Baseball has been played professionally for more than 120 years and has since developed a rich history of strange events and unusual moments. One of the strangest things that can happen during a baseball game is forfeiting. A turnover is an obscure rule, implemented whenever the referees determine that it is no longer safe for players to be on the field. Lost baseball games are rare, and many of the game’s most memorable moments have been the result of them. Since 1970, there have been only five DNFs in Major League Baseball.

September 30, 1971 During the last game before the Washington Senators moved to Texas to become the Rangers, angry fans stormed the field during the ninth inning of a game against the Yankees. The fans tore up the grass and tore down the seats. Security tried to restore order, but after a while, the crowd became too big to contain.

June 4, 1971 The Cleveland Indians ran a promotion called 10 Cent Beer Night. The idea was to lure people into the stadium by offering cheap alcohol, but what the promoters didn’t plan for was thousands of rowdy, drunken fans to vandalize the venue. In the bottom of the ninth inning against Texas, two fans jumped over the outfield wall and began assaulting Rangers outfielder Jeff Burroughs. This made the crowd nervous and a riot soon broke out resulting in the referees declaring a loss.

September 15, 1977 Baltimore Orioles manager Earl Weaver was ejected from the game by an umpire in a game against the Blue Jays in Toronto. Weaver claimed his players were endangered by an awkwardly placed tarp in the bullpen. Weaver was insulted at being ejected and refused to allow his team to play again. The umpires had no choice but to award the game to the Blue Jays.

July 12, 1979 The most famous lost game was Disco Demolition Night. A Chicago radio station, infamous for being critical of disco, teamed up with the owner of the Chicago White Sox to run a promotion in which thousands of albums would explode on the field. Fans were offered free admission if they brought a disco album to blow it up. The promotion was a great success and thousands of people had to be turned away. When it was time to blow up the albums, a giant pile was set up on the field and a large amount of dynamite was placed around it. The explosion left a giant hole in the grass and everyone who was denied entry began to go up to the stadium. A riot broke out and thousands of people celebrated and vandalized the stadium before even a baseball could be played.

August 10, 1995 The Los Angeles Dodgers gave away baseballs with a photo of outfielder Raúl Mondesí printed on them. In the ninth inning of a close game, Mondesí was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The fans became very upset with the ejection and began throwing baseballs onto the field. The referees had no choice but to declare a forfeit when the fans failed to stop. MLB soon banned clubs from gifting anything they can easily throw onto the field.

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