Ballpark Review: Camden Yards
Home of the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore, MD
It’s been almost a year since I reviewed a ballpark for this series, but there’s a very good reason. I hadn’t been to an MLB stadium in a very long time. Sure, I’ve been to a handful about which I haven’t written, but I didn’t want to write about Progressive Field when I hadn’t been there in five years. Well, problem solved. I just spent three days at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Camden Yards is often thought of as the first of the new “old-style” parks that open out into a city and provide the comforts of modern life. U.S Cellular Field this is not. Part of Camden’s charm, in my opinion, is it’s cozy dimensions. While the concourses are spacious and only crowded when busloads of children are dumped into them, the seating is very close to the action. I sat in the last few rows of the lower deck all three games and was never very far from the action. Some parks have lots of foul territory, which Camden does not, but they are also built on a very gentle incline to maximize seating, meaning that you can end up quite a ways from the action. Not so in Baltimore.
The stadium features a three tiered design with the lower deck also divided into two parts. I sat in the rear sections of the lower deck and the only real problem was that the upper deck hangs over pretty significantly, obstructing some of the main scoreboard and high fly balls. You still have a great view of the pitcher, plate, and all of the fielders, but you can lose things from time to time. Pretty much everywhere else in the park avoids this type of issue. Overall, as long as you know what you’re getting, the sight-lines are quite good. It actually reminds me a lot of Great American in Cincinnati as far as the shape of the thing is concerned.
The food is pretty standard with the unique options being crabcake-seafood offerings and the Boog’s sandwich station out in right field. The basic offerings were good, but unspectacular and are priced pretty much in line with the average major league park. Ticket prices were reasonable all the way around, although I picked a Mon-Wed series in May, so I can’t be sure that it’s a typical experience.
The fans were a nice mix of enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and the staff was pretty attentive and welcoming as far as those things go. In a basic sense, Camden Yards is a very standard MLB stadium. There isn’t amazing food or really impressive amenities, but from a strict game-viewing perspective, it’s quite something. It’s cozy without being crammed and looks the part of a charming stadium in the heart of an old city.
I’ve been to 8 active MLB parks (Comerica, Wrigley, US Cellular, GABP, Progressive, PNC, Nationals, Camden) and two defunct ones (Tiger Stadium and Sun Life), and I would say that Camden comes out second behind PNC. I always excluded Comerica because I can’t be objective in that case. OPACY is great place to see a game, and even better when your team sweeps the O’s.
Stadium Rater (scale 1-10): 9
How Was The Game? (May 14, 2014)
An unclean sweep.
Tigers 7, Orioles 5
If you’re reading this and didn’t have some idea that I was in Baltimore for the series, now you know. As a result, it’s 11:30pm, some 7.5 hours after this one ended, and you’re just getting your brief, New English D style recap because I spent the last seven hours in a car traveling from the park to my house. Sorry if this isn’t very clever! Justin Verlander (9 GS, 60 IP, 3.15 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 1.6 fWAR) had a mostly good game and one pretty awful inning in which he allowed five runs – three of which came on a Nelson Cruz home run. Luckily for Justin, his offense had already assaulted Kevin Gausman’s fastball to the tune of 5 runs and then 2 on the bullpen for good measure, meaning that Verlander was able to walk away from this one without much of a problem. The bullpen made it close, but they ultimately held on, earning the Tigers a three game sweep as they head to Boston with a 24-12 record on the year. That series will kick off Friday with Max Scherzer (8 GS, 53 IP, 2.04 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) on the mound.
The Moment: Worth sort of squeezes and sort of bunts for a hit.
How Was The Game? (May 13, 2014)
Dramatic.
