A Classic Baseball Xperience - Camden Yards

It was June 19, 2022.

As the day for the game approached there was more on my mind beside baseball. One year to the day I had lost my dad. He would have wanted Mom and I to enjoy the game together and remember him in a fond way for one who enjoyed the experiences in life.

The day before and that week for that matter was extremely hot in the Baltimore area even though it was only the middle of June. Camden Yards is found in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland and a few blocks from the famous inner harbor. It is easily accessible by Bus if you are staying somewhere within the city and also by walking from most downtown areas. You will find lots of shopping, restaurants and entertainment near the area.

Mom and I first took the bus then walked a few blocks to get to the stadium. We got there early and walked around the stadium. Near the statute of Brooks Robinson which you can see in the photo were outside eating areas. We decided to get a little street food before we entered into the park. Of course, Brooks Robinson was known for his gold glove defense. I thought his glove painted good was kind of neat. I had not seen that in other statutes so far in ballparks I have visited.

After we had a nice lunch we walked into the stadium near the famous warehouse building that everyone sees in the photos of Camden Yards. We noticed several things as we walked into the gates. The walk area in front of the warehouse was very wide. Despite that the area was packed with fans as the gates were opened.

Entering the Ballpark

This giant walkway was truly fascinating and is located between Centerfield and right field right behind the stands. It has all kinds of historical Baltimore Oriole items including recognition of the great players of the over the years who are part of their Hall of Fame. There were also special areas to commemorate the accomplishments of players like Cal RIpken Jr. A giant team shop that you can actually walk into and buy a variety of things and one special shop of game used equipment as well. When I looked down at the walkway something caught my attention. I noticed small baseball markers. They appeared scattered all over the concrete floor. They indicated where homeruns had landed over the years.

I had a nostalgic moment in seeing the names and remembering those players during the mid 1990s and into the 2000s. As I was looking there was one that really caught my attention. It seemed to be so much further away than the others. It marked one of the longest homerun balls hit. It belong to Jim Thome of the Cleveland Indians back in the 1990s. The irony is that there is one marker in Cleveland's ballpark outside of center field just near the gate. It also has Jim Thome's name on it as the one of longest homerun hit there as well.

Our Seats

The way the ballpark in Baltimore is designed the atmosphere of watching the ball game is very intimate. Even though we were in the upper deck you don't feel far away from the action. I only had two complaints at the time. 1st the scoreboard was hard to see in the middle of the day. It was both too small and the sun glared off of it. Second, there were no cup holders at the game near our seats in the upper deck which lends itself to garbage and cups flying around the area as the wind was coming off of the bay at that time.

The Game

I got to see the older Cleveland ace pitch that day Corey Kluber who was pitching for Tampa Bay as they faced Baltimore. He had a good outing going 6 innings and giving up just two runs but ended up losing the game because Baltimore only gave up a run that day. It is amazing how the recent rules of the game has impacted timing as the game was almost three hours despite only 3 runs being scored.

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