Aberdeen Ironbirds

Just off I-95 near the top of the Chesapeake Bay, Ripken Stadium is the Taj Mahal of minor league baseball. Home to the Aberdeen IronBirds, the Baltimore Orioles’ High-A East league team, this gem of a park is Iron Man (and Aberdeen native) Cal Ripken Jr.’s love letter to America’s pastime. The stadium is Camden Yards in miniature, right down to the Marriott Hotel situated in left field and built to look like the big league club’s famous B&O warehouse. The park’s open concourse design invites fans to stroll the stands without ever missing a pitch. And if you’re looking for a unique way to celebrate, consider renting one of Ripken Stadium’s luxury skyboxes to catch a glimpse of this year’s crop of baby-birds. It’s big league fun at minor league prices.

Where Little Legends are Forged: In addition to the IronBirds nest, the Ripken Baseball complex is home to kid-scale stadium replicas of Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, old Yankee Stadium, and Baltimore’s old Memorial Stadium.