Baseball Special: Camden Yards

So today my dad and I went to Camden Yards in Baltimore to watch the Orioles take on the Mariners. With the exception of a wrestling tournament I went to in Florida when I was in high school, this was the farthest south I've ever been. Being from New England, I literally considered myself, geographically, in the 'south', and my opinion was not halted by the plethora of southern accents I heard. It was a fun game, the Mariners ended up winning 8-4, but we got to see my boy Manny Machado put one out, Matt Wieters helped my fantasy team with a home run and for some reason Justin Smoak decided to have the game of his career. I would definitely not be exaggerating when I say that Camden was the best park I've been to thus far.

I'm not going to bore everyone with dull details and play-by-play descriptions of the game. Instead I'm going to bore you all with details concerning why this trip was unique. First, I'll start by talking about the peanut guy. I don't know what you technically call this guy, but he's the guy who walks up and down the aisles throwing beer, water, and peanuts to the lucky attendees who sit in his section. This guy was a riot. Before the game started I went to the bathroom and on my way back in I could hear this guy yelling, "PEANUTS, PEANUTS, WATER, WATER, BEER, BEER, BEER!" This performance was on repeat for the 3 minutes it took me to fight through the line and get back to my seat. My dad and I started discussing how long this energy charade was going to keep up before we found him passed out leaning against the wall near the entrance of the park. I predicted the fourth inning. He lasted the whole game and was thoroughly entertaining throughout.

One thing that was really cool was the national anthem. When the singer belted "Oh say! Does that star spangled bannnneeerrrrrrr..." The entire ballpark echoed in unison "OH" at the start of the line. Apparently that's a tradition at the park. They do it to commemorate their beloved O's. Something I would never have known without going to the park (or if somebody told me, but there's no fun in that).

The last awesome aspect was the bachelor party that was there. It was 10 guys or so of various ages with Orioles themed shirts which said "Team Groom" on the back. They were awesome! Every half inning they would stand up and hold up signs in an attempt to get their boy (the groom) on TV. It was really cool seeing how into it they all were, and I really think that that would be an ideal bachelor party. You and a handful of other guys, having a few drinks, watching baseball and celebrating the end of one's solidarity. Nils, Jack: take notes. That would be an AWESOME bachelor party.

Tomorrow we're heading to Philly to catch the Phillies play the Braves on Sunday Night Baseball. This was an awesome trip to an awesome park though. Also, the Red Sox beat Patrick Corbin and the D-Backs, so it was an fantastic night.