Pitcher called for balk after being startled by thunderclap during game

Mother Nature made its presence known during a minor league baseball game on Tuesday.

The Norfolk Tides were taking on the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins, respectively) on Tuesday in northeast Florida when a thunderstorm rolled through the ballpark.

A Jumbo Shrimp runner was on third base with nobody out in the bottom of the first, when Tides pitcher Roansy Contreras was in the stretch against Graham Pauley.

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The Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, while the Norfolk Tides are the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. (Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union)

Then, out of nowhere, a huge boom of thunder erupted in the middle of Contreras’ delivery.

The boom frightened Contreras (and plenty of others) to the point where Contreras stopped dead in his tracks. However, the home plate umpire showed no mercy and called Contreras for a balk, bringing in the runner.

The run cut the Jumbo Shrimp’s deficit to 2-1, and they would score a run in both the second and third innings to take a 3-2 lead.

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp hosted the Norfolk Tides on Tuesday. (Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union)

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It is hardly the first time a loud boom has caused a bit of a disruption in play, but the ump was following the rule book, and the start-and-stop was means for the call.

However, Norfolk dropped some more thunder of their own and scored three runs in both the fourth and fifth to lead, 8-3. They eventually took home a 9-5 victory.

Baseballs are pictured at the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp’s VyStar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 26, 2025. (Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union)

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The Tides’ victory was quite an upset, as they were 34-49 entering the contest, mirroring the lack of success from their big league club (the O’s are 40-50 after making the postseason in back-to-back seasons). The Jumbo Shrimp are now 53-34, showing promise for the Marlins.

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