cleveland and San Francisco played the unofficial bottom of the ninth without any umps after the crew opted to leave.
