Find Your Field of Dreams
Whether it’s big league ball and Boog’s BBQ at “The Yard,” or Maryland steamed crabs in the bleachers watching baseball’s future stars at a minor league park, Maryland is a home run for baseball fans.
With the Baltimore Orioles holding down “The Yard” in Baltimore and iconic minor league parks across the state, Maryland is the perfect spot for a baseball road trip. Follow this guide to “touch ‘em all.”
When Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992, it changed the landscape of baseball forever; and decades later, it remains the best place on Earth to enjoy the greatest game on the planet. Catch just one game at “The Yard” and you’ll understand why.
Just off I95 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.
There’s nothing quite like a minor league ball game, and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs know how to serve up a perfect day at the ballpark. The Kids Zone is a ton of fun for kids in tow. Settling sweetly into the Southern Maryland countryside, Regency Furniture Stadium borrows design cues from the historic tobacco barns that dot the nearby countryside; and the hand-operated score board gives this new park serious old-time charm.
Looking for the perfect way to beat beach traffic to Ocean City? Catch a Shorebirds game. Located right off of Route 50 and just a long home run away from the beach, Perdue’s classic, three-level brick concourse combines the essence of those glorious, golden-age minor league parks with all of the modern amenities.
Built into a lush, green hillside, Frederick’s Harry Grove Stadium has the feeling of a miniature Chavez Ravine. Home of the Frederick Keys of the MLB Draft League, Keys games are a great opportunity to catch future big-leaguers on the rise. The open concourse at Harry Grove with its impeccable sightlines mean you’ll never miss a play.
Home of the Orioles Double-A Eastern League affiliate, and just 25 miles from Camden Yards as the Oriole Bird flies, Bowie is THE place to catch the hottest young Orioles stars before they hit the bigs. The lighthouse by the bullpen is a standout landmark in this homey park. Face painters, a bounce-house, carousel, and inexpensive general admission seats with ideal sightlines make this a great baseball getaway on a budget.
Hagerstown’s newly minted Flying Boxcars are named after the famous Fairchild C-82, a military cargo plane that was manufactured in Hagerstown in the 1940s and 50s, which had a central fuselage the exact size of a railroad boxcar. The Flying Boxcars will join the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in May at Meritus Park.
