BALTIMORE - Oriole Park @ Camden Yards (48,876)

[rockin'.baltimorean]

MLB

Baltimore Orioles

3x Champion:
1966, 1970, 1983

7x A.L. East Pennant Winners:
1944, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1983

[vernon]

Ahhh... the original "retro" stadium. This stadium deserves a winning team.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

well, we're 45-48 @ the all-star break, and actually that's an improvement from the past years.....lol.

[vernon]

It's unfair to be in the same division with the Yankees and Red Sox. The MLB needs to get a salary cap ASAP. Look what parity has done for the NFL.

[nyrmetros]

The place draws well when NY is in town. weird.

[en1044]

Originally Posted by nyrmetros

The place draws well when NY is in town. weird.

it draws better when Boston is in town

[Benn]

Originally Posted by vernon

It's unfair to be in the same division with the Yankees and Red Sox. The MLB needs to get a salary cap ASAP. Look what parity has done for the NFL.

Or you could do it like the small market teams with good farm teams, look at what the Twins have done with a very small payroll, last I heard the Yankees were looking up at them, not to mention looking up at the Rays, who's entire payroll is like the same as Arod's contract.

[en1044]

Originally Posted by Benn

Or you could do it like the small market teams with good farm teams, look at what the Twins have done with a very small payroll, last I heard the Yankees were looking up at them, not to mention looking up at the Rays, who's entire payroll is like the same as Arod's contract.

Yeah but the Rays got lucky. I know that they are a legit team but the way they got their players is not the road most want to take. Finishing last every year is an easy way to get good players

[vernon]

Originally Posted by Benn

Or you could do it like the small market teams with good farm teams, look at what the Twins have done with a very small payroll, last I heard the Yankees were looking up at them, not to mention looking up at the Rays, who's entire payroll is like the same as Arod's contract.

But small market teams rarely win it all (the Marlins seem the rare exception). I know what its like to be a fan of a small market team as I am a Rangers fan. In the NFL, small market teams have a much better chance to be successful (just look at the Colts, Jags, and the Rams and Panthers from a few years back).

[Scba]

Shame that the new hotel is completely butchering the view.

[MRichR]

Originally Posted by vernon

But small market teams rarely win it all (the Marlins seem the rare exception). I know what its like to be a fan of a small market team as I am a Rangers fan. In the NFL, small market teams have a much better chance to be successful (just look at the Colts, Jags, and the Rams and Panthers from a few years back).

It's not the size of the market, it's the commitment of ownership. You mention the St. Louis Rams as an example of a small market NFL team that's had success...but seem to overlook the fact that one of the most successful franchises this decade in all of baseball, and THE most successful in the National League, is the St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, in 2006, neither team in the World Series (Cardinals and Detroit Tigers) were in the top ten in terms of money spent on team payroll.

[vernon]

Originally Posted by MRichR

It's not the size of the market, it's the commitment of ownership. You mention the St. Louis Rams as an example of a small market NFL team that's had success...but seem to overlook the fact that one of the most successful franchises this decade in all of baseball, and THE most successful in the National League, is the St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, in 2006, neither team in the World Series (Cardinals and Detroit Tigers) were in the top ten in terms of money spent on team payroll.

Small market is also another codename for the size of the fanbase. The Rams have never had a big fan base, while the Cardinals have. In DFW it is just the opposite. The Cowboys have and the Rangers haven't. Basically it is harder to turn around your fortunes in the MLB.

[MRichR]

Originally Posted by vernon

Small market is also another codename for the size of the fanbase. The Rams have never had a big fan base, while the Cardinals have. In DFW it is just the opposite. The Cowboys have and the Rangers haven't. Basically it is harder to turn around your fortunes in the MLB.

The Rockies, Astros, White Sox, Diamondbacks, and Marlins all have average or below average fan bases, and they've all found themsleves in the World Series in the past few years. Meanwhile, teams with extremely large fanbases like the Dodgers, Phillies, and especially the Cubs, haven't won a penant in decades. Baseball is a different animal than all other pro sports. It's not just the one team, it's an entire organization of the major league team and its minor league system. A team builds itself through its minor league system and its success depends on the owner and organization of scouts and coaches. You can look at the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cardinals the past ten years, and the Braves in the 90's (another small fan base) but realize that their success came through using their entire organization properly and building up their minor league system to the point where it produced all stars, either directly or using their top prospects for trade bait. The Cardinals fan base was just as big in the early 90's, but they sucked. They changed ownership in '96, overhauled the organization, and suddenly they're contending every year with a limited payroll.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Originally Posted by vernon

It's unfair to be in the same division with the Yankees and Red Sox. The MLB needs to get a salary cap ASAP. Look what parity has done for the NFL.

the way the devil rays (umm, excuse me....rays) are playin', it's unfair being in the division with them also.......lol.

[rockin'.baltimorean]

Originally Posted by Scba

Shame that the new hotel is completely butchering the view.

truly....lol.

[bing222]

One of the most amazing stadium in the Major League Baseball

[MDguy]

Man i love camden yards. Great times
although i hate the ugly airport like bland hotel that went up across the street. Cant see the Bromo-Seltzer Tower anymore

[rockin'.baltimorean]

yeah, i agree. it's not the best of looks, but it could be alot worse....

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Been watching the Wire and it portrays Baltimore in a pretty bad light (though good programme) so was playing around on Google Earth, I couldnt believe how derelict some parts of West Baltimore were, huge streets of Brownstones lying completely empty. Has Baltimore's economy suffered recently? I didnt really expect such dereliction from an east coast, also the murder rate was something like 1/4 of what it is in the UK despite there being what 600k people in Baltimore and 60,000,000 in the UK. What's the reason for such deprivation and stuff, I wouldve thought being located on the East coast between Washington, Phili and NYC that it would be a really rich city.

Not trying to offend any Baltimore residents though, just curious, it looks a really fascinating city, would love to visit sometime.

[Scba]

Every city has their ups (Harbor) and downs (East and West slums). Everyone knows that Baltimore has some nasty parts and high crime, city and state leaders just haven't stepped up correctly yet.