VIDEO: Orioles Play Fake Crowd Noise for Outfield Practice in Unique Drill
By Scott Rogust
The Baltimore Orioles fell off a cliff quickly following their trip to the 2015 American League Championship Series. Now, they're in the process of a lengthy rebuild. With no big name stars on the roster, the seats at Camden Yards are expected to be barren for yet another season. Apparently, the Orioles never got the memo. On Thursday, the Orioles practiced calling for popups in the outfield, but added in a unique twist: the PA system was blaring fake crowd noises in order to work on the outfielders' communication.
The orioles are blaring fake crowd noise to practice calling pop ups. pic.twitter.com/hKKFLlBG7c
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) February 27, 2020
Let's be real here, the Orioles are practicing this for their road games. There's simply no way the crowd at Camden Yards reaches that volume during the regular season, unless infiltrated by an army of away fans.
If you want any evidence, the Orioles averaged 16,146 fans per game, which is a little over a third of the capacity of Camden Yards (45,971). They can probably stand to lower the volume a few decibels.
Must be practicing for away games. Pretty unnecessary for home games
— David Edie (@edies_pizza) February 27, 2020
Still, you have to credit the Orioles coaching staff for preparing for everything this season. The O's, far from contention, are hoping to prove they aren't the joke of the league. Maybe the Houston Astros should follow suit to prepare for their hostile road games.