10 most memorable moments in Camden Yards history
Picking the top 10 isn't easy — there are probably 25, maybe 50 moments that could have made the list, and full games were not taken into consideration. (We'll have a list of the 10 most memorable games in the stadium's history Tuesday.)
But when you close your eyes and try to visualize Camden Yards, these are the 10 that stick out most, with one honorable mention added for good measure.
— Dan Connolly
Honorable mention: Matt Wieters' first at-bat, May 29, 2009
The at-bat itself wasn't much. The rookie catcher flied out to right in the second inning against the Detroit Tigers. It turned into a double play when Melvin Mora attempted to tag from second. But what was memorable about this was the hype that was created. Wieters, perhaps the most heralded prospect in club history, created so much buzz on his debut that approximately 10,000 people bought tickets after it was announced he would be playing that Friday. In fact, the announcement was made by club president Andy MacPhail during a MASN telecast days earlier. When Wieters stepped to the plate in the second inning, the ovation was deafening. He went hitless in the game.
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Comments (8)
Add / View comments | Discussion FAQMissing is Mussina's near no hitter against the Indians that he took into the ninth and lasted until Sandy Alomar singled with one out. Way better than a snow squall or a hitless first at bat.
When you look at this list, there are two truely great moments, Eddie Murray's 500th homer and of course Cal's 2131 streak.
What else do we have? A snow squall, rookie substitution, player returning from suspension, pitcher hit in the face, a brawl, pitcher snub, batting practice home run, and honorable mention, a rookie's first meaningless AB.
The only game moment that had any affect competitively was the Orioles spoiling the Red Sox's playoff run last year. That's it and that was really about the Red Sox and not the O's.
So what can one conclude? That the great competitive moments were non-existent. Me thinks that the Ravens M&T memories list would be quite different. Even the worst Ravens memories (i.e. Lee Evans non-catch) were of great competitive importance. In fact, you could create a Top 10 Most Disappointing Ravens M&T Moments list that would far exceed everything the O's have done in the last 15 years.
Go O's!!!
In the last 20 years the O's have pursued a marketing philosophy aimed at putting butts in seats by celebrating individual accomplishments instead of team success. Ripken's record, Murray's 500th home run.... Palmero.... Sosa... Mussina... in each case the club built campaigns around watching a "star" reach a "milestone". Now we are asked to celebrate the anniversary of a building which was a "milestone" in stadium design.
The Fans don't care anymore. We want to see good baseball... a team game. Individual accomplishments may have filled the seats for a while, but in the end they just don't matter. Winnig does.
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