Erika is one of my closest friends from High School. After a few years in Boston (where she also went to college) and a few more here in New York after college, she moved to just outside Washington D.C., where her then boyfriend, later fiancé, now husband had been living since graduation. Knowing that I enjoy baseball as much as I do and also knowing that I hadn't yet come to visit them in Maryland, she invited me to join them on a D.C-Area/B.C. alumni bus tour up to Baltimore to see the Red Sox take on the Orioles. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to visit some great friends and take in a game at another stadium.
The only trouble was that I didn't yet realize that I was officially on the stadium tour- heck, I didn't even bring a camera. I have vivid memories of the chartered bus that we took from Washington to Baltimore- tentatively chugging a beer that was thrown at me at 11:30 in the morning with Leland (who isn't really the chugging type), hearing a bus load of B.C. alums sing "Dirty Water," and listening to the lone Oriole fan on the bus in a debate about how there was no way that either Rafael Palmiero or Miguel Tejada were on steroids (they either tested positive or were implicated that season). Everyone on the bus was also seated together inside the park, in the upper deck near right field, so my entire fan experience that day had a Massachusetts feel. I was even called "Mookie" all day by one of the guys in our group for wearing my Mets hat. Understandably, even the euphoria of being the defending World Champs hadn't made them forget the ball through Buckner's legs in '86.
My memories of the transportation greatly outweigh my memories of the stadium itself. I do have a couple vivid memories of the game (with some statistical refreshers from baseball-almanac.com): Palmiero was very close to his 3,000th hit. He went 2 for 3 in this game, bringing him to 2,997, and one of those was a Home Run (his 565th). When he collected his 3,000th 6 days later, he joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only 4 players in history to have 3,000 hits of which at least 500 were Home Runs. As he hadn't yet tested positive for steroids, each of his at bats brought a feeling of Cooperstown with it. Tejada also had a great day- he went 5 for 5 and was a Home Run short of the cycle. The Orioles ended up as a mediocre team (74-88) in 2005, but on this Saturday afternoon, they were still 6 games over .500 and stuck it to the defending champs 9-1.
I do remember that the ballpark wasn't like any other I'd been to thus far. I remember all the hype that surrounded Camden Yards when it opened, and could tell immediately why it had started a trend to build new "retro-style" ballparks. Everything was new and clean and there were great sightlines. Yet, it felt much more like you were in an old-tyme ballpark. Sure, the Polo Grounds wouldn't have had giant light stanchions on the top of the renovated B&O Railroad warehouse next-door. But still, all the brick and wrought iron were quite a contrast from the concrete I'd become accustomed to at Olympic Stadium, Shea or Yankee. I do regret that I did absolutely no exploring of this trendsetting ballpark. I didn't make it out to Eutaw Street to see all that goes on in the alley between the park and the warehouse. I didn't see the statue of Babe Ruth as a child. I walked in through the gate, walked up to my seat, left it to get a hot dog and soda, returned to watch the rest of the game, and then left through the same gate I came in through.
I assure you that this post will be the only one like this. I wish I could tell you more about Camden Yards. On that day, it was just a chance to sit outside in the sunshine and enjoy the company of some great friends. Although I suppose that days like that can't ever be taken for granted, regardless of their setting. And since Erika did think to bring a camera, I at least have proof that I was there.
More than any other ballpark I’ve visited so far, I'm itching to get back.
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