Longtime Orioles usher Charlie Zill, battling lung cancer, honored at first-pitch ceremony, 7th-inning stretch

Apr 18, 2013

Longtime Orioles usher Charlie Zill, battling lung cancer, honored at first-pitch ceremony, 7th-inning stretch

Steve Earley 1 Comment Maryland, Sports, The Baltimore Sun 7th inning stretch, Baltimore Orioles, baseball, cancer, charlie zill, health, MLB, Oriole Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Orioles

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Battling lung cancer, Charlie Zill, the longtime Orioles usher celebrated by fans for dressing up in overalls and “Zillbilly” teeth and twirling a fake orange fiddle during the 7th-inning-stretch playing of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” just wanted to attend one more game. Wednesday night, he got that and more, throwing out the ceremonial pitch prior to the Orioles’ contest with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Apr 5, 2013

Time lapse: Opening Day at Oriole Park

Jon Sham 1 Comment Sports, The Baltimore Sun, Video Buck Showalter, Camden Yards, Opening Day, orange, Oriole Park, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Orioles, Orioles Opening Day, sea of orange, time-lapse

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This time lapse of Opening Day at Oriole Park was shot over the course of five hours – starting at 10 a.m. outside the stadium and ending right before the game began.

Sep 28, 2012

Oriole Park: Field of Dreams

Gene Sweeney Jr. 1 Comment Sports, The Baltimore Sun Camden Yards, groundskeepers, Oriole Park, Orioles

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As James Earl Jones stated in the movie “Field of Dreams;” “The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.”

2012: Reliving the tradition of Opening Day for the Orioles

Mar 31, 2012

2012: Reliving the tradition of Opening Day for the Orioles

The Baltimore Sun 0 Comment Sports, The Baltimore Sun baseball, Camden Yards, Opening Day, Oriole Park, Orioles

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While the official start of spring in the United States comes in late March every year, baseball fans nationwide mark the beginning of the season at a different time — Opening Day.

And, for Orioles fans, hope springs eternal for that one special day every year.

Although the average attendance for a game at Camden Yards has barely surpassed 21,000 in each of the past two seasons — less than half the ballpark’s capacity — Orioles fans continue to show up for the Opening Day festivities.

Fans pack bars and restaurants from the Inner Harbor to Camden Yards before making the trek into the stadium for the game. That’s if they go to the game at all.

Some people travel into the city for the social aspect of Opening Day, without actually having a ticket into Camden Yards. Some businesses around the Baltimore area close early — or for the entire day — so employees can partake in the partying. To them, it’s more than just the start of another baseball season.

It’s an opportunity to celebrate one of the city’s great traditions.

No matter how dismal the prediction for the Orioles in 2012 — another last-place finish is projected by most analysts — Camden Yards will be filled to near-capacity and fans will be optimistic for a victory.

Once again this year, for Orioles fans, hope springs eternal for that one special day.