Another year, another Orioles season, but not everything will be the same when Baltimore fans head to Camden Yards on Friday afternoon.
Oriole Park has new food, new rules and new attractions for a 2023 season that has high expectations for an organization that has declared an end to its rebuild.
On the field, the Orioles are back home after going 3-3 in their first two series to open the campaign. Baltimore will host the defending American League East champion New York Yankees for a three-game series this weekend. The home opener was originally scheduled for Thursday, but the team pushed it back to Friday because of potential inclement weather.
Here’s everything fans need to know.
Festivities
Gates at the ballpark will open at noon, about three hours before first pitch at 3:05 p.m. The opening day giveaway for fans is an Orioles 2023 schedule magnet.
The pregame festivities will begin at 2:30 p.m. for a ceremony emceed by Mid-Atlantic Sports Network broadcaster Kevin Brown.
Parijita Bastola, a Severna Park native who starred on season 22 of NBC’s “The Voice,” will sing the national anthem. Bastola also sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s inauguration in January. Members of the Baltimore City Police and Fire Department honor guards will present the colors.
Moore and his children, Mia and James, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Mia and James will then yell “play ball” before first pitch.
Merrill Heim — the “Fired Up Guy” — will be recognized as the Mo Gaba Fan of the Year from the 2022 season. Geoff Meehle, a health and physical education coordinator for Baltimore City Public Schools, will be honored as the Birdland Community Hero.
Before the on-field festivities, the Budweiser Clydesdales will trot from Lee Street to Eutaw Street beginning at 11:30 a.m.
New bag rules
Bringing food, beverages and other items into the park will be easier this season than in the previous few years.
Orioles fans can bring bags inside Camden Yards as the club has reversed its pandemic-era policy that banned anything larger than one-gallon-sized bags.
However, the new rules aren’t a return to the pre-pandemic days. Backpacks aren’t allowed, and the bags that are allowed must be clear and no larger than 12-by-6-by-12 inches. The policy is similar to other sports teams, including the Ravens.
Fanny packs and clutches no larger than 5-by-7 inches and medically necessary items, such as diaper bags, are also allowed.
New food
Fans who will eat in the park rather than bring in their own food will experience Oriole Park’s new concessions operator.
This offseason, the Orioles replaced Delaware North, which partnered with the team since 2010, with Levy to manage concessions at Camden Yards. Levy, a Chicago-based hospitality company, is also the concessions operator at Nationals Park, FedEx Field and Audi Field in the Washington region.
Some of the park’s most popular vendors, like Boog’s Barbeque and Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, will continue to operate under Levy.
In late March, the Orioles showcased some of the new food offerings at Camden Yards this season, including crab chips, a three-foot hot dog topped with crab dip and a crab pretzel boule.
Ballpark changes
One fan-favorite eatery at Oriole Park, though, is no longer there.
Dempsey’s Brew Pub on Eutaw Street has been replaced by SuperBook Bar & Restaurant. SuperBook Sports, a Las Vegas-based sportsbook, will operate a sports lounge at Oriole Park, but the venue is not a retail sportsbook. Opening day will be the restaurant’s debut.
Also on Eutaw Street, the Orioles’ team store was renovated this offseason.
The 2023 season will be the Orioles’ 31st at Camden Yards, and if the grass and dirt look extra shiny, it’s not your eyes playing tricks on you. The Orioles put in new sod and replenished five inches of dirt, including 105,000 square feet of Kentucky bluegrass and 1,500 tons of sand.
The center field scoreboard will also look different. “The Sun” sign was taken down from atop the scoreboard this offseason to open the space up for sponsorship opportunities. Lower on the scoreboard, a new SuperBook Sports advertisement has been added with the gambling slogan: “Good teams win, great teams cover.”
MLB rule changes
Baseball was once the sport without time restrictions. Not anymore.
The 2023 season has ushered in several new rules for players, coaches and fans to get accustomed to, including a pitch clock, larger bases and limits to defensive shifting.
The change with the most noticeable impact on the game is the pitch clock. Pitchers will have 15 seconds with no runners on and 20 seconds with a base runner to deliver a pitch. Batters must be in the box and ready to hit with eight seconds remaining, and they can call timeout once per plate appearance. If a pitcher fails to deliver a pitch in time, an automatic ball will be called. If a batter isn’t ready in time, the umpire will call an automatic strike.
The new rules have cut nearly 30 minutes off game times so far this season. The length of MLB games have grown in recent decades — from an average of 2:30 in the 1970s to 3:06 last season. Through the first week of the 2023 campaign, the average game has been 2:37 — the first season under three hours since 2011 and the lowest so far since 1979.
The infield shift has also been curtailed this season. The popular practice — one that began a century ago but became common practice in the 2010s — has been blamed for the decline in batting averages, as defenses were able to place multiple infielders on one side of second base to stymie a hitter’s chances of reaching base. Those aggressive alignments have been banned, though, as the new shifting rules state that all four infielders must have both feet in the infield and two infielders on each side of second base.
The bases are also bigger — up from 15-by-15 inches to 18-by-18 inches — in an effort to improve player safety and encourage stolen-base attempts. Pitchers are also limited in how many times they can step off the rubber to call timeout or pick off to a base, which is another rule change that could increase stolen bases. The Orioles lead the majors in stolen bases with 11. They swiped 10 bags in their first two games against the Boston Red Sox for the most by any team in its first two games of a season since at least 1901.
The on-field product
The changes to Oriole Park will offer new flavor for fans, but the on-field product could offer just as much excitement.
After an 83-win season in which the Orioles were one of the biggest surprises in MLB, the hype for the 2023 campaign is higher than it’s been since the rebuild began in 2019.
Right-hander Dean Kremer will start on the mound for the Orioles, hoping to get back on track after allowing five runs in three innings to open his season against the Red Sox last week.
The Orioles are coming off a series win over the Texas Rangers earlier this week. After their pitching and defense struggled in the opening series against Boston, Baltimore bounced back to win its first two games against the Rangers.
While much of the 26-man roster from last year is back, newcomers such as starting pitcher Kyle Gibson and second baseman Adam Frazier will experience their first Camden Yards opening day as Orioles. Former top prospect Gunnar Henderson and Orioles top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez are now in the big leagues, as well.
Center fielder Cedric Mullins, catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, shortstop Jorge Mateo and outfielders Austin Hays and Anthony Santander are back to lead the Orioles’ lineup. And, if all goes well for the first eight innings Friday, closer Félix Bautista could get the call to shut the door in the ninth.
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