Another year. Another trip to Camden Yards. Almost like a yearly right of passage for MLB baseball. Perhaps more so than going to Yankee Stadium to see my New York Yankees play.
By my unofficial count this is either the 15th or 16th time Fan X and I have traveled down the Garden State Parkway and Interstate 95 to Exit 53 in Baltimore. More times than not, including bathroom stops, it takes us approximately 3 hours to reach our destination.
We’ve encountered traffic most times, in each state, sometimes due to volume, other times due to construction or an accident. Which is why we have learned to leave early so that the stress level is reduced.
When we walk a good distance to get there, after finding parking and moving past the Baltimore Ravens’ home field, M&T Bank Stadium and noticing the ongoing improvements each year, we reach the multi-leveled, red brick, old B&O Warehouse on Eutaw Street. That is where Orioles fans congregate to enter the ballpark. It is unique to baseball and somehow, the crowd moves fast enough through the metal detectors and screening the mobile tickets to actually enter the stadium.
Outside of three Yankee Stadiums, Camden Yards is the stadium I have been to the most. As a result, I have an intimacy with it—at least on the field level concourse. I have been inside the Home Plate Club one time and enjoyed chewing down a crab cake while waiting out a rain delay—the only one we have encountered in Baltimore. And that Home Plate Club has been usurped by the Truist Club, a brand new addition to the ballpark directly behind home plate for the partial and full season ticket holders who fork over some serious cash to mingle with others so situated.
Until this trip, I had never been upstairs in Camden Yards. Fan X was fixated on having a Pat La Freida hamburger, so we took the trek to find the stand. Where Fan X was the only person in line. He did say it was good; I settled for an adequate meal of chicken fingers and fries.
Understand that I do not go to a stadium for the food. At Yankee Stadium, which has so many choices—all not too cheap—I bring in my own food. This is by choice.
We used to have Boog’s BBQ as part of the ticket package, obtained from a stand behind the outfield gates which emitted plenty of smoke. Named after famed Orioles first baseman John “Boog” Powell, the cuisine was smoked meats. They were so so. Evidently, the shop has relocated to Camden Street, a long throw away from the stadium. I don’t miss it.
I go to the ballpark because I love the game. I get so into the game itself—reading the umpire’s strike zone; the statistics on the scoreboard; the nature of the plays unfolding before me.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t notice the changes in the park—in the advertising, the scoreboard; and the prices at the concession stands. To buy a crab cake and fries package from the first booth inside the right field concourse at Camden Yards will cost well over $30. That took away any culinary adventurousness I might have had that Saturday.
Fan X and I learned the hard way that the best place to sit for a 4:05 start is on the left field side. If there’s more than 20 minutes of sun to deal with, that’s a lot. And Baltimore has a strong sun. Sitting in the sun and sweating for three hours after that three hour drive down isn’t enjoyable and makes the return trip home somewhat uncomfortable if you are not properly hydrated.
I have seen Yankees fans there. I have seen Mets fans there. I have seen many busloads of Phillies fans take the trip from Eastern PA to stuff the upper deck in left field. (There is no upper deck in right field, an open area extending down the right field line where the grandstand ends and a limited bleacher area extends from right center field to center field).
Yes, this is a ball field where major leaguers come to play. A very well-manicured one. I watched the grounds crew painstakingly get the infield ready for play, and slowly remark the baselines from first and third base to home plate. It is a craft and an important one. I appreciated their attention to detail.
Oh, yes, there was a game this past Saturday between American League East foes. The Toronto Blue Jays were visiting the Orioles in a four game series. (Of note—I have seen the two teams that use birds as their symbol play at Camden Yards—Toronto and St. Louis; those games are for bird watchers, I guess) Toronto won the Thursday and Friday night games by one run to reach the .500 mark.
