The Baltimore Orioles head down the pike to Nationals Park this evening to open the Battle of the Beltways at Nationals Park. We do this every year, right? The “friendly neighborhood baseball game?” And of course in August, Washington will pay a visit to Oriole Park at Camden Yards for a return engagement.
However this year there’s a twist. Call it a marketing ploy if you will, but it’s caught the gaze of Major League Baseball. Tonight for the first time in history, two teams will wear their City Connect uniforms in the same game – against one another.
Major League Baseball’s been hyping this since late last week on its social media accounts, as have both teams. It was probably a matter of time before two teams decided to do something like this. And in fact, at least one team (Tampa) had announced that they would be wearing their City Connects in road games later this year. The Orioles and Nationals said nevermind that, let’s do it now.
In the Battle of the Beltways, the league found the perfect series by which to do this and market it. Maybe it would have resonated strangely had it been a ‘cross town rivalry’ such as the NY or Chicago teams. And maybe the “connection” between the Florida or Texas teams wouldn’t have been strong enough.
But featuring Baltimore and Washington doing this is the perfect balance. Both cities have unique personalities and unique cultures. Yet there can be no doubt that they’re “connected.” From a baseball standpoint, there’s a portion of fans who regularly attend games in both parks. And many of those people will be on display at Nationals Park tonight and tomorrow, and at Camden Yards in August. (And don’t be shocked if one of those Baltimore games is a dual City Connect game also.)
And both teams have cool and unique features in their City Connect uniforms. The Orioles have the multi-colored design on the inside that represents the different neighborhoods of the city. And Washington has the pinkish “hue” and blossom design, which symbolizes the cherry trees. Yes, which refers back to the namesake of the city, who also happens to be the greatest General in history – and the father of our country at that.
As time goes on we’ll see other dual City Connect games and series’. But never forget who the first one was. The graphic the league released was pretty poignant also, Baltimore row houses on one side of a street, and cherry trees on the other. Again, this is the perfect series to do this. Is it a marketing scheme? Yeah, sort of. Both sides are probably hoping to see shirts and caps. But again someone was always going to do this; may as well be the Battle of the Beltways, as these two cities are most definitely connected.
The series begins tonight at Nationals Park. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Trevor Williams. Game time is set for 6:45 PM.
Birdland Crush 