Camden Yards is the home of the Baltimore Orioles of the American League.
I have always thought that the Chicago White Sox must hate Camden Yards. In 1991, the White Sox opened new Comiskey Park. It's a great big ballpark in keeping with the 1970's stadium style of "bigger is better". Then, just one year later, the Orioles opened Oriole Park at Camden Yards and it was hailed as the most beautiful ballpark built in the latter half of the century. The success of the ballpark, the tourism it created, and the downtown revitalization it triggered are legendary. Not to mention the renaissance in ballpark design which has swept across the country and can be found in beaufitul structures in Cleveland, Texas, Denver, and so on.
And then there are the White Sox, already second fiddle in Chicago to the Cubs, stuck with an awful stadium that is too new to replace, missing the boat by one year. It must burn them up.
Whoever had the idea to return the art of the ballpark to an urban, intimate, character-driven design, should be inducted into Cooperstown. Camden Yards sits just a few blocks from Baltimore's Inner Harbor, walking distance from restaurants and shops. It's actually a little drab on the outside, but inside it is a sight to behold. The Baltimore skyline is seen beyond centerfield and right is dominated by the B&O warehouse building, which has become the defining feature of Camden. The unusual outfield dimensions, the great stepped bullpens, the barbeque pits beyond right-center, all add to a great atmosphere. The park feels like part of the city, part of the community, rather than a destination distinct and seperate.
The seating is great as well. We sat in the second to last row of the upper deck and felt like we were right on top of the action.
This is simply a great baseball stadium and the one that began the rebirth of the ballpark in North America. Now everybody wants one. Any why shouldn't they? This is baseball as it should be.
