What summer is all about

So last night I went down to Baltimore to see the Orioles play the Yankees with two friends. Walking into the Eutaw Street entrance, and even just walking down Pratt Street reminded me that I hadn't been to a game down there in quite some time. I didn't make it to Camden Yards at all last season. In fact, I don't think I made it to a single baseball game last season.

It was good to be back though. I love watching the Yankees in Baltimore. The attendance is pretty respectful for an O's game and half the fans are Yankees fans. I heard more "Let's go Yankees!" chants than crowd-inflicted Orioles chants. (It doesn't count when the public address horn gets 'em going.)

We paid for cheap seats and proceeded to sit behind the rightfield foul pole -- just outside of fair territory -- in front of some New Yorkers. It was great talking to them. Hearing that accent really brought me back to my college days on Long Island, and more sentimentally to some of my family that is from and some of which still reside in Brooklyn, NY.

We talked about sports and got to know each other a little. It was neat to have three people from a town of not more than 10,000 talk with guys from a city of more than 8 million. But we got along, shared some common ground and enjoyed nine innings of pure summer ecstasy as the sun set on Baltimore, Md.

Boog's Barbecue -- the only food I'll eat at Oriole Park -- hasn't changed a bit and is still as delectable as ever. I captured on my phone the baseball plaque commemorating Ken Griffey Jr.'s home run that hit the warehouse on the fly, the only home run ball ever to do so. It was the 1993 All Star Home Run Derby, and I've seen the thing on the wall there plenty of times, but I guess in light of The Kid's retirement it just felt appropriate to snap it for my phone.

I've seen Griffey play at Camden Yards, a playoff game back in 1997. It was exciting to say the least. That was the year the Orioles lost to the Indians in the ALCS. The Marlins eventually won the World Series. It snowed in Cleveland during one of the games.

I realize I'm rambling about senseless nostalgia at this point, so I'll tell a story about the game last night. One of my friends I was with had on a cheap, rubber bracelet that was shaped like a crown when she took it off. One of the guys behind us was wearing an O's hat, one of the freshly new, flat brim fitted caps. The really nice ones. He wanted the bracelet and she wanted the hat, so early in the game they bet each other. If the O's won she got the hat, if the Yankees won he got the bracelet.

Final score: 4-3, Orioles.

She couldn't believe he actually let her keep the hat, but he did. As we passed the standing room area and walked onto Eutaw Street, I heard one of the ushers say, "Major league debut against one of the best hitting lineups in baseball and he won." He was referring to Baltimore's Jake Arrieta, who did in fact make his major league debut and beat the Yankees. Rodriguez left the game with a groin injury before he even got a chance to bat though. I know, excuses, excuses. But a one-run game, you're telling me A-Rod wouldn't have made a difference?

I gotta say though, it really just felt great to be there.