It was cold, dark and rainy. The tarp covered the field and fans sat and waited patiently for something that had eluded them for so long. It had been 15 years; what was three more hours?
As I sat there last night after another Orioles’ win—one that saw them push their record to 13 games above .500—I began to think about October baseball. With their third straight victory paired with losses by Tampa Bay and Boston, the O’s moved to within 1.5 games of a Wild Card berth and 4.5 games of the division lead.
Maybe it’s too early to think two months ahead to postseason baseball. Maybe I’m getting way ahead of myself. I’m sorry; I’m not sorry. I think back to that day last October and I yearn for that feeling again.
The Ravens had just used 3 field goals to beat the Chiefs by the skin of their teeth and I sat there thinking, “First pitch is in 2 hours. I really can’t afford it, but should I go to this playoff game?” I decided I needed to be there and hopped in my car and headed from my home in Bel Air (I now live in Towson) to the Timonium light rail.
I purchased my ticket through my phone, rode the train to the stadium, and then walked in the rain to the Hilton and printed out my ticket in their public computer lab. And then, much like 47,840 other playoff starved Orioles’ fans, I sat through a 2 hour, 41 minute rain delay.
It was cold and wet and the O’s lost it in the 9th. But it was one of the greatest moments in my life. The atmosphere was electric, the fans were uproarious, and the entire country knew that baseball was back in Baltimore.
I can’t fully describe the feeling that I had being in that stadium that night. It was much like the feeling I got when I saw that sea of orange when I walked in from the picnic area in the first inning at Cal’s statue unveiling. It was a mixture of complete euphoria, Oriole pride, Orioles magic and overwhelming tears of complete and utter joy.
The Orioles have made the playoffs three times in my lifetime. I have been to at least one playoff game in each of those seasons. I want number four, and I want it in two months.
The Birds are currently 6-3 during a 17 game stretch in which 14 of those games are against sub-.500 teams. After that, they play 29 of their final 40 games against teams within seven games of an American League playoff spot. The time is now for the Lords of Birdland to make their move.
Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat. Then beat the teams in front of you until they become the teams behind you. That’s how you get back to October; back to that atmosphere.
I had a lump in my throat when the Orioles took the field that night. The Birds, as we all had once known them, were finally back. I want to feel that cool October breeze on my face as I watch the team I love leave it all on the field with everything on the line.
That is what I live for.
