Sam Levin
Everyone loves going to Oriole Park at Camden Yards (OPACY) during the summer months to see our Orioles defend their territory and create fun memories with friends and family. Promotional giveaways at home games have become popular amongst fans and helps to bring people to “The Yard” especially during seasons when the team is struggling.
We’re already well into the 2018 season and a couple popular “giveaways” have already come and gone. However, starting this month through the very last day in September there will be many more.
Every Friday at Camden Yards, students of any age with a valid school ID can purchase discounted Left Field Upper Reserve Tickets for just $10. Groups of 15 students or more should purchase tickets in advance for the game they want to attend. On student nights, there’s also an on-field musical performance followed by fireworks.
July 9th, the giveaway was a free ticket to the second game of the double-header against the New York Yankees, one of our biggest rivals. On Saturday July 14th, the first 35,000 fans were given jerseys with the cursive “Orioles” in Maryland flag script on the front.
July 23rd, former Orioles players will sign autographs on Eutaw Street from 5:30-6:30 p.m. This also happens at every home game on a Monday or Thursday.
Have you ever wanted to bring your dog to Oriole Park with you? There are actually a couple of opportunities this season.
July 25th against the Boston Red Sox is the next chance to bring your furry friends to OPACY. The following night against the Tampa Bay Rays they’re giving away a t-shirt with a retro bird logo swinging a bat. Since that falls on a Thursday, the autograph session will take place too.
After catching up with Sophomore Jason Reese, he gave some insight after going to the June 30th game against the Angels.
“The best part of being at a game is being a part of this tradition that was started generations ago.” Reese continued, “Win or lose, I love our team and I enjoyed being at the game.”
Not only is going to the game a wonderful experience on its own, the promotional giveaways just give an extra incentive to get down to the ballpark especially when the team is having a bad year.
The giveaway when Jason Reese attended was the Birdland Hawaiian Shirt. Reese and 34,999 other fans got their hands on one of the more popular items given away each year.
“I’m thankful I got the shirt and will have the memory of today every time I look at it,” Reese exclaimed. “I can’t wait to go to another game, make some more memories, and see what other promotions they’re doing this season.”
There are so many more great things to look forward to in the coming weeks. For more information check out the website for the entire list of promotional giveaways and the remaining game day schedule for the O’s. https://www.mlb.com/orioles/tickets/promotions
Even though this was last season, I am looking forward to this baseball season! Can’t wait to attend games with my friends!
I like how the Orioles have promotional giveaways. In the MLB not many teams do giveaways, much less giveaways that are as high quality as the Orioles’ giveaways. I went to the game where they gave out the Maryland lettering jersey, and I can honestly say I was surprised by how nice it was. Typically, giveaways are items that are purchased in bulk. This means that they are cost effective, but, simultaneously, that they are cheaper quality. I was impressed that the Orioles spent a little more to give their fans nicer quality shirts. After all, major league sports revolve around money, so I can appreciate when teams temporarily disregard the monetary factor in order to appeal to the fans. I have also been to other promotional giveaway games, such as the Schoop and Mancini t-shirt days, and I am willing to admit that they were nowhere near as nice as the jersey. The material that the shirts were made out of was paper thin. The shirts were essentially transparent, and I was disappointed in the quality. I understand that at the end of the day teams still need a margin for profit, but I think the fan experience is valuable as well. After all, if no fans were in attendance, teams would not make nearly as much money. The fans are an important component of the MLB’s lucrativeness, so their happiness should be taken into consideration. I hope that this year’s giveaways do not disappoint. Go Orioles!
I know this was regarding the previous baseball season, But I have actually never been to a baseball game or event. I am super excited to see what events they are having this season as well as to hopefully attend my first game!