Tigers 4, Orioles 1
Drew Smyly (5 GS, 33.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 0.5 fWAR) didn’t have his best when this one started, allowing a solo home run to Adam Jones in the first and struggling through the next two, but when all was said and done, he had himself six, one run innings. Unfortunately, his offensive comrades had nothing on their side of the ledger. The Tigers had a chance in the 7th, but gave it away on a Torii Hunter TOOTBLAN and a GIDP by Martinez. Then the 9th inning came, and boy did it ever. Avila led off with a ground ball to beat the shift and then Davis ran and stole second on a very close play which needed a review (which was amazingly tense) to make sure he got to stay on the base. Kelly lined out, Kinsler went down, and it was up to Hunter. He worked a walk to extend the inning for Cabrera and then Cabrera did what Cabrera does, sending the baseball into the Orioles’ bullpen to put the Tigers on top. VMart added a no doubt bomb immediately after and the Tigers road a huge 9th inning to a series win. They’ll play with house money, as Rod likes to say, on Wednesday behind Justin Verlander (8 GS, 54 IP, 2.67 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 1.6 fWAR).
The Moment: Cabrera gives the Tigers the lead with a 9th inning blast.
How Was The Game? (May 12, 2014)
A return.
Tigers 4, Orioles 1
I made no secret of the fact that Monday’s game was my first in person rendezvous with the Tigers since 2012 due to “living nowhere near an MLB park” and it didn’t disappoint. Rick Porcello (7 GS, 44.2 IP, 3.22 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 1.1 fWAR) was quite good, allowing only a single run in six innings of work, and that run only scored because Rajai Davis took a creative route to the baseball. He didn’t mow through the O’s with strikeouts, but he got quick out after quick out, leaving after only 83 pitches (perhaps due to illness, it wasn’t clear?). The bats did what they needed to do, pushing across two in the fourth and then two more in the 8th on an Ian Kinsler bomb. Things got interesting after that homer, as Bud Norris drilled Torii Hunter. Hunter was upset, Norris got run, and the benches and bullpens emptied. Humorously, no one came close to blows, leaving everyone standing around pretty much just posing for the camera. There’s nothing funnier than bullpens clearing for no reason, and that’s what we had tonight. The bullpen would hold it and the Tigers grabbed game one. It’ll be Drew Smyly (4 GS, 27.1 IP, 2.96 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 0.4 fWAR) on the mound Tuesday looking to take the series.
The Moment: Kinsler launches one to left, sealing the game.
How Was The Game? (May 11, 2014)
An outfield only a mother could love.
Twins 4, Tigers 3
Robbie Ray (2 GS, 11 ⅓ IP, 0.79 ERA, 2.38 FIP, 0.4 fWAR) did his part. It looked like the offense did their part. The bullpen sort of did their part, even. The problem child on this Mothers Day was the defense in the outfield corners as Hunter and Davis both made crucial defensive mistakes in the late innings that opened the door to Twins’ runs. Cabrera drove in one with a sac fly, Jackson singled in a run, and Kinsler homered which gave Ray a 3-0 lead with which to work. Ray tossed six scoreless innings, but they were only moderately impressive and gave way to a bullpen that got into trouble in the 7th and 8th and allowed runs due to poor defense. They pushed back a little in the 8th, but could not rally, falling to the Twins in the game and the series. The team will head to Baltimore for three games (and so will I!) with Rick Porcello (6 GS, 38 ⅔ IP, 3.49 ERA, 3.16 FIP, 0.9 fWAR) taking the ball in game one. As a programming note, How Was The Game? will be late over the next three days because I’ll be at the ballpark and not in front of a computer all game!
The Moment: Kinsler homers in the 5th.
How Was The Game? (May 10, 2014)
A love letter to Leyland.
Tigers 9, Twins 3
The Tigers honored Jim Leyland on Saturday, so of course, they played a perfect Jim Leyland game. It opened with a Don Kelly home run robbery and continued with a a power heavy offensive assault that featured home runs from the two biggest bats in the lineup. Max Scherzer (8 GS, 53 IP, 2.04 ERA, 2.78 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) threw a bad pitch to Brian Dozier which ended up in the seats and kept him from going deep into the game, but he was otherwise able to keep the Twins at bay. They pushed across three runs in the second and then Cabrera launched a three run bomb which Martinez would match later on in the game. Al-Al and Joba threw scoreless innings in relief and then it was time for a #PhilCokeInning in which the only runner was erased on a fine 3-6-3 double play. The Tigers will go for the series win on Sunday with Robbie Ray (1 GS, 5.1 IP, 1.69 ERA, 1.77 FIP, 0.2 fWAR) taking the mound for his second career start.
