Each year, spring arrives and cities are filled with excitement and optimism for what could be for the upcoming baseball season. Every year, players and fans hope for the best as they try to get off on the right foot.
Even during the last 15 years, Baltimore has been filled with some excitement as Opening Day arrived. The Orioles are welcomed home to a sold out stadium. And for a majority of those years, the Orioles got off to a good start, almost always starting off better than .500 after 10 games. In some years, that hot start stretched to the end of April and sometimes even into May.
While staying above .500 in the early parts of the season has been fun to watch for some, Camden Yards had remained empty after Opening Day.
Finally, last year that all changed. When the Orioles were in a legitimate playoff race, the stands starting filling back up and the excitement was felt all over the region. When the Orioles made the playoffs and won the 1-game Wild Card Playoff against Texas, fans were bleeding Orange and Black for the first time in a decade.
Then something happened…something that made me so proud of not only the Orioles but of all Orioles fans. When the O’s lost to the Yankees, not one person said a negative word about the lack of hitting. Instead, fans all over the area were saying “Thank You” to the Orioles. Thank you for the amazing season that no one saw coming. Thank you for the way they won as a team. Thank you for the memories and the first playoff season in 15 years!
For the first time in a generation, baseball was relevant during football season in Baltimore. Not only during baseball season, but even in the off-season. When the calendar turned to 2013, Baltimore was excited about the Ravens playoff season, but there was a sense of excitement for spring training to start.
Now that spring training is coming to a close, the excitement for the Orioles continues to grow. The national media might not be on board (many predicting the O’s to finish last in their division) but Baltimore is ready and waiting to cheer their playoff team.
Camden Yards may not be filled every game, like it was back in the 90’s, but you can bet that if the O’s stay in contention into the All-Star Break again this year, that fans will continue to fill up that stadium in ways that haven’t been seen since I was in high school.
Can the Orioles score the runs needed without Mark Reynolds in the lineup? Can the Orioles pitching staff be as strong as they were last year? Can the Orioles win the close games as they did a year ago?
Those questions will be answered over the next few months, but for the first time in my adult life, I am full of realistic optimism that my team can beat any team on their schedule any night of the week. And that has me excited and ready to go! Why Not?!