Both teams relied on star college pitchers to take the mound. Trey Yesavage, who played at East Carolina and somehow semis the Yankees bats started for the Blue Jays, while Baltimore countered with Bryce Young, who pitched at Louisiana-Lafayette.
Early on, the teams matched zeros for the first two innings. The Orioles broke through first, scoring a run in the bottom of the third inning. Toronto put up two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a one run lead.
The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth inning then added one more in the top of the ninth to take what appeared to be a commanding four run lead. Or so we assumed.
Jeff Hoffman, another East Carolina product, came in to close out the game for Toronto and preserve a win for Yesavage. The ten year MLB veteran had pitched for Colorado, Cincinnati and Philadelphia before landing with Toronto in 2025.
Hoffman had not been pitching well this season, although in his two previous outings before Saturday against Miami and Thursday night in Baltimore, he pitched well. In a third of an inning, Hoffman faced seven batters, surrendering three hits, two walks, and he was ultimately charged with five earned runs when ex-New York Met Pete Alonso, who had meekly grounded into a bases-loaded double play to thwart a rally, singled through a drawn-in Jays infield to end the game and send the merry patrons home happy with a 6-5 O’s win.
It was an unlikely ending to an interesting game. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. went 4 for 5 to lead the Blue Jays attack. He committed an error at first base when he whiffed on a pick off throw from Yesavage and was charged with his sixth error of the season. Guerrero took no responsibility for his miscue, for after two more pitches, the bat boy brought him a replacement glove. That’s what super stars do when they make a mistake—blame the glove.
While Yesavage lowered his already sterling E.R.A. with his performance, he did not pitch that well. Although the Orioles only reached Yesaage for only two hits in five innings and he struck out four batters, his command of the strike zone was wanting—Yesavage issued 7 walks. For that matter, Toronto walked a total of 11 Orioles. They somehow deserved to lose—even if Baltimore seemed very flat for eight innings.
Of their 11 hits, 4 were doubles. Baltimore had two extra base hits—a double and triple. No home runs were hit. The Blue Jays four game winning streak ended and on Sunday, Baltimore also won. Baltimore has moved ahead of the Jays in the standings by going 7-3 in the last ten games while the Jays have lost their last four games.
The drive back was easy. It stayed light in New Jersey until we were between Exits 2 and 3 on the New Jersey Turnpike. The game was exciting with the come-from-behind rally. It whetted my appetite for more baseball.
That quickly took place on Thursday. With my daughter in town on break from film production, we decided to go see our beloved New York Yankees. Getting half-price tickets from a promotion, we settled on a Thursday matinee game with the visiting Cleveland Guardians.
As beautiful and spacious Camden Yards feels, with its green stands giving a more old-time flavor, the new Yankee Stadium was built to be a cathedral—elegant and opulent. It bespeaks money and power—a symbol of the New York Yankees, the 27-time World Champions and the aura of Manhattan, even if it is located in the South Bronx.
Surprisingly, Yankee Stadium is the fifth largest MLB stadium by capacity, behind Dodger Stadium, Chase Field in Phoenix, T-Mobile Park in Seattle and just a smidgen smaller than Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies. (Camden Yards is three notches down from Yankee Stadium) Because the ballpark is so immense, it makes the seating area look larger than it really is.
Yankee Stadium is replete with modern technology all around the stadium. The concourses are wide and spacious. New Yorkers (and some visitors rooting for Guardians) were a well-behaved lot. At least at this game. Boston is coming to town for a weekend series and proper behavior will go out the window.
Going to Yankee Stadium isn’t as easy as going to Baltimore. I am loathe to drive to a Yankees game because the New Jersey Turnpike, George Washington Bridge and the portion to the Major Deegan Expressway South (Major William Francis Deegan was a Cooper Union graduate with a degree in architecture; a major in the Army Corps of Engineers; organizer of the American Legion; President of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce; Tenement House Commissioner; and chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on Receptions to Distinguished Guests. Deegan Rock is located at the junction of East 138th Street, the Deegan Expressway, and the Grand Concourse). Then getting to the stadium and being shunted to parking can be very unsettling. The drive back in rush hour traffic is even more unbearable.
