Orioles players and sportscasters complain about the lack of fans at Camden Yards but don't seem to realize the underlying reasons ("Declining crowds at Camden Yards concern Orioles, fans and businesses" Sept. 21).
They believe that when the Orioles have a winning team fans should regularly fill the stadium to show their support. They also tout the team's regular fan-appreciation-day giveaways to encourage attendance.
But many fans simply cannot afford the team's high ticket prices on a regular basis. In addition, ticket vendors buy up seats and charge additional service fees on top of the ticket price to email the tickets.
I tried to buy what previously were called reserve seats in section 23 (not even the lower box seats) on the orioles.com website for $59 on a fan appreciation night that had a giveaway of Oriole hoodie zippered sweat shirts.
But tickets for section 23 on that website were sold out, as were all the other good seats. However, I was able to get seats in the section from a ticket vendor for $72.50 after the add-on fees. I can tell you that I will not be attending too many games at either the original or the ticket vendor's increased prices.
To add insult to injury, even though I got to the game an hour ahead of time, the two people in line ahead of me got the last two hoodies in the entire stadium.
This made me feel very unappreciated and cheated, not to mention angry. I had paid a premium for a ticket and didn't even get the giveaway.
It is my understanding that the giveaway was to the first 25,000 fans, which means the remaining 15,000 fans that attended that game did not get the hoodie giveaway.
I spoke with a number of who didn't get one and they felt the same way I did: unappreciated, cheated and angry. They believed, as I do, that they should not have had to rush to the stadium early to claim the giveaway just so that they could beat other fans from getting one.
If the Orioles truly want more fans at the stadium at every game they should consider lowering all ticket prices for all games; restricting vendors from buying up seats and charging excessive fees; and making sure all the fans who should receive a giveaway get one.
I am looking forward to seeing what improvements the Orioles are willing to make if they truly want more fans to attend their games.
Larry Scheinin, Baltimore