Thousands might have dusted off that old-school hit at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night as it appeared that the roof literally was on fire in the right-field upper deck. Smoke began billowing into the seating area of the ballpark during the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-1 loss to the Florida Marlins.
Thousands of fans were moved from the affected sections and relocated to another part of the stadium. (As L.A. Times reporter Steve Dilbeck pointed out, there were plenty of empty sections to move to, with an announced crowd of 29,971 on hand.)
No one was evacuated from the park, but some reportedly suffered from smoke irritation. The smoke wafted from the upper tiers of the ballpark down to the lower levels, and eventually reached center field. Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan(notes) definitely noticed something wrong in the air.
From the Palm Beach Post:
"I could smell that smoke and I was like, 'That ain't a hot-dog stand.' Then I saw this huge puff and I said, 'Oh, my God, this place is on fire and we're still playing,' " [he] said.
No, it wasn't a hot dog stand ablaze.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the fire originated from a small warehouse below the reserved level. Officials on the scene said a small fire of paper products was the cause of the smoke, and was put out by firefighters in 20 minutes.
The stadium's public address announcer informed the crowd of the situation during the sixth inning, assuring them that the fire was under control and there was no need to evacuate the ballpark.
Ultimately, it was yet another bizarre incident in a season full of off-the-field embarrassment for the Dodgers.