It's been more than a century since a regular season Major League Baseball game has been played in Buffalo.
It's been months since live, fun, in-person things have been happening in our midst.
Those two realities collided Tuesday when the Toronto Blue Jays and Miami Marlins took to Sahlen Field, creating a combination that proved impossible to resist for dozens who parked themselves on a grassy spot – albeit one that abuts hundreds of motor vehicles whizzing by to get on the I-190 – to catch the action.
City officials and law enforcement authorities had a message for them Wednesday: Don't try that again.
Mayor Byron W. Brown said he understands people are excited about Major League Baseball in Buffalo.
But he asked people to stay away from Sahlen Field and watch future games on TV, either at home or at a bar or restaurant.
People are also reading…
"Major League Baseball and the State of New York have put protocols in place to ensure people's health and safety to make sure that coronavirus doesn't spread in our community," Brown said. "We don't want people congregating on the 190."
Indeed, strict social distancing rules have been put in place for the Blue Jays.
Players and staff can only be in their hotels or at the stadium. They are shuttled in buses back and forth from the two places. Unless they're out on the field, players have to wear masks while in the stadium. The seats are filled with cutouts of fans.
During Tuesday's history-making game, a Buffalo patrol car swung by and shooed the knotholing lookie-loos away. A few came back and the cops returned. There were no arrests or tickets issued.
Sahlen Field underwent some renovations to make the home of the Buffalo Bisons MLB-ready. But Bisons officials also made sure to block potential views from outside, like the grassy area beyond center field, just below an on-ramp to the I-190 North, a spot on the sidewalk behind the stadium – along Oak Street – overlooking the left field foul territory and the Washington Street parking ramp beyond the right field fence.
Anthony Sprague, the Buffalo Bisons' general manager, said last month as preparations were underway that the "social distancing guidelines set by the governor, county executive and mayor of Buffalo that are in place and that we are in full support of really don’t allow for fans to watch the game safely from inside or outside of the ballpark.
"I wish that we could share this experience with our fans. There is really no safe way in which that can be done, and we will have security in place around the ballpark to ensure social distancing guidelines are enforced," Sprague said.
Buffalo police were making plans Wednesday with State Police, who are technically in charge of the ramp area because it's part of the Thruway, on dealing with sneaky fans again.
But the mayor asked people to stay away – and be safe.
"Our goal is not to criminalize enthusiastic Buffalo baseball fans," Brown said. "Our goal is to keep people safe and hopefully we won't see a repeat of that. The Blue Jays will have another 26 games using Sahlen Field as their home away from home in the 2020 MLB season. Hopefully fans will realize for their health and safety this is not the place to be."
Maki Becker
