With all the snow and rain and cold that Baltimore has seen recently can you blame us for wanting to light out to Florida and start the Summer early? You can’t. So we did. A trip to Spring Training is always something we thought we’d do ‘one of these days’ and one of these days finally came.
We’re not really sure what we were expecting but the whole thing was… not what we were expecting? It really felt an awful lot like going to a major league ballgame, just in a place with fewer seats. Each team’s home fans make a very good showing, so home games are really homey, and the whole thing works just like a regular season game, from batting practice to the hot dog race to singing Country Boy at the 7th inning stretch. And while the stadium might look bush league, rest assured the price of a Bud Heavy is big league all the way.
Anyway, here are some photos we took along the way. Enjoy…
The first game of the Spring was a road game. The O’s lost 15-2.
Ibis birds pack around in left on the Tigers’ alternate field.
Sitting in the grass is the best way to watch. If you ever go down there for games, bring a blanket!
The training camp is an actual camp, more or less. bunks and mess halls and all.
The stereotype is that Florida is full of old people in trailer parks. And that is true.
Some O’s fans tailgating in the shade outside Ed Smith Stadium.
Someone cruised in from the beach in style.
The stadium feels reminiscent of Camden Yards. Even has some of Oriole Park’s old seats.
The road to Camden Yards is a long one.
The Jays take BP in the sun while snow falls in Baltimore.
Here too there’s a left field picnic area.
The bullpens see a lot of action in the Spring.
Starting lineups are announced with a little bit of pomp.
This may be Birdland but a faithful plastic owl keeps the pigeons away in the Winter months.
There’s not a bad seat in the house.
It’s possible to follow the O’s on any part of their circuit and still make it back to your hotel at a decent hour.