During a trip to Baltimore in the summer of 2009 I went to Ripken Stadium the home of the Aberdeen Ironbirds who are the short season A ball affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and play in the NY-Penn League
Ripken Stadium is about a 40 minute drive or 32 miles northeast of Baltimore along Interstate 95. The back of the stadiums scoreboard can be seen on the southbound side of I-95
The stadiums first game was played in June of 2002 and seats about 6,300 fans. Aberdeen has been the Orioles affiliate since the day the stadium was built. The stadium and the team are owned and operated by Cal Ripken. Ripken purchased the Utica Bluesox and moved them to Aberdeen in 2002.
In addition to Ripken Stadium on the grounds are 7 other fields. The biggest being Cal Sr. Yard. Named after Cal's father, Cal Sr.
Cal Sr. Yard is modeled after Camden Yards and even has a hotel beyond the right field fence that was modeled like the warehouse that is beyond the right field fence at Camden.
Ripken Stadium is about a 40 minute drive or 32 miles northeast of Baltimore along Interstate 95. The back of the stadiums scoreboard can be seen on the southbound side of I-95
The stadiums first game was played in June of 2002 and seats about 6,300 fans. Aberdeen has been the Orioles affiliate since the day the stadium was built. The stadium and the team are owned and operated by Cal Ripken. Ripken purchased the Utica Bluesox and moved them to Aberdeen in 2002.
In addition to Ripken Stadium on the grounds are 7 other fields. The biggest being Cal Sr. Yard. Named after Cal's father, Cal Sr.
Cal Sr. Yard is modeled after Camden Yards and even has a hotel beyond the right field fence that was modeled like the warehouse that is beyond the right field fence at Camden.
The day was there a little league tournament was being played.
Ripken Stadium Stadium is similar to most minor league parks in the NY-Penn League. The only thing I didn't like was you can not walk completely around the stadium.
Another thing about the stadium I liked was the menu a wide variety of seafood. Similar to the menu that is offered at Camden Yards and at Purdue Stadium in Delmarva which is the mid level A ball affiliate of the Orioles.
View of the Crab Shak from my seat
In the distance is the hotel I mentioned earlier that is modeled after the warehouse in Baltimore
John Maine had been drafted by the Orioles in 2002 and traded to the Mets during the offseason in 2005.
The Ironbirds played the Tri-City Valley Cats who were and still affiliated with the Astros/
I did graph this game. But, out of the 38 autographs I got that day. Only 1 of the players on the Ironbirds on the ever played in the majors. Blake Davis who played in 11 games in 2011 with the Orioles.
On the Tri-City team, J.D. Martinez, Jake Goebbert, Jorge DeLeon, Jose Altuve and Dallas Keuchel. I did not get Keuchel and Altuve.
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