In two weeks baseball will fittingly open on Good Friday, April 5th. It's the one day out of the year a Orioles fan can expect to find a sold out crowd that isn't over compensated with Yankees and Red Sox fans. This year the Orioles do have something to celebrate. This season will mark the 20th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Camden Yards opened up the doors to the past and became the gold standard for new ballparks. George Will proclaimed the opening of the ballpark as one of the top 3 most important events in baseball history. As teams moved from multipurpose, tributes to concrete and plastic grass, they shared with the local NFL team, ballparks began to incorporate the old style with the modern luxuries. Anybody that goes to a new stadium built within the last 20 years can thank the Orioles for building a baseball fans dream.
Too bad the front office doesn't see it that way.
The Orioles are holding opening day tickets hostage from the general public. I understand in the past that they have done this and it is not uncommon. However, this season has taken a new twist. They are only allowing season ticket holders the chance to buy opening day tickets. This is the first time in my life I have the money to make an attempt to be some sort of a MLB season ticket holder. Recently I phoned the Orioles ticket office to inquire about buying the six pack of Orioles legends game tickets. The package costs roughly $420.00 for two tickets, which is more than a regular 13 game package. Each Saturday game the Orioles will honor Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Earl Weaver and of course Cal Ripken, Jr. with a statue unveiling. When I asked the ticket office if I would have the option of buying opening day seats as well the answer was no.
I was told only the fans who have been loyal to the team over the last 16 years will have access to opening day. How does the front office define loyalty? Guaranteed trails of money in the form of past and current season ticket holders.
Obviously money equals loyalty. What was I thinking to even question that? You can only be a loyal fan if you give the Orioles money up front. I recently purchased an overpriced, $40 New Era hat from the overpriced, and poorly stocked team shop. I was wearing that hat along with my $65 authentic sweatshirt with a $25 Adam Jones t-shirt underneath. Is that loyal enough? Maybe I should go back and buy one of the $20 Vladimir Guerrero or Derek Lee t-shirts they are still selling. Yeah, that would make me loyal. I'm helping them get rid of the overstock of a player that was traded midway through their first season and another that is still running off the field from his last at bat.
Maybe that won't be enough. I know what I'll do, I'll buy tickets day of the game so I can pay that $2 surcharge the O's charge for doing that. Because hey, sometimes you gotta find that empty row for yourself on a Wednesday night against the A's. While I'm at it I'll drop $30 on a sandwich and a few beers after I have paid for a marked up ticket to a Red Sox or Yankees game in September as their fans invade to watch their team clinch a playoff spot.
The answer to my ticket inquiry is not what made me raging mad. It was the reasoning behind the answer that lowered me closer to your average lifelong, disgruntled Orioles fan. Sure I could have said sign me up for a 13 game plan. It's cheaper and I have the money. But no, the principle of the matter outweighs that decision. The front office defines loyalty in the form of guaranteed money. I know they will eventually open up the tickets to the common folk and I will pounce then. However, the Orioles have lost something much more important. They have turned a delusional fan into an angry fan.
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