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White Sox in heart of Baltimore’s chaos

By Michael Whitlow

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Due to the riots that took place on Monday afternoon in Baltimore, Monday’s game between the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles was postponed.

After a pair of wins on Sunday afternoon in Chicago, the White Sox were riding high into a seven-game road trip that was scheduled to start on Monday night at Camden Yards in Baltimore against the Baltimore Orioles.

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Then, the rioting after the death of Freddie Gray took place.

Gray, a 25-year-old African-American who resided in Baltimore, passed away due to a spinal cord injury suffered after being taken into police custody on April 12.

Monday was utter chaos in the city of Baltimore, a day after Gray passed away due to the injury. A CVS Pharmacy was looted and set on fire, a police car was set ablaze and a police officer suffered serious injuries during the riot.

While the rioting was taken place, the White Sox and Orioles prepared for their series opener. Around 5 p.m. Eastern time, the Orioles Twitter account sent out this tweet:

Everyone — including White Sox general manager Rick Hahn — agreed that the game shouldn’t be played on Monday night.

"“We completely understand this important decision to err on the side of caution and not play tonight,” White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. “We’re working with Major League Baseball and the Orioles to find the safest and most effective way to reschedule tonight and figure out what to do with the rest of the series.”-Rick Hahn on the Sox-O’s series, ESPNChicago.com"

One option that is being considered for the series is playing in Philadelphia (home of the Phillies) or in Washington D.C. (home of the Nationals) during the day, so that the game can comply with the 10 p.m. curfew that city of Baltimore officials set on Monday night.

That option isn’t one for today, as Tuesday’s game has already been canceled, per the Orioles Twitter account again:

White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton expressed how calling off last night’s game was the right decision.

“I’m glad. In all of our minds, we don’t want to be out there and have a situation go down where somebody may be in danger or get hurt. It’s in the best of everyone’s interest. It’s a good thing,” Eaton said.

Eaton is absolutely right. There was no need to play yesterday, or today for that matter. This issue runs so much deeper than a three-game series of baseball games in a six-month season.

The rioting in Baltimore has made every national headline and the coverage is disturbing, but it needs to be seen by everyone. This has become a serious matter that’s resulted in thousands of dollars in damages, not to mention that this isn’t the first time Baltimore’s had an issue of this magnitude.

(Look up the Baltimore riots of 1968.)

As for the baseball aspect of this, moving the series to a safe and secure location is the clear choice for this White Sox-Orioles series. The series itself might get postponed until a later date, but nothing has been reported or confirmed.

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