The Intangibles: Baltimore Orioles - Perfect Zero's Blog

Perfect Zero's Blog

The Intangibles: Baltimore Orioles

Posted on January 29, 2012 at 01:09 PM.

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Today, I am continuing my look at all thirty teams in Baseball and the things that make them either great for starting a franchise, or lousy for playing one. This is "The Intangibles," a series of games that look at the aesthetic side of Baseball.

I grade my selections on these criteria...

Stadium Playability- This has to do with how well the stadium plays in the game
Stadium Aesthetics- Basically, how pretty the stadium is.
Team Logo- Is it unique or is it just another run of the mill baseball with circular text?
Uniforms- Are they classic, are they eye-poping, or do they induce depression?
Overall- Not an average, but a summation of the experience that I have with the team.

I will play with thirty teams in their stadiums, and I hope to have this done by the next baseball season. Today I visit Oriole Park at Camden Yards to watch the Baltimore Orioles. The City of Baltimore has an interesting history with Baseball. The town was home to a National League team before contraction in the late 1890's. In 1901, American League President Ban Johnson agreed to place a team in Baltimore nicknamed the Orioles, and that team lasted for two seasons before moving to become the New York Highlanders (later Yankees). In 1953, after years of having a minor league Orioles team, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore to gain a bigger fanbase. Since then, there have been three World Championships in the Charm City, although the team has faced a number of years in the cellar due to poor personnel choices and a tough division.

Just in this past month, the Baltimore team installed a new logo, which in turn is a throwback. Gone is the former chirping bird and back is the cartoon head that graced many Orioles caps during the early years of the club at Memorial Stadium. The new look is in turn an old look, but it fits overall with the image of the club. The primary isn't a roundel, and it uses something other than red or blue, so it gets automatic marks for that. All in all, a solid set of logos and wordmarks.

The uniforms are beautiful, especially since the minor changes of the past few years. Gone are the days of the black wordmarks leading to dull uniforms. In are orange wordmarks and a counter to the overall darkness that the late 90's/early 2000's brought. The Orioles have some of the cleanest looks in all of baseball with black and orange alternates. The only major problem that I have with the new set are the white panel caps. They look like truck driver's hats, and they look very minor league-ish. I agree that the bird needed to come back, but the panel hats should have stayed in the crypt where they belong.

The stadium that they play in is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a long name that resulted from two owners that wanted different names for the park. This is a landmark stadium in the sense that it was the first "retro" ballpark built in the majors. When it debuted, it instantly put the year old New Comiskey Park several decades behind. It is a beautiful park with the large warehouse being a wonderful backdrop in right field. Right field is also home to a great walkway and a large scoreboard which add to the flavor of the ballpark. Aesthetically, the only problem is that the buildings out past the outfield are dull and lifeless; they are completely different from the buildings in San Diego for example.

However, they don't affect the play on the field in any way. The stadium plays a bit small in foul territory and in right field, but feels like a natural park in most areas of play. Neither day nor night games are hard to play in, and the visibility is great. The thing about Camden Yards is that it's a very simple park. There are no major obstructing LED boards everywhere, and the few electronics are of the dot matrix variety. It plays like a true stadium of the past, and in that it plays very well.

Grading the whole thing...

Stadium Playability- (B+)
Stadium Aesthetics- (B)
Team Logo- (A-)
Uniforms- (A-)
Overall- (A-)

The Orioles have some of the best jerseys and one of the neatest stadiums in all of baseball. If you are willing to try your hand against the big boys of the east and want to look good doing it, then the Orioles may be the team for you.