Some Orioles players and staffers on Saturday night, including manager Buck Showalter, "considered spending the night inside the clubhouse" to avoid protests near the ballpark, according to Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore SUN. There were "scary moments within the ballpark," as crowds gathered near Camden Yards to protest the death of Freddie Gray, who died from spinal cord injuries while in police custody. Fans at one point "were urged not to leave Camden Yards because of an 'ongoing public-safety issue.'" Afterward, the ballpark "was briefly locked down, with fans not allowed to leave." When the game went to extra innings, fans "were asked to remain inside the ballpark until further notice" (Baltimore SUN, 4/26). In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck reported the Orioles closed the gates "as violent protesters continued to menace the area around the ballpark, causing both consternation and understanding in the stadium concourses" (Baltimore SUN, 4/26).
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: The SUN's Encina notes Orioles Exec VP John Angelos, the club's second-highest ranking exec, took to Twitter on Saturday night to "express frustration that the event's most relevant talking points had been lost." Angelos, the son of Orioles Owner Peter Angelos, "sent a series of tweets in which he advocated for nonviolence and due process and railed on the 'needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.'" John Angelos had sent "just 171 tweets before Saturday, then tweeted that the game going on inside Camden Yards paled in comparison to the struggles faced by poor Americans in Baltimore and throughout the country." His statements "received mostly positive responses" (Baltimore SUN, 4/27).
