Ballpark: Oriole Park at Camden Yards

I finally got to see the Tigers play a game as they took on the Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sunday, June 2. I have rooted for the home team at every game thus far but I made an exception for this game. I took the light rail into the Camden Yards district of Baltimore from the north side of baltimore so I didn't have to pay for parking. Prior to the game, I didn't really understand the full name of the stadium. I quickly figured out that the ballpark is called Oriole Park and the district of Baltimore is called Camden Yards.

Like many of the newer ballparks, Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a "retro" ballpark: built from bricks, steel lighting towers, and a city view beyond centerfield. What makes Oriole Park unique is that it started the whole "retro" trend, when it was built around 20 years ago. Also  Oriole Park looks and emits the old time baseball feeling far more than the other retro-style ballparks I have been to this year (AT&T Park, Citi Field, and Citizens Bank Park). Adjacent to the ballpark is a converted old brick warehouse that now contains the Oriole team store, a few restaurants, a private club, and a few offices. You must have a ticket to walk between the ballpark and the warehouse on game days but is open to the public on non-game days. On the sidewalk between the buildings are a few bronze plates embedded in the sidewalk where players have hit home runs over the right field stands. At the centerfield end of the sidewalk are a ton of picnic table and a patio overlooking the field.

I was told the crab pretzel was a new item at the ballpark that a lot of people liked. I decided to hold off on getting the pretzel for the time being in part because I couldn't find the stand that sold it. The other reason I held off on the pretzel was I was a disappointed that I had just bought a ticket for $30 from a scalper. Even though the ticket price was $35, I was thinking I should have just bought the scalpers cheapest ticket and moved down after the third inning or so. I had to ask the usher where my seat was and she told me that I was in the all-you-can-eat club section! At that point was I glad I bought the ticket and held off on the pretzel! Throughout the game, I feasted on hotdogs, peanuts, nachos, a salad, and ice cream. This turned out to be a cheaper venture than if I would have bought a $15 ticket. The location of my seat was pretty good too: in the second level just beyond the left field fence. The club itself was nice as well with couches, memorabilia, and higher class concession stands. One other thing of note on the park was that the entire crowd shouted "O" in the second to last verse of the Star Spangled Banner (a la Ohio State).

As for the game, Rick Porcello started off strong for my Tigers, scattering only a few hits through 6 innings as Torii Hunter made a real nice catch to prevent a extra-base hit early in the game. Unfortunately, the Tigers were only able to give Porcello a 2-0 lead on a Prince Fielder home run and a Jhonny Peralta single. The Tigers grounded into 4 double plays on the afternoon and allowed the Orioles to escape many innings without any damage. In the bottom 7th inning, the wheels fell off for Porcello. He gave up a bomb to right center field to Oriole slugger Chris Davis and back-to-back singles. Phil Coke came in for the Tigers and allowed both inherited runners to score. The Orioles padded their lead to 4-2 and Jim Johnson saved the game in the 9th inning despite a leadoff single by Miguel Cabrera.

My take-away from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is that it is a modern classic among ballparks. Many of the special feature of Oriole Park when it was built have been copied to some of the newer "retro" ballparks. What keeps Oriole Park at Camden Yards a great ballpark is the warehouse and sidewalk beyond right field and the old time baseball feeling although all the stadium has modern amenities.

Update: Just writing my review of Nationals Park, I remembered a key aspect of Oriole Park at Camden Yards that nearly all new ballparks have implemented: limited foul territory. The field level seats are very close to fair territory from foul pole to foul pole. This gives the hitters a slight advantage since many foul popups reach the seats. The big winners are the fans, who are close to the action.

East Coast Trip: Day 9 and Day 10

I left Philadelphia bright and early on Sunday (Day 9) headed south towards Baltimore. After some last minute planning, I met up with my friend Lisa for brunch on the north side of Baltimore. Lisa had also been buys moving as she moved into a new house on Sunday. Unfortunately she was unable to go to the Orioles vs. Tigers game because she had previously signed up for a bicycling tour which conflicted with the baseball game.

I took the light rail in from the north side of Baltimore and it dropped my off directly next to Oriole Park and Camden Yards. The skies look threatening but the game was played in its entirety with nothing more than a couple of sprinkles. Both Lisa and the people who sat behind me at the game recommended that I walk around the Inner Harbor after the game. I walked from the ballpark to Federal Hill and was able to see the entire harbor. At this time the skies finally opened up and it began raining rather heavily. I continued to walk around the Inner Harbor, ducking in and out of stores to get a little shelter from the weather. I found a seafood market and carry-out that had seafood at a reasonable price. For $12.75 I got a huge, fresh crab cake, 4 big fried shrimp, and a couple of scoops of vegetables. I thought this was a really good price considering the meal was fresh and the other restaurants in the area were charging twice the price. I then took the light rail back to the north side of Baltimore and Lisa was gracious enough to let me crash on her couch for the night.

My original plan was to leave Monday morning and explore Washington D.C. However since parking was free, the light rail was free and I could not check in to my hotel in D.C. until mid-afternoon, I decided to go back to downtown Baltimore for the morning. There were a couple of interesting places I didn't get a chance to see on Sunday after the game. The first was Fort McHenry National Monument and National Shrine. I started to walk from downtown Baltimore to Fort McHenry but quickly realized that it was not within walking distance. Luckily there was a free bus (Charm City Circulator) that ran from downtown to Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry was critical in the U.S. defense of Baltimore Harbor in the War of 1812 and inspired the lyrics of the "Star Spangled Banner" written by Francis Scott Key. The other interesting place was the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. There was a ton of Babe Ruth memorabilia in the museum and it was interesting to hear (and see) how much of a national icon Ruth was in 1920s, 30s, and 40s. On my the light rail back to my car, I saw signs for Lexington Market. I got off the light rail and walked through the market. It was very reminiscent of the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia from a couple of days earlier. There were numerous restaurant counters serving soul food, ethnic cuisines, and seafood but I had eating an hour earlier. This haiku from Yelp summarizes my experience:

The crab cake mecca
Of Baltimore but beware
Crackheads everywhere

I got back to my car safely and headed down to Washington D.C. I got caught in a traffic jam (a theme for this trip), but really didn't have any plans besides checking into my hotel, catching up on the blog, and planning a trip for D.C. the next day. Since I missed on Lexington Market, the guy at the front desk recommended a place near the hotel for dinner that served soul food. The food was good and it was a change of pace from what food is served in the midwest.