The Baltimore Orioles began a week-long mini-camp down at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota yesterday. This is a time-honored tradition for the Orioles, who get various players together every January. I suspect it helps guys hone their skills as we move towards spring training.
It also helps new players break into their new roles with the Orioles. Keep in mind that their first impression of the organization will be roughly two weeks of workouts and drills, followed by a month’s worth of spring training games. Familiarizing oneself to the facilities is always a good idea.
And it also helps to begin the process of getting the rust off a bit early. Practice makes perfect, right?! This event is normally a bit closer to Orioles’ FanFest, which of course will be held on Friday January 28th at the Baltimore Convention Center. But this year this was when it wa scheduled to be held. And the Orioles are lucky that’s the case, incidentally. The MLBPA was slow in approving their members to do this.
Incidentally, this is the last full month before games begin. The Orioles are scheduled to begin Grapefruit League play on Friday February 24th in Lakeland against Detroit. Their home opener is on Sunday February 26th against Pittsburgh at Ed Smith Stadium.
Birdland Crush 