Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
7	9	10	8	8	42

Camden Yards was almost my favorite ballpark, but came up short in one critical area; the positioning of the concession stands do not allow you to see the game from the concourse area.  Barring that one blemish, the stadium and it's surrounding area is fantastic!

Like many ballparks, Camden Yards has a beer garden across the street that was packed with people "preparing" for the game.  The main entrance of the stadium at Eutaw Street leads into a long walkway in rightfield with the stadium to the right and a warehouse to the left that has been converted to offices.  This walkway is lined with some really really good BBQ that is grilled on large open-faced grills.  The crab cakes (what would Maryland be without crab cakes) offered at a concession stand located behind home plate are surprisingly good.

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: August 7, 2010

Attendance: 24,929

Weather: 82 degrees F, clear

Length of Game: 2 hours, 49 minutes
Final Score: Chicago White Sox 4, Baltimore Orioles 2

The White Sox put an end to Buck Showalter's 4-0 run at the helm of the Orioles with a come-from-behind victory at Camden Yards. The visitors tallied single runs in each of the final three frames for the win.

Stories from the Road
After an early morning sky dive in South Jersey with some co-workers (no big deal), I took an amtrak train from Philly to Baltimore to catch a Saturday night game with my parents. The Saturday afternoon amtrak ride (on Northeast Regional 161) along the northeast corridor in good, sunny weather is actually really refreshing.  The ride offered some great views of what I assume to be a few lakes and/or rivers that lead into the Chesapeake Bay.

As it turned out, it was a good thing I got my refreshing experience during the ride down to Baltimore because certain parts of the city are anything but refreshing.  In my quest to walk around (nearly) every city that I visited along the way, I decided to walk from Baltimore's Penn Station to Camden Yards where I would meet my parents for the game.  Unfortunately, one of my more memorable experiences of Baltimore was walking through the scene at the Lexington Market metro (intersection of N Eutaw St and W Lexington St) ... where dreams come true.  In this oasis of activity, amidst an otherwise sleepy city, you could see two men, who had clearly had some sort of disagreement, yelling at each other and seemed bound for a messy physical confrontation.  On the other side of the street, a group of 20 to 25 year olds were sitting on the curb and sizing up everyone that passed by while listening to a boom box (yes, a boom box) blast music in the background.  In total, there were about 100 people within a 1/2 block radius of the metro, all of which were either yelling, or looking to yell, at someone.  It seemed as if everyone was moving every which way, but not seeming to really go anywhere.

On a much more positive note, Baltimore reminds me a lot of the colonial vibe that Philadelphia gives off, with narrow streets lined with rowhouses on either side, cobblestone streets and a main street called Lombard Street.  Also, with it's glitzy restaurants and eye-catching ships the Inner Harbor is a true bright spot in the city.  It's probably worth spending an afternoon or evening to visit if you get a chance.