For the first time in twenty years I had the pleasure of seeing an Orioles Opening Day game. Here is my story.
Looking for the most economical way of getting to Oriole Park at Camden Yards baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/bal/ballpark/index.jsp(this is the Budget Travel column) I opted for the Light Rail www.mtamaryland.com/services/lightrail/schedule/. I figured two-and-a-half hours until game time should be plenty of time. I arrived at Lutherville to find - a full park-and-ride lot.
I ended up sneaking into Kohls' parkng lot under the threat of towing for wildcat parkers. Next hurdle - the line to buy Light Rail tickets. Seventy-five people were waiting in line to useone working ticket machine with each transaction taking one minute.
Hold on! That doesn't add up.
Oh, but a second machine takes bills only. No change accepted nor provided. A round-trip costs $3.20, so I bought three tickets for ten dollars and resold my extras to folks still in line. At times like these we have to pull together.
Regarding the 1.5 functioning ticket machines, was the MTA not aware that this would be a high-volume travel day? Wouldn't you want the whole system at peak performance? And after 17 years of Light Rail why don't those ticket machines accept credit cards?
After a short wait a southbound 2-car train arrived. Two cars, not three. Again, nobody told MTA there was something going on downtown today?
Predictably, the train filled up to standing room only. Once south of Mount Royal, our progress slowed to approximately walking speed. But progress is progress.
I detrained (a term I learned from Amtrak) at the Convention Center stop. The new Convention Center Hilton www.baltimore.hilton.comsports a stadium-facing bar with carry-out food. There was standing-room-only activity taking place in front of Pickles Pub www.picklespub.com, and there was a 98Rock www.98online.com tent set up there, but it didn't look to me like a must-do.
One element missing from the scene: street vendors.
The hotel seems to have displaced the various and sundry pushcart vendors of hot dogs, soda, hats , T shirts and memorabilia. I was told by a fellow fan that some relocated across Howard to Conway Street - not visible and not on my way.
I joined the throng of folks trying to get through the Eutaw Street North gate. I say "trying", because for a long time we seemed to be mostly just standing there. Eventually, we all got in and I jogged up the ramp to my upper deck seat. Just in time, too, as Jim Hunter baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/team/broadcasters.jspwas starting to introduce the home team.
Two-and-a-half hours for travel was barely enough.
But the experience was fantastic. The stadium was full of vocal, enthusiastic Orioles fans. Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie held it together for five innings, while the Yankees' C.C. Sabathia struggled. At the end, Adam Jones had a batting average of 1.000, Cesar Izturis tied his entire home run output of last season, and the Orioles won by a score of 10-5. Orioles Examiner Jay Trucker has a nice recap of Opening Day. www.examiner.com/x-436-Baltimore-Orioles-Examinery2009m4d7-The-top-ten-things-about-Opening-Day-2009
And in Lutherville, my car was still there.
For more info:Orioles Mass Transit mtamaryland.com/sports/orioles/ Baltimore Hilton construction phaseswww.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/hotelpromo.jhtml
An Opening Day tribute to an Orioles superfan - Baltimore Sun
articles.baltimoresun.com OriolesAt some point today, probably a couple hours before the first pitch is thrown by Jake Arrieta in the 2013 home opener at Camden Yards, I will grab a copy of the ...
Baltimore Orioles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League ...
MLB Opening Day - MLB Topics - ESPN - ESPN: The Worldwide
espn.go.com/mlb/topics/_/page/mlb-opening-dayMar 28, 2013 Major League Baseball's Opening Day is the first day of the regular season, usually played in late March or early April of each year. Featuring a festive ...
RailRiders on track for Opening Day MiLB.com News The
www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130307&content_id=42433402&...With a fully renovated field to again call home and a new attitude, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is blazing a new trail for the Yankees affiliate.
For Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, Opening Day a
baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130402&content_id=...On Tuesday for Manny Machado's first career Opening Day, his mother, Rosa Nunez, was in the stands at Tropicana Field, along with the rest of the O's infielder's ...
