The weather is looking better, Norfolk is full of talent, and new food around town.
Good morning, Birdland!
Baseball season is nearly here! If the weather holds out, Tony Kemp and the Orioles will take on the Angels in an actual regular season game at Camden Yards in just over 24 hours.
The forecast has improved somewhat from earlier in the week. While rain still seems to be an almost certainty at some point on Thursday, it also looks like it will clear up by first pitch. The threat of rain essentially disappears for the rest of the weekend, so should the decision makers need to push Opening Day to Friday, that should be as far as they have to go.
Whenever fans do get to the park, they will notice something different in center field. The roof deck above the batter’s eye now has a sponsor. It will be called the “Coors Light Roof Deck,” and they aren’t being shy about the branding.
The center field roof deck at Camden Yards, now sponsored by Coors Light pic.twitter.com/WweptkIQdu
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) March 26, 2024
Will this give the team the funds needed to remove the advertisements along the baselines? For me, those are a huge eyesore, whereas something like this Coors Light sponsorship fades into the background with all of the other ads in the outfield.
There are sure to be other new touches around the Yard as well. Hopefully all of us get to see them on Thursday rather than waiting another day.
Links
Matt Holliday questions Orioles’ decision to send son Jackson Holliday to Triple-A | The Baltimore Banner
What don’t you understand, Matt? He needs to see exactly three weeks of left-handed pitching! Then he will be ready.
New spots near Camden Yards to grab a beer or a snack on Opening Day | The Baltimore Sun
Not everyone cares about the actual game of baseball as much as us nerds on this blog. But everyone can get behind good food. Opening Day is a nice time for those two camps to intersect.
Kemp settles in with new team, reunited with Irvin | Roch Kubatko
The Orioles are slowly acquiring every member of the 2022 Oakland Athletics, and if that’s not a strategy for success then I don’t know what is.
Norfolk’s break-camp roster includes three top-100 and eight top-30 prospects | Steve Melewski
The O’s Triple-A team isn’t just full of big league retreads of veterans that never broke through. The talent in Norfolk should be a weapon as the season goes on.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Junior Lake turns 34 today. He played eight games in the Orioles’ outfield during the 2015 season.
- Matt Harvey is 35 today. The once-promising righty ended up on the brutal 2021 O’s team, tossing 127.2 woeful innings (6.27 ERA) that year.
- Dave Van Gorder is 67 years old. He came to Baltimore in 1987 and played 12 games as a reserve catcher.
This day in O’s history
1960 – A series between the Orioles and Reds is moved from Havana, Cuba to Miami, Florida. The move is initiated by the Orioles front office, who worried about political unrest on the island.