Mendez is a Maryland-based sculptor who was commissioned to create six player statues for the 20th anniversary of Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards this year. Frank Robinson’s statue was unveiled last month; the remainder of the season will see statues of Brooks Robinson, Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. added to Camden Yards. Each player is depicted in an 8-foot statue in one of his iconic poses. As an Orioles fan, what does this project mean to you?
What’s neat about this project is several of the Orioles, from Brooks Robinson through Cal Ripken Jr., I got to see all of them play. When I sort of got turned on to baseball in my midteens, a friend and me would go to Memorial Stadium … and later at Camden Yards. These are the people of my youth, and it’s really fun to kind of meet them and talk to them and ask them questions most fans don’t get to ask.
