Where it all Began: Camden Yards (Dan)

Perhaps the summer of 2010 is where it all started. Before I graduated college, I went to Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, for a Yankees game with one of my friends who hardly understood baseball but by the end was cheering for Brett Gardner and Phil Hughes. I immediately realized however, that Camden Yards was a good date spot for Mandi and I seeing as we shared at least a few discussions about baseball in the months prior. As soon as I graduated college, Mandi and I spent the next few months together almost every day and went to several games, with the first of many more to come at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, which is near where Mandi is from and I went to college.

First experience with her and her family was a late father's day celebration which we got the package for all you can eat... ice cream, hot dogs, (or "douwgs" as Mandi says it), nachos, salads (?), sodas, cracker jacks, peanuts, etc. It was awesome. It's nice to be able to not have to think about the overpriced baseball food because it's already completely unlimited. It was also neat because we got there early enough to watch the Blue Jays' BP and the players in the OF would occasionally throw a ball our way. Our seats were second deck in the club level, just overlooking the bullpens in left center field. Pretty good view of the ballpark. (Note the picture below is from the second trip to Camden we made with my cousins later in the summer, but the seats were similar; we were actually lower and closer to the bullpens/ CF for the first trip).

One of the many things we enjoy about Camden Yards is that it feels like it was built into the city, not just a random sports complex in the outskirts of a city a-la Citzens Bank Park in Philly. The right field has a view of the old B&O Warehouse that is now part of the Camden Yards complex (see below). It is within walking distance to the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore which is probably it's main tourist attraction, but a place that locals go to as well with many sights to see and places to eat.

Below that warehouse is Eutaw Street (see above) which is the main entrance to Camden Yards, and, if you walk all the way down, actually leads to M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. Along Eutaw street are little brass baseballs to show where players have hit home runs whether in regulation play, All Star Games, or Home Run Derbies out of the stadium and onto the street. (In one case, there is one on the actual warehouse where Ken Griffey Jr. blasted one!) Below are pictures of one of former New York Yankee's Paul O'Neill's blasts and current Yankee Robinson Cano's as well. (You'll find out as we continue to write this blog that I'm a huge lifelong Yankees fan and besides, my mom's favorite player when I was growing up was always Paul O'Neill, I can still hear her yelling "Let's Go Paul-ieeee" anytime he'd come up to bat during a crucial moment).

Here's the box score for the game - I distinctly remember being pissed off at Kevin Gregg because he was on my fantasy team at the time.

Later that summer, two of my cousins came down from New York so I could show them around D.C., Annapolis, and of course, Camden Yards. We had a full day of touring D.C. followed by a White Sox - O's game to witness yet another Orioles loss. Nonetheless, it was fun evening we all enjoyed (I think by this point in the season Mandi realized the O's supposed revival of 2010 wasn't going to happen and my cousins and I were pretty apathetic to the score; seeing as it would have almost no impact on the AL East standings).

Anyway, like I've said, Camden Yards is a very nice place for a date or to just catch a ballgame. Here's our take on it (on a 10 point scale):Overall: 7/10

The breakdown:

Food: 6/10 - the food here is pretty standard, but they do have some additions of bbq and Maryland crabcakes you might not find at a typical stadium. Also, Mandi's dad will ONLY eat Eskay hot dogs nowadays seeing as they've been served with the Orioles for years apparently, so I guess they have to be somewhat good (her dad is a super picky eater, right down to the type of corn kernels he'll eat -Mitchell's Shupeg White Corn... no joke).

Crowd: 7/10 - the fact of the matter is, Baltimore fans are pretty tame which is nice for a date or for a family experience. I've hardly heard any cursing in my times there (and they were actually from Boston fans in town to root against the Yankees). They're pleasant, but they're not intense when you're trying to get into the game.

Cleanliness: 7/10 - overall stadium and surrounding area is very clean, but the bathrooms could use some work.

Transportation to stadium: 8/10 - Baltimore traffic isn't bad for a city its size. There's ample parking nearby. There's also a metro train or light rail train you can take in.

Stadium Location: 10/10 - Camden Yards is beautifully built into Baltimore which inspired several other stadium to use existing architecture (see Petco Park in San Diego for the best example, I think). Nearby is the Babe Ruth museum (he was from Baltimore) and another sports museum as well. Below is a picture of a monument erected for the Babe right on Eutaw Street. Stadium Appearance: 10/10 - Camden Yards was completed in 1992 and it started a revolution in baseball stadiums in providing for the fan experience in a "classical" feel stadium with the modern amenities. It got rid of the cookie-cutter mentality of stadiums that plagued baseball throughout the 70s and 80s and inspired many stadiums like the Ballpark at Arlington, Petco Park, Coors Field, PNC Park, Citi Field, AT&T Park in San Franciso and many others.

Cost: 8/10 - let's be honest. You can't compare major league to minor league costs here, but the fact is that Camden Yards is some of the most affordable major league baseball there is. They have student night tickets as low as $5 and regularly have other seats available under $15. Half of the time, there's hardly any crowd and you can move to better seats anyway. The all-you can eat tickets were $40 in 2010.

Entertainment: 4/10 - Major league parks focus on baseball, whereas Minor League parks often have gimmicky games in between innings. The Orioles have their little traditions such as inexplicably playing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" during the 7th inning stretch (ok ok, there are many rural parts of Maryland) and, in my opinion, one of the worst traditions in all of baseball, yelling "O!" during the "Oh" of the National Anthem. Orioles baseball hasn't been that exciting to watch in a decade or so, but Buck Showalter is bringing a young group of kids together that I think will improve the team in the next few years to come. They're definitely a future team to be aware of, already displaying flashes of hope.