The whistling air beneath a fastball, the crack of a swinging bat, a harmony of cheers and the vibrancy of ultra-bright lights radiate throughout Maryland during baseball season. With the Baltimore Orioles, its three minor league affiliates and a bevy of sandlot and historic squads, it’s no surprise there’s a strong love for America’s favorite pastime in the Terrapin State.
Young talent leading the pack on all fronts and an overwhelming interest in the minor league teams spill over to the majors, creating an inviting culture for families of all backgrounds because of the community-centered offerings and family-friendly fun often curated by the minors. Many aspiring players find themselves in the ranks of the Baltimore Orioles, having first endeared themselves to fans in the intimate setting of minor league games. They are especially loved by young families who enjoy the accessibility of real baseball games in their proverbial backyards.
“For the Baysox, the young family is the heart of our business,” says Adam Pohl, director of marketing for the Bowie Baysox. “Minor league baseball is affordable family fun, and that is the mantra. But the heart of our business is [accessibility]. I think that’s so important in the game’s marketing, not just for people that want to be players but for people that want to work in the sports industry to have that great experience at a very young age.”
Cultivating a culture of baseball fans while offering the very real option of someday even being a part of the team somehow is a considerable investment that spreads across community engagement initiatives, including players serving as baseball camp instructors and sponsoring activities for non-playing fans.
“We want to be a place for everyone,” Pohl says. “We do a day annually geared towards people who don’t play baseball to try the game, and the Baysox also work within the school system. I feel like we are an important piece of the community and a gathering place.”
Being heavily involved with the community feels like a pillar of the team to Pohl, but more excitingly, he says fans recognize former Baysox players when they make it to the Orioles.
“I mean, literally more than half of the Orioles are former Baysox players,” Pohl says. When we show our fans a clip of Austin Hays making an incredible catch or a picture of him hitting a big home run from our 2017 season, or Ryan Mountcastle or Anthony Santander or Cedric Mullins, there’s a lot of pride, he says.
But what makes it even more exhilarating is that many Baysox fans live in Baltimore, so it’s almost as if they get a preview of what’s coming to their city. A representative for the Baltimore Orioles says that being so geographically close to minor league affiliates is a bit rare.
“One thing that is really special about our organization is that all of our affiliates are really close in location to our team,” the Orioles representative explains. “It really [allows] our fans to get to know the players when they are in the minor leagues and then follow them the whole way through the system. It is special to see the connections our players form with the fans in each of our affiliate cities and how those same fans travel to Camden Yards when they make the big leagues.”
That enthusiasm encompasses the state, and the players who’ve spent time becoming endeared to cities like Bowie, Salisbury (where the Delmarva Shorebirds play) and Aberdeen (where the Ironbirds play) are also invested community members
in Baltimore.
“Our players really make this city their home,” the Orioles note. “Their children join Little League teams here, they have favorite restaurants and they prioritize giving back.”
Orioles left fielder Austin Hays, for example, partnered with the Orioles Charitable Foundation and Bold.org to create the Austin Hays Scholarship. The Hays family donated $10,000, which the Foundation matched, to donate to a local student.
Outside of community investment, the Orioles is a historically golden team. It was once home to Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who helped land two of the team’s World Series wins in 1966 and 1970. The team went on to nab a third title in 1983 with Maryland native and 19-time All-Star Cal Ripken, Jr. It’s this history and the team’s relentless grit that has Pohl so inspired by what the Orioles have in store for the future. The fact that the Baysox are at the roots of the aspirations is a bonus.
“There’s a feeling that the Orioles are back,” Pohl says. And if Birdland is back, we will be a consistent contender. That’s what really grows fans, and it is an enormous piece of growing Baysox fans. And we can tell that story, and we are a part of that story because, obviously, those players all came through here, he adds.
The Orioles say that overall, it’s the love of the game and the place they play it.
“We have a young team filled with guys who love to play this game,” the team’s representative says. “That really comes across when you watch this group play and celebrate together. They are playing on the biggest stage but also having fun. You see videos of catchers going to greet their pitchers and stories of people naming their children after our players, and it’s a great compliment. We have a great group of guys who aren’t trying to do anything other than play the game they love in front of fans who support them and bring a World Series trophy home.”
