The Explosion and Annoyance of Yankee and Red Sox fans at Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Well, this next post is concerns a long standing issue that angers many Oriole fans throughout the Mid Atlantic region.

It concerns our great friend and sometime troublemakers to the north – our dear Yankees and Red Sox fans. In attending some of the Boston and New York games here the past year, I have gotten friendly a few of the fans and chatted with them about why a lot of them would travel to Baltimore.

All in all, a good portion of those fans are well-behaved, somewhat respectful of Camden Yards and the history of the Baltimore Orioles. However, a small minority of the Red Sox and Yankees fan do engage in some boorish and disgusting behavior. At least for me, with some of my friends being Yankee and Red Sox fans, inviting them to a game at Camden Yards does allow for some bantering and good natured ribbing.

Why have they taken over? I have 3 main reasons.

The first reason is simply supply and demand, accessibility along with economics. Well, I went to school in NYC and would venture up to Boston once a year in the 1990's, and I will tell you right now, it was nothing in terms of fan support for either team as it is now. I remember the Yankees drawing 25-30K per game in 96' and the stadium being half empty! Simply, because tickets rare readily available through Orioles.com or Ebay, anyone at anytime can get tickets rather easily. A lot of the fans who come down to Baltimore either cannot get up close to their favorite ballplayers, or tickets are very scarce & in the case of the Red Sox, impossible to get without spending your mortgage.

These days in that part the country of, unless you make a good living, or have grandfathered yourself into the season ticket base for both teams, the average family cannot afford to see their team, so they come here. In New York City and New England, tickets are also hard to find for those teams, so it makes more sense to come here to Baltimore for a lot less money.The second reason is the recently fan and media explosion of both teams. The fanaticism in Boston and New York now was nothing like it was in the mid-90s'. Both teams are now in a peak period, where fan interest is strong, the two teams have ridiculous media coverage, a lot of cash, hyped up 24-a-day RSN's, Sports Talk Radio which seems to cover their teams like the White House Corps cover President Bush, charismatic players, a lot of bandwagon fans, and the feeling you of needing to be "in" to be a fan and you have the main reasons why the Yankee and Red Sox fan bases are so fanatical.

Compare the coverage of the Orioles on MASN in comparison to NESN or YES. You’ll see the difference. Try to find a baseball report on the Orioles during the winter here, but, however, reports are available on the Red Sox and Yankees – almost several times a day!

The third reason is our fellow Oriole Fans, access and our ticket affordability. As well, a lot of season ticket holders and fans sell their tickets via EBay and Stub Hub for a profit, so that's another reason for the proliferation of Yankee and Red Sox fans to Baltimore.

Furthermore, especially for die-hard Yankee fans, they have to ability to see their players up close during the game and batting practice, snap pictures, get autographs, and come to one of the crown jewels in baseball. You also have a lot of the businesses and hotels that cater and wait for those fans to show up so they can make a buck. As well, add to that the generous ticket prices we offer here, you have the reason for the takeover for each Red Sox/Yankee series.

Now where does that leave those who bleed for the Black and Orange? Well, simply it is a reflection of the state of this team. Not to put all the onus on Angelos, but he's captain of the ship, and no matter what, he needs to realize the impact that these fans have on us. Oriole fans no doubt care for their team, but why spend your hard earned money if the entity you give to doesn't put out a competitive product.

Combine the lack of a product now, and the Orioles fine history until 1998 and the lack of anything to remember for the past decade, we have the seeds for fan apathy.

Simply put, not to beat a dead horse, we need to get better, spend the cash, rebuild the farm system and get the players to play for pride and to win, not for the paycheck. If not, for the Yankee and Red Sox attendance, we'd be in the position of the Pittsburgh Pirates. There's too much history and too much to be proud of for the amount of fan apathy -- but, everything starts at the top, and since they are collecting our money, they need to do their part.

Fans will come back and support a superior product. We don't have that right now. It's up to Mr. Angelos and his Front Office to do whatever they can to make this team competitive again. It's embarrassing and demoralizing to see the visiting fans outnumber you 50-50, 60-40 or 70-30...

Smart investments, restoring the pride of what the Orioles once were, caring about the fans and their welfare can create a Renaissance like is being seen in Detroit.