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A day late and a dollar short... but, some 25th anniversary fun.

Ok... So three days late and $63.50 short.

Anyway. As I sure some of you may have remembered I had tickets to the game on the 23rd. My wife planned a big day in Baltimore for me for our 4th anniversary (which was the 24th, Happy Birthday Duck).

Well, I had no idea what she had planned for me until Sunday after our dolphin excursion at the Aquarium (which WAS really neat, BTW). Then she tells me what we are doing... She got tickets to the "behind the scenes tour" at Camden Yards (7.00 a ticket, plus fees, so more like 10.75 a ticket, but still WORTH EVERY PENNY). It was awesome. I took some pictures, but unfortunately we had a giant finger print the lens so most the pictures look ghosted (damn kids). Anyway. Here they are.

Star-divide

 

 

Panoramic View from the Bullpen Picnic Area

 

 

Random Orange seat in right-center field (More on this later) 1983 World Series Trophy and Team Pictures

 

Panoramic View from a left field club box

 

Orioles retired jerseys in the Hall of Fame Lounge Cal Ripken's retired jersey

 

The smaller building in the background is St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, where Babe Ruth learned to play baseball... with a right-handed glove-he was left-handed. Behind the scenes in the press area, this is the daily game board. As you can see, it has the lineups, the time of first pitch, temperature at the start of the game, attendance, length of the game, and the umpires for the game, as well as the score of the game. After the last game of the season they don't erase it until the first game of the next season.

 

This me... standing where Jim Palmer stands when on camera during broadcasts... it's about three feet behind where they sit when broadcasting. This the view from the Sportswriters' press box. Nice seats, huh?

 

A couple of guys playing catch The view from the tunnel behind home plate.

 

The visitor's on-deck circle My wonderful, beautiful wife IN the visitor's dugout... the O's dugout was being worked on (much like the rest of Birdland).

 

Panoramic view from inside the visitor's dugout. Me, in the visitor's dugout.

 

The orange seat in right-center field. This is where Eddie Murray hit his 500th homerun. It was late and rainy so it wasn't very crowded and the guy who got that ball sold it two weeks later for half a million dollars. ANOTHER orange seat (there are only two of them in Camden Yards)... this one is where Cal Ripken hit his 278th HR as a shortstop, setting the then record. He continues to hold the record for HR's by a shortstop with 345. A-Rod has 344 as a shortstop, but thanks to MFY he's now at third base.

 

The scoreboard from the visitor's dugout. Me and my bride in the visitor's dugout.

 

Us, ON the field... well, on the warning track in front of the field (we weren't allowed on The Grass, it was the only rule). Down the left field line.

 

The O's on-deck circle The O's dugout.

 

Kenny Griffey Jr.'s plaque in the Warehouse wall where he hit it during the '93 all-star game homerun derby. The footage is wrong... it's being corrected at 465 feet. Interstate 395... Cal Ripken Way.

Did you know... The Warehouse's 3.5 million bricks had to be cleaned by hand and that it took crews 30 months to do it when Camden Yards was being built? Yeah, they were to susceptible to power-washing. That must have sucked!


That's all cool, and well and good, but the single most KICKASS thing that she did for me was this...


And the really cool thing about it... she said she sent it to him and he returned it signed within a week. Nick Rocks! So does Mrs. Toe!

On to the game: We got there early to see the O's finish up BP and watch the Jays take BP. There were some old timers from the '83 Series team signing autographs. I got Al Bumbry's but the lines were crazy so that's all I got. 
Apparently I made it into The Sun, or thesun.com... so that's cool, I guess.

It was a great game, and the pregame ceremony was cool. It was nice to see the old guys, even though I wasn't really aware what was going on in 1983. I got pics of the guys walking on the Orange carpet but they're a little lacking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



...and then, with two outs in the top of the sixth--THE RAINS CAME!!!


