Biking for Baseball to Camden Yards

Visits: 4

Biking for Baseball [www.bikingforbaseball.org] is a youth mentoring organization that is currently cycling 11,000 miles to each MLB stadium this summer to raise funds and awareness for youth mentoring programs across the country. One of the riders, Chase Higgins @chaser_racer32, blogs about baseball games they’ve been to and general MLB throughout the trip.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards is one of the most highly regarded stadiums in baseball because it was the first in the trend of “retro” ballparks. Parks like Camden Yards were built with all the luxuries that stadium patrons expect from newer parks, but with aesthetics that were much more like classic stadiums with quirkier and more pleasing designs. A major focus of these types of stadiums is the enhanced fan experience and much better sightlines from the seating area compared to older stadiums.

The House that Cal Built opened April 6, 1992. The stadium is in such great shape, it’s very difficult to believe it’s actually 20 years old. It sits in downtown Baltimore a few blocks west of the inner harbor on land that was previously the B&O rail yard. The right field view from the seating area is dominated by the rail yard’s former warehouse. It’s a very unique and endearing part of the stadium.

The stadium also sits about 2 blocks away from the birthplace of the greatest baseball player in the history of the game, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr. We took a tour of the museum before the game, which we definitely recommend. We learned that Babe got his nickname from Orioles teammates after he signed his first professional contract in 1914. Babe was 19 years old when Jack Dunn, the owner and manager of the Orioles, signed him and became his legal guardian. Teammates called him “Jack Dunn’s Baby.”

The street between the warehouse and the stadium is Eutaw Street, a very cool area to hang out during the game. The street is considered part of the stadium and it is the length of the 1,016 warehouse adjacent to the stadium. My favorite part of Eutaw Street is the markers for home runs that landed on the street such as this one on the right by Alex Gordon of the Royals. The most impressive home run was from my childhood favorite Ken Griffey, Jr. from the 1993 Home Run Derby that hit the warehouse on the fly. It flew completely over the street.

We had the luxury of having tickets to both Saturday’s and Sunday’s games. There was a chance of rain all weekend, but we were never really worried about not being able to see a game. Other than a bit of rain before the game Saturday in Baltimore, the game as played without problem. We sat in the best seats we’d had all season directly behind home plate in front of the press box. We had a great time with some good friends; Morgan, Matt, Kent, and Chase’s dad Roger.

When we went back for the day game on Sunday, it was a different story. There was a chance of rain, but nothing seemed too threatening. Our seats were equally as nice as the night before and in the club level of the stadium, which was great for when mother nature decided to unleash her rainy fury on Oriole Park at Camden Yards. We just found some comfy seats in the lobby area and watched the Tigers play the Angels on TV. Our friend Max Scherzer was pitching a gem, so we actually had an interest in the game. The relentless rain coming down onto the field was a cool sight, so we eventually moved to covered seats in the club level and watched the same game on the big screen of the stadium. Not a bad way to spend a rain delay.

The game was eventually postponed. The announcement to postpone the game to September 24th was made over the PA after a two and a half hour delay. We decided to head for the exits after 2 hours and 25 minutes, so we can safely say the Orioles and Blue Jays team officials were making their decision the same time B4B made their decision. Either way, we got to hangout for a few hours at a really sweet stadium watching the Tigers play the Angels.

The game featured an interesting pitching match-up. Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow pitched in his first game back from the 60-day DL against local Baltimore boy Steve Johnson. Morrow was effective enough with his limited pitch count, only allowing two earned runs. Johnson had a quality start in just his second major league start, allowing just two runs in the first inning while lasting six innings. After Edwin Encarnacion’s home run in the first, the Orioles responded with a balanced attack with 13 hits scoring seven runs to the Blue Jays’ two.

Orioles catcher Matt Weiters definitely has one of the best arms in the game. He threw out THREE! Blue Jays runners who were attempting to steal second. THREE! The most impressive was when he scooped a ball from the dirt and gunned down Omar Vizquel* at second. The ball reached the base about 10 yards before Vizquel got to the base, so he retreated back to first, getting himself into a “pickle.” Yeah, Weiters has a cannon for an arm.

*I have no idea why Omar Vizquel was stealing a base. He’s 45 years old! I suspect it was a botched hit-and-run, and Jeff Mathis just hung him out to dry. Although Mathis didn’t even swing at the pitch!

There’s a good reason Jim Caple likes Camden Yards. It’s a great stadium! It was the first of a 20-year trend in new baseball stadiums. We saw a good win by the surprising Orioles as they keep staying in the hunt for the wild card. Many baseball people still don’t believe in the Orioles, like this, this, and this. I’d admit I was in that group until we saw them play in person. We’re cheering for the Orioles to keep surprising people!