Baltimore Orioles’ grounds crew ejected?

Watching a manager get sent to the showers for jawing at an umpire? Sure, happens all the time in baseball. Seeing an entire grounds crew told to head out? That’s a weird one.“I’ve never seen a ground crew get thrown out of a game,” one of the Fox Sports commentators said as the crew exited.

On Sept. 15, the Baltimore Orioles’ grounds crew left the field in the ninth inning after an umpire waved them away, causing the baseball world to speculate. Did someone ask about the ump’s seeing-eye dog? Did a tarp-team member offer to pay for Lasik?

Nothing so dramatic, umpire Tim Timmons told the Associated Press. Rain was coming in, but he was worried that the grounds crew was too close to the action and were at risk of getting hit by a ball.

“I didn’t ‘eject’ the grounds crew,” Timmons said in a text to The Associated Press. “I just didn’t want all of them behind the tarp, especially with the infield in.”

Baltimore was up 3-2 when the crew headed for the locker room. Within a few minutes later, the New York Yankees took a 4-3 lead and the game win. The game was over, the rain started pouring and the grounds crew returned to the field to do its job.