Thus, the grimy NJ Transit cars packed from Millburn to Penn Station in New York City becomes our go-to way of getting across the Hudson River. We walk a block to Herald Square where the D train is accessible; that takes up to East 161st Street and River Avenue, where Yankee Stadium resides.
When one emerges from the subway, it is into a carnival-like atmosphere. Vendors are hawking everything related to the Yankees, food and drink, and since the New York Knicks are rolling in the NBA Finals after concluding their 12th straight win in a gutsy performance on the road in San Antonio, Knicks hats and t-shirts were available in the Bronx and outside of Madison Square Garden. (In a breathtaking last minute of play, NYK eked out a one point win over the Spurs on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead back to MSG)
Lines snaked around the outer perimeter of the building, guiding the patrons to the metal detectors and entry into the colossus I believe this version of Yankee Stadium is. Inside the wide, open atrium, fans make their way to their seats. It is much nicer than the old ballpark in that regard.
We sat in the sun for at least three innings before moving back two rows to soothing shade) and watched the NYY grounds crew smooth the infield dirt in crossing patterns. A very unique arrangement.
Our Wawa hoagies hit the spot. We drank a ton of water supplemented by Gatorade on the ride into the city. And it helped. Along with SPF 55 sunblock—they only allow creams and lotions into the ballpark, not sprays.
The Yankees had lost two straight to Cleveland, the AL Central leaders. The big guns—first Cam Schlittler and then Gerrit Cole, failed to stop the Cleveland attack.
Moreover, the NYY bats were mostly silent, as the team now sorts through how they will make it to the playoffs after learning that Team Captain and reigning AL M.V.P. Aaron Judge is lost indefinitely after suffering a stress fracture to his rib cage.
So it was up to Carlos Rodon, who is working his way back to form after having off season elbow surgery, to stop the bleeding. This was a game the Yankees needed to win before arch rival Boston arrived for the weekend.
Rodon pitched well enough over six innings. He held the Cleveland bats to a single and a double over six innings. Those were the only hits the Guardians could muster. Rodon issued three walks and struck out seven on a beautiful day in the Bronx.
It took a single by third baseman Ryan Mc Mahon in the eighth inning with two outs to score Jazz Chisholm, Jr. with the winning run. Strong performances by Brent Hedrick, Fernando Cruz and closer David Bednar, who garnered his 13 th save, allowed for the Yankees to emerge victorious.
With the repeated strains of Frank Sinatra’s singing “New York, New York,” we departed the Bronx happy—for the moment. Catching the second D train we could board and then an express train back to Millburn, we concluded our journey in under eight hours.
I will be back in the Bronx when Cincinnati comes in. It will be Father’s Day. I hope that the yankees pitching keeps them going while Judge mends. I was impressed with the hitting of centerfielder Trent Grisham, who seems to be starting a small tear, and DH/1B Ben Rice, whose would balls sizzled off this bat; I still can’t get over that this powerful hitter played at Dartmouth—not a bastion of baseball talent.
Before I go, I want to report that Denison University, the top-ranked DIII baseball team, won the DIII Championship with a thrilling comeback victory in the final game of the three game series after losing a heartbreaker to Endicott College of Massachusetts in the second game. And kudos to Redlands, which denied Trine another title in DIII women’s softball. Texas won the DI softball crown, defeating Texas Tech.
I will be watching the Knicks-Spurs and Golden Knights-Hurricanes as they progress through their respective finals. So far, they are absolutely full of excitement.
I have given you a tale of two stadiums. Certainly it was the best of times for many Orioles, Yankees, Denison, Redlands, Texas, Vegas, Carolina and Knicks fans. For the others, including Yankees fans, it was the worst of times when their respective teams lost.