The Moment: Don Kelly robs a home run in the first.
How Was The Game? (May 9, 2014)
A Hughes disappointment.
Twins 2, Tigers 1
Justin Verlander (8 GS, 54 IP, 2.67 ERA, 2.90 FIP, 1.6 fWAR) didn’t have a whole lot of trouble with the Twins on this night, unfortunately, just two runs across seven innings simply didn’t cut it. Verlander gave up a pair in his final inning, but was otherwise pretty comfortable out on the mound on Friday night as he struck out five and walked two. The problem was that the Tigers couldn’t get anything going against Phil Hughes who had them off balance all night. They scattered a few hits and stole a couple of bases, but they didn’t have any serious pressure on the Twins starter through seven innings. In the 9th they pushed across a run on a pair of doubles, but could not find the equalizer. The loss drops them to 20-11 as they prepare for Saturday’s game with Max Scherzer (7 GS, 47 IP, 1.72 ERA, 2.47 FIP, 1.5 fWAR) getting the ball.
The Moment: Castellanos makes an outstanding leaping grab.
One Quick Thing: Smyly’s High Pitch to Altuve
So listen. Smyly didn’t have his best day, but that’s okay. It wasn’t a bad day or anything. In times like these, we should take comfort in the parts of the game that are fun, even if the sum of their parts didn’t go our way. I’m obviously talking about Jose Altuve. Particularly, a pitch Smyly threw to him in the fifth inning.
Altuve is short. We get it, but one of the fun things we can see at Brooks Baseball is where Pitchf/x draws his strike zone. For Altuve, the top of the zone is 2.97 feet off the ground. Which is kind of amazing. That had my attention all week. Then, Smyly threw a really high pitch and it made me wonder if that was the highest pitch anyone has ever thrown to Altuve!
Here’s the pitch:
It’s 5.1 feet off the ground, according to Pitchf/x. Graphically:
Based on data available at Baseball Savanat, we can find 15 pitches in Altuve’s career that were higher. Several were intentional walk/pitchouts, which don’t count. The highest real one came on April 12, 2013. It was 5.985 feet off the ground! So Smyly didn’t break a record, but he was close. Enjoy:
New English D Audio Episode 6 (5-8-14)
After a few weeks off, New English D Audio is back on a regular schedule. Today, we talk with Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish, which is part of the SB Nation network. You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisCotillo. Chris and I talk about his role in some of the big offseason news, including breaking the Doug Fister trade. We also discuss Stephen Drew, the upcoming draft and deadline, and what he’s thinking about baseball’s first month.
You can stream or download the show here, or you can subscribe and download on iTunes. If you have any problems downloading or streaming, please comment or let me know on Twitter. If the show is too popular and overloads the server or if MLB tries to pull more podcasts, you will be able to download the episode at this link without any trouble.
How Was The Game? (May 8, 2014)
A small correction.
Astros 6, Tigers 2
After days and days of punishing their opponets, the Tigers finally dropped a game, their first in ten tries. Drew Smyly (4 GS, 27.1 IP, 2.96 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 0.4 fWAR) wasn’t bad, but he struck out two, walked three, and allowed three oruns in 5.1 innings and gave way to the bullpen too early. Reed allowed a run and Miller gave up two more before things were said and done, and the offense couldn’t put together a 7 run day. Castellanos drove in Jackson in the 2nd and Martinez went deep in the 4th, but Keuchel kept the Tigers off balance, sending them to the showers unhappy for the first time in what seemed like forever. The Tigers still took the series 3-1 and enter the weekend set 20-10 on the season. They’ll call on Justin Verlander (7 GS, 47 IP, 2.68 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 1.3 fWAR) to get things going against the Twins on Friday night.
The Moment: VMart stays hot, homering in the 4th.
New English D 