MLB News, Videos, Scores, Standings, Stats, Teams, Players -
msn.foxsports.com/mlbLive MLB scores, in-depth pro baseball player and team news, Major League Baseball videos, rumors, updated stats, team schedules, post season coverage, fantasy ...
Orioles Opening Day photos from years past
darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/04/orioles-opening-day-photos-from...Look through Orioles Opening Day photos from yesteryear. A century ago, Baltimore was a bustling, brawling, blue-collar city of 500,000, teeming with trolleys and ...
Camden Chat, a Baltimore Orioles community
www.camdenchat.comYour best source for quality Baltimore Orioles news, rumors, analysis, stats and scores from the fan perspective.
The Official Site of The Baltimore Orioles orioles.com: Homepage
baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=balSchedule Tickets Scoreboard News RosterMajor League Baseball ... Orioles News Alerts including player, game, and video alerts. Text "Get Orioles" to 65246 to sign up.
Buster Olney Blog - ESPN - Exclusive Rumors, Picks, Fantasy
insider.espn.go.com/blog/buster-olneyMLB news, commentary, scores, stats, standings, audio and video highlights from ESPN.
The Great Orioles Autograph Project
greatoriolesautographproject.blogspot.com
My goal is to eventually have a signed Orioles baseball card of every modern era player to have played in a game for my favorite team. When they do not
Avatar (2009 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)
Avatar is a 2009 American epic science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen
Minnesota Twins - Schedule
minnesota.twins.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=minPrintable Schedule Downloadable Schedule Tickets Single Game TicketsWelcome to the schedule for the Minnesota Twins. Check out what is on this month's calendar for the team and check the latest games.
Who, what and where of Opening Day MiLB.com News The
www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110406&content_id=17448668&...From new faces in new places to just plain new faces, Thursday is Opening Day across the country for Minor League Baseball.
SC Feed - SportsCenter - ESPN - ESPN: The Worldwide Leader
espn.go.com/espn/sportscenter/feedbreaking news. back
Opening Day 1972 Highlights - Pirates v Mets (Ellis v Seaver ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTghxlBHHVIHappy Opening Day, Dock Ellis fans! 40 years ago, Dock pitched opening day at Shea against the Mets' Tom Seaver (who Dock called "Nancy," long story..).
The Daily Disney - OrlandoSentinel.com - Orlando news,
www.orlandosentinel.com/the-daily-disneyThe latest Disney World news, tips, deals and events from the Orlando Sentinel's team of Disney experts.
Topic Galleries -- baltimoresun.com
www.baltimoresun.com/topicTopic galleries provide easy access to stories and photos about people, places, organizations, events and subjects of interest to you. They bring together rich ...
Five Former Gator Baseball Players On MLB Opening Day Rosters ...
www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=25409Five former University of Florida baseball players appear on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters as the season kicked off on Monday.
Opening Day brings celebration, tradition and remembrance MLB ...
mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130401&content_id=43643730&c_id=mlbMoments of silence hit leadoff on Opening Day throughout Major League Baseball on Monday. The celebration of a season couldn't begin across the country without ...
Major League Baseball Schedule MLB.com: Schedule
mlb.mlb.com/mlb/scheduleSchedule Team-by-Team Regular Season Team-by-Team ScheduleTo learn about our efforts to improve the accessibility and usability of our website, please visit our
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009) - IMDb
www.imdb.com/title/tt1300851For the last 8 years the brothers have been living with their father on a sheep farm deep in isolated Ireland. One day their uncle tells them that they have been ...
Baltimore Orioles Baseball & MLB Breaking News, Schedule, Stats ...
www.baltimoresun.com/sports/oriolesBaltimore Orioles - Orioles baseball news, schedule, scores, stats, photos, videos and ticket information; Major League Baseball team rankings, news and scores from ...
Final: Red Sox 3, Orioles 1 - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog
www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2013/04/...John Farrell had a hunch and went with it. With the Orioles sending lefty Wei-Yin Chen to the mound, he wanted to sit his young, fresh face Jackie Bradley Jr. In his ...
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Click to see the code!
To insert emoticon you must added at least one space before the code.