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The Great Ballpark Chase: Birds of a Feather

timothynrussell

The main entrance and scoreboard at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

For some baseball chasers, you just can’t get enough travel.

That seems to be the case with Dave, who I first met on last year’s tour with Diamond Baseball Tours. This year, he was on the Hall of Fame Tour with Coast 2 Coast Sports Tours. It was one of four tours he went on this year.

In fact, Dave, who is a retired Cleveland Guardian fan, was taking another tour as the Coast 2 Coast one ended. He was doing the West Coast Swing with Diamond, but Dave doesn’t like to fly. So, about a week after returning home from the Hall of Fame tour, he hopped on a train cross country, ending up in Las Vegas, where the Diamond tour started.

He’s also made several trips to Comerica Park, PNC Park, and Target Field throughout the year.

While some chasers will just go to each stadium once, others will revisit sometimes two or three times.

That’s how it was with me and Oriole Park at Camden Yards (that’s the official name, but most people just call it Camden Yards or OPACY). The final game of the Hall of Fame tour was my second visit to Camden and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again. It is one of my favorite parks.

It helps that the Orioles are fielding a very good team now, but it’s also just a great atmosphere to watch a game. And a great view with the old B&O Warehouse overlooking the field. It also holds a special place in my heart, because it was one of the parks I got to see with my brother. If you remember, he passed away unexpectedly six years ago.

The Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse looms beyond the outfield wall at Camden Yards.

On to the stadium, which was opened in April 6, 1992.

The most striking feature is that warehouse, which is located on Eutaw Street and runs directly through the ballpark. Obviously, it is closed to vehicles now. During game days, the street is closed to the public, but on non-game days, you can stroll from one side to the other, but there is no access to the stadium.

The floors of the warehouse contain offices, service spaces, and a private club.

Many home runs land on Eutaw Street; 122 and counting, to be exact. And each one is given a special circular plaque, with the players name and date. Lasers and cameras are used to pinpoint exact placement. Former Detroit Tiger catcher Mickey Tettleton was the first one to hit the street on April 20, 1992.

No one has hit the warehouse on the fly during an actual game yet. Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr. did it once during batting practice of 1993 Home Run Derby during the All-Star Game festivities. There is a plaque on the wall, marking the moment.

The Ken Griffey Jr. plaque commemorates his hitting the Warehouse on the fly.

Eutaw Street is the place to be in Camden Yards. The Orioles team store is located inside the warehouse on the ground floor. Boog’s Barbecue outdoor stand is out in center field. Boog Powell was an Orioles’ first baseman from 1961 to 1974. You can also see the Orioles Hall of Fame.

Inside the stadium, you will find Legends Park, with six statues of former Oriole greats. They included Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, outfielder Frank Robinson, pitcher Jim Palmer, first baseman Eddie Murray, shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., and manager Earl Weaver in a picnic grove in left field.

Statues of Baltimore Orioles’ Hall of Famers, clockwise from upper left, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr., Earl Weaver, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, and Frank Robinson.

There is also a statue dedicated to Babe Ruth, called Babe’s Dream, located just outside the park on Eutaw Street. Ruth was born in Baltimore, raised in an orphanage there and played for the Orioles, who were a minor league team at the time. His birthplace is within walking distance of Camden Yards and can be visited as the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. It’s about a block or two from the left field stands. Ruth’s parents’ home was located about where second base is.

Back inside the stadium, there are two orange seats, marking the home runs by Ripken Jr. and Murray. The one in right center field marks Murray’s 500th home run. The one in left field marks Ripken’s 278th home run, which broke Chicago Cubs’ Ernie Banks record for home runs by a shortstop.

When Camden was built in 1992, it inspired the retro-classic trend for new construction, instead of the cookie cutter, multi-purpose stadiums that had been popular.

Some of the retro-classic parks include Denver’s Coors Field (1995), San Francisco’s Oracle Park (2000), Detroit’s Comerica Park (2000), Pittsburgh’s PNC Park (2001), Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park (2004), St. Louis’ Busch Stadium III (2006), New York Mets’ Citi Field (2009), and Yankee Stadium (2009).

Renovations made in 2022 raised the left field wall from seven feet to about 13 feet. It was also moved back 26 ½ feet, which eliminated the first 10 rows of outfield bleacher seats. That first major renovation lowered the capacity to 44,970.

The area where the fences were moved back in leftfield following the 2022 renovations.

Current dimensions are as follows: left field line (333 feet), straight away left (384 feet), left-center field (398 feet), deep left center (410 feet), center field (400 feet), right-center (373 feet), and right field line (318 feet).

Food options are plentiful in Camden. Baltimore is known for its crab and crab cakes, so of course that is prevalent in the menu. Some of the highlights include the Yard Dog, which is three hot dogs stacked in a footlong bun, topped with creamy crab dip, and Old Bay-seasoned potato sticks. The crab pretzel boule is a soft-baked pretzel boule, dipped in garlic butter and stuffed with Maryland-style crab dip, cheddar cheese, and Old Bay seasoning.

One of the more popular concession stands is Jimmy’s Famous Seafood. There are several locations throughout the city, but the Camden Yards location features crab cake egg rolls, crab cake sandwich, and crabby fries.

Previous Installments of the Great Ballpark Chase by Tim Russell

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