Orioles Opening Week - I Hated Junior Orioles

I'm sure you are anticipating some poetic waxing about my Junior Orioles experience but I must admit, I hated it.

For those of you who don't know, Junior Orioles was a season ticket package that was super cheap so Dad's could take their kids to the Orioles. This was back in their not-so-hey day of the mid-70's when they pretty much stunk those years after '71 and before the '79 - '83 dynasty. Not many people were going to the games. Solution: Junior Orioles.

Like any good business, you take the worst parts of the worst things and you slap a cool label on it. First off, the seats were in the outfield bleachers. In the old Memorial Stadium, the outfield bleacher seats for the most part stunk. There are approximately twenty bleacher seats which are acceptable. The rest are much, much, much too far away. Most are 900 feet from home plate.

They are also in the blazing sun. They were also a fairly flat grade. You couldn't see over the person in front of you. The games were always on Saturday or Sunday afternoon 124 degrees.

And my Dad was always miserable. We never, I mean NEVER, stayed the whole game. I'll never forget listening to one of the greatest comebacks in Orioles history from the comfort of our car as my Dad tore up Perring Parkway away from the stadium.