Baltimore Blog – part 9

Lucky number 8!

After putzing around the convention, we headed back to the waterfront for some lunch. We’re in Baltimore – home of crab cakes and seafood … so I ate a huge slice of pizza and Jonathan got Subway.

We had 1pm Camden Yards tour tickets (I should’ve tried to sneak in!). It was Jonathan (Cardinal’s fan), me (Cubs’ fan) and 23 Boston Red Sox fans. And our poor tour guide – the only Baltimore Orioles fan on a Baltimore Orioles ballpark tour.

We saw the dugout (we got to sit in it - AWESOME!), the press box and the announcer’s area, the luxury boxes (which we had already seen at the game) and a party box that you can rent out.

As we were in a luxury box, Terry Fancona (Red Sox manager) was hitting some balls to some players. It was a casual batting practice 5 hours before the game. All 23 Red Sox fans started yelling, “HEY TERRY, HIT IT UP HERE!!!”

To my surprise, Terry Fancona actually acknowledged their cries, and started swinging right in our direction. Unfortunatly, it’s nearly impossible to hit a ball in the luxury box. He came close twice – the balls went in the section below the luxury box.

Our tour guide went to go find the balls. He came back with 1. Now was the hard part – which one of us would get the ball. There are 23 hungry Red Sox fans foaming at the mouth! One girl whipped out her driver’s license to prove it was her birthday, but the tour guide ignored it. He decided to write a number on the ball, and the first person to guess it would win.

Luckily he started asking numbers near me. Some bonehead in front of me picked #20. WRONG. I was next!!!! Now, any baseball fan who grew up in the 80’s, and is in Orioles territory knows what number to pick. This is Cal Ripken country baby!

I proudly guessed, “8?!?!?”, and he handed me the ball. SCORE!!! I think I even let out an embarrassing victory “yipee!”, and hid my ball in my purse.

I am now the owner of 2 Major League Baseballs!!! And I didn’t have to go thru any bodily harm to get this one. (the 1st ball hit me on 1 knee, and bounced over to my other knee).

Up next – This is the longest trip report ever!!!