But it was ok, for us, because we were in section 43 covered by the second deck. So we stayed nice and dry. Of course the game ended up being suspended and we couldn't get back the next day to finish it up, but it turns out the O's are giving anyone who couldn't get back to the completion of the game a free upper level ticket to any game in September (at least that's what tickemaster told me, I have yet to confirm that with 888-848-BIRD). We'll definitely pick one. Maybe by then I'll get to see some of the REAL youngins.

So that was my day in ol' B'more. All in all a great day.

 

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Great Pictures

Looks like you had an amazing time. That’s really awesome that your wife got Nick to sign that picture.

Geaux Eaux's

by NawlinsOriole on Jul 27, 2008 2:12 AM EDT   0 recs

Awesome Pictures

But was it a large group tour or an exclusive thing for you two?

“but it turns out the O’s are giving anyone who couldn’t get back to the completion of the game a free upper level ticket to any game in September.”

I go to a good number of games a year and I can’t remember the O’s ever doing this for the fans, you either made it for the make up or tough luck. I guess this is another way the FO is trying to get some support.

My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.' -Earl Weaver

by Baltimo on Jul 27, 2008 7:09 AM EDT   0 recs

The tour was a group thing...

but there were only like 8 or 10 in our group, so it was small enough.

Kevbo: [to George Sherrill] George, you look a lot like Vin Diesel...

Flatbill: Let's get somethin' straight... Vin Diesel looks like me.

-From "The Making of Orioles Magic"

by dayzd toe on Jul 27, 2008 9:39 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

Cool!

I’ll have to take the tour, that looks awesome.

I’m glad you mentioned the rainout policy. I was at the game, too, and didn’t realize that. Hopefully I can find both the ticket stubs.

"He’s in trouble. Whatever he throws me, I’m going to hit it."
-- Alex Cintron

by BrianS on Jul 27, 2008 9:22 AM EDT   0 recs

Dayzed...

Found the ticket thing on Orioles.com

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080723&content_id=3185860&vkey=pr_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal

Fans holding tickets for tomorrow’s 12:35 game may attend the completion of the suspended game, beginning at 12:05.

Although tonight’s suspended game is considered an official game by Major League Baseball and not subject to refunds or exchanges, the Orioles will allow all fans who purchased tickets for tonight’s game to exchange those tickets for a lower or upper reserve ticket to any home game in September, subject to availability.

"He’s in trouble. Whatever he throws me, I’m going to hit it."
-- Alex Cintron

by BrianS on Jul 27, 2008 9:29 AM EDT   0 recs

very cool day

great pics

by Y Not on Jul 27, 2008 9:54 AM EDT   0 recs

fantastic

great stuff

by UMterp08 on Jul 27, 2008 10:02 AM EDT   0 recs

Sounds like a great day, dayzd

Awesome pictures. I love the panoramic from the dugout. I went on that tour about 10 years ago, it was awesome.

"There is a value to breaking the string of losing seasons as an organization or as a franchise. But breaking that streak can’t come at the expense of doing what you need to do to get your franchise to the point where it can reach the postseason." ~Andy MacPhail

by Stacey on Jul 27, 2008 11:02 AM EDT   0 recs

hear, hear...

the panoramic view of the field is pretty sweet.

it had never occurred to me to do a ballpark tour until recently. now i am TOTALLY sold!

foghat goes with everything--birdman, 5/16/08

by j.q. higgins on Jul 28, 2008 10:14 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

awesome shots

i live in CT, but when i went down last summer to go to an Os game a went on that tour. it is awesome and well worth the it.

by semaj2989 on Jul 27, 2008 11:40 AM EDT   0 recs

very cool pictures

Thanks for sharing!

Librarians are hiding something

by dfa on Jul 28, 2008 1:03 AM EDT   0 recs

What a great day for the dayzd family! Thx for putting us there!

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Churchill,1942-- a rebuilding year.

by Titov on Jul 28, 2008 7:25 PM EDT   0 recs

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