The Pirates and Orioles Just Played Their Final Half-Inning WITHOUT UMPIRES

Now *THIS* is peak Spring Training. I love it.

Since it’s all just practice anyway, why not play an extra half-inning even after the game is “over”? That’s how the Pirates and Orioles wanted to go today, even though Pirates already had the lead heading into the bottom of the 9th of a home game … and even though the umpires HAD ALREADY LEFT.

There are a lotta jokes available about wanting to play without umpires, but hey, I’m not that low. Most times, umpires are very useful!

The players called their own inning, including the catcher calling balls and strikes:

Here’s a more extended look at the inning without umpires: