Baseball Strange Facts and Stories
Baseball has been played professionally for more than 120 years and has since developed a rich history of strange events and unusual moments. One of the most bizarre things that can happen during a baseball game is a forfeit. A forfeit is an obscure rule, implemented whenever umpires determine it is no longer safe for players to be on the field. Forfeited baseball games are rare and many of the most memorable moments in the game have resulted because of them. Since 1970, only five forfeits have taken place in Major League Baseball.
September 30, 1971 During the last game before the Washington Senators were set to move to Texas to become the Rangers, irate fans stormed the field during the 9th inning in a game against the Yankees. Fans tore up the grass and knocked over seats. Security tried to restore order, but after a while, the crowd became too large to contain.
June 4, 1971 The Cleveland Indians held a promotion called 10 Cent Beer Night. The idea was to attract people to the stadium by offering cheap alcohol, but what the promoters didn’t plan on was having thousands of drunk and rowdy fans tearing up the place. In the bottom of the 9th inning against Texas, two fans hopped the outfield wall and started assaulting outfielder Jeff Burroughs of the Rangers. This got the crowd all worked up and soon, a riot broke out which resulted in the umpires declaring a forfeit.
September 15, 1977 Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver was thrown out of the game by an umpire in a game against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Weaver claimed that his players were endangered by an oddly placed tarp in the bullpen. Weaver was insulted by being thrown out and refused to let his team come back out to play. The umpires had no choice but to award the game to the Blue Jays.
July 12, 1979 The most famous forfeited game was Disco Demolition Night. A Chicago radio station, infamous for being critical of disco music, teamed up with the owner of the Chicago White Sox to hold a promotion where thousands of albums were to be blown up on the field. Fans were offered free admission if they brought in a disco album to be blown up. The promotion was a huge success and thousands of people had to be turned away. When time came for the albums to be exploded, a giant pile was assembled on the field and a large amount of dynamite placed around it. The explosion left a giant hole in the grass and everyone who was denied admission started climbing into the stadium. A riot broke out and thousands of people partied and trashed the stadium even before a baseball could be played.
August 10, 1995 The Los Angeles Dodgers gave away free baseballs with a picture of outfielder Raul Mondesi printed on them. In the 9th inning of a close game, Mondesi was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Fans became really upset with the ejection and started pelting the field with baseballs. The Umpires had no choice but to declare a forfeit when fans wouldn’t stop. MLB soon banned clubs from holding giveaways with anything they can easily hurl towards the field.
