I am a Baltimore Orioles fan by birth — but far more by lifetime dedication even though far removed from Baltimore since 1966. As I told O’s pitcher Brian Matusz, while standing next to the railing at Ed Smith Stadium a few years ago, “You remember what year that was, right?” Well,...
The initial plan sounded like a tale from the old west. Dave Glenn and his dad, Mike, had sent the women and children out of town before a dangerous stranger arrived, threatening all that they owned. But it wasn’t long before they decided that they, too, should leave. Hurricane Florence was bearing...
George Herman “Babe” Ruth was back in the news this week. On Thursday, Jane Leavy, author of “The Big Fella,” talked about what motivated her to write a new biography about Ruth at the Light Street branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. On Friday, Ruth, who died in 1948, was awarded...
When I met with Andy MacPhail about the Orioles job, I knew Baltimore was a great baseball city. I knew what the tenor was like, I knew what the atmosphere was like. When I was at ESPN, I was at peace with my life. It was a great time. My son was...
We were assembling joggers for the seven participants from Athletes Serving Athletes to compete in the marathon relay of the Baltimore Running Festival when I realized we were in the shadows of The Warehouse at Camden Yards. Except we weren’t really in the shadows, we were in the dark before sunrise, when...
Many of my early childhood memories were of pieces of vacations, astronaut missions and Orioles baseball. I grew up an ardent, avid, passionate (some would say obsessed) baseball fan. The ’60s and ’70s were good times to be a baseball fan in Baltimore. That was the Golden Age of the Orioles, to...
I was at Yankee Stadium for Game 4 of the 2017 American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Astros. I truly get the hardships for many high-paying fans to get to the stadium for a 5 p.m. game. There were many empty seats at the first pitch—hardly a one for the...
You know the clear plastic sleeve on older wallets? The part where people keep their driver’s license or other form of ID easily accessible? All it takes is a flip of the wrist to show the guy at the bar you’re of age or pick up a package at UPS. That’s where...
In my professional career — one that has now spanned more than 10 years — I’ve only “played hooky” from work once. (Apologies to AOL, my employer at the time.) The date was Sept. 13, 2012, and the Orioles were in the midst of an exciting push toward the playoffs that caught...
Passion and compassion. Passion for one’s team. Compassion for its players, when it’s evident the struggle is real. A Sports Illustrated story about Chris Davis triggered these thoughts as the Orioles come home to play the Houston Astros in their final games of the season. It’s fan appreciation weekend in a season...