SARASOTA — The ushers wore orange shirts, orange balloons floated above the seats, and everyone who entered Ed Smith Stadium on Saturday afternoon was offered black-and-orange Baltimore Orioles caps and pennants.
But the moment the ballpark truly became the spring training home of the Orioles occurred as Holly and Trina Rizzo sang the national anthem.
When the Bradenton sisters reached the line: “O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,” the Orioles fans who flocked to the stadium yelled, “O!”
“We were a little surprised,” Trina said.
Get used to it, folks.
The tradition at all Orioles home games at Camden Yards in Baltimore will join the team in Florida this spring.
As Orioles broadcaster and Sarasota resident Gary Thorne told the crowd of 2,500 strong moments earlier at the team’s Family FanFest, “The Orioles are welcoming you to Birdland.”
Baltimore will move its spring training digs from Fort Lauderdale to Sarasota this February, occupying the facility vacated with the Cincinnati Reds’ move to Goodyear, Ariz. The stadium will undergo a renovation once the Orioles break camp in early April.
Not that the current Orioles will be disappointed with the facility as it stands now.
“If the facility isn’t the greatest, you just make do, but getting a facility like this is a step up for us,” Orioles pitcher Brad Bergesen said.
Left fielder Nolan Reimold was impressed with Ed Smith Stadium when he attended spring training games while playing in college baseball tournaments at IMG Academies during his days at Bowling Green University.
“I never figured this would be our place to play,” he said. “There are a lot of positive things to moving here.”
Then Reimold listed some of them: he said the close proximity to other spring training sites means the Orioles won’t be spending more than an hour busing to games; he thinks Sarasota is a lot nicer than Fort Lauderdale, and the facilities are an upgrade.
Reimold found that out quickly when he saw the big weight room next to the Orioles clubhouse.
“Our weight room in Fort Lauderdale was outside in a tent,” he said. “I mean a little tent.”
Bergesen spent time in Sarasota last August while he rehabbed a shin injury. He’s also familiar with the area, having spent four spring trainings at Twin Lakes Park, where the Orioles used to house their minor league complex. Bergesen and his wife, Shea, spent Saturday morning looking for a place to rent during spring training.
Then he enjoyed a spring training-like afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium, chatting with fans and signing autographs.
“I know Sarasota,” Bergesen said. “I like it a lot better than Fort Lauderdale.”
There will be some minor changes to the stadium this spring. The red will be replaced by green and black, and the numbers of the retired Reds that hang from the press box behind home plate will be removed.
Or, as Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer told the crowd while nodding to the No. 8 of Reds Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, “We’re going to have to paint the eight orange because that’s Cal Ripken’s number.”
The Orioles might want to add an orange 22 for Palmer, one of six numbers retired by the Orioles.
Ian and Ann Marie Gilden made the ride from Orlando to welcome their Orioles. Ian is a native of Maryland who has never abandoned his Orioles even though he moved to Orlando in 1985.
“I went to Fort Lauderdale once, but I much prefer Sarasota,” Ian said. “We’ll be here a lot during spring training, absolutely.”
When it was mentioned that Boog Powell’s World Famous Pit Beef Ball Park Bar-b-que, a popular spot at Camden Yards, could find a spring home at Ed Smith, Ann Marie said, “We will drive over just for that. More reason to come.”
Orioles manager Dave Trembley spoke to the crowd and mentioned the Orioles’ young talent and, with young talent, comes the promise of a successful future. That’s enough, Trembley reasoned, to come out and see his club this spring.
“Let’s wear orange,” he said, “and root like the dickens for the Orioles.”
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