Baltimore Orioles Baseball
The St. Louis Browns were moved to Baltimore in 1953. The team was logically named the Orioles since the old National League and other organized league teams in Baltimore had been called the Orioles, in honor of the state bird.
In 1982, rookie Cal Ripken Jr. made his presence known early on, going 3-5 with a homer on Opening Day. He ended up winning two MVP awards while playing for the Baltimore Orioles. He also played his entire career with the Orioles and retired in 2001.
The final season for Orioles baseball on 33rd Street in 1991 proved to be Cal Ripkin Jr.’s year. He hit .323 with 210 hits including 34 HR, 144 RBI, 368 total bases, and only 46 strikeouts. He won the MVP, All-Star MVP, Major League Player of the Year, and even won the All-Star Home Run contest for good measure hitting 12 bombs in 22 swings.
In 1996, the Baltimore Orioles captured the American League Wild Card spot. They ended up beating Cleveland, but fell short to the Yankees. The following year, the Orioles had fabulous team including Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar and B.J. Surhoff. The Orioles offense fell silent during the division series and they fell to the Indians they had beaten the previous year.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards became the official home of the Orioles on April 6, 1992. Construction on an 85-acre site began in June 1989, took 33 months and cost $110 million. The one-time railroad center is 12 minutes west by foot from the City's Inner Harbor and only 2 blocks from the birthplace of baseball's most legendary hero, George Herman "Babe" Ruth.
Oriole Park has steel, rather than concrete trusses, an arched brick facade, a sun roof over the gentle slope of the upper deck, an asymmetrical playing field, and natural grass turf are just some of the features that tie it to those magnificent big league ballparks built in the early 1900's. Each aisle seat in the park features an 1890s Orioles logo.
A red seat in left field (Section 86, Row FF, Seat 10) marks the spot where Cal Ripken hit home run number 278 in 1993, breaking Ernie Banks' record for most home runs hit by a shortstop. Ripken hit the seat again in 1995 while playing in consecutive game number 2130, which tied Lou Gherig's record. An orange seat in the bleachers (Section 96, Row D, Seat 23) marks the spot where Eddie Murray hit home run number 500 on September 6, 1996.