With the Ripken baseball enterprise thriving and a Base Realignment and Closure initiative expected to bring thousands of tech jobs and new companies to the area, Aberdeen will finally get its shot at the big leagues.
The Aberdeen IronBirds
Comprising mainly players selected from the June draft, the IronBirds play their home games at Ripken Stadium as a Class A affiliate of the Orioles. The games are great fun. “It’s a nice break from the hustle and bustle,” said Aberdeen resident Don Curry. The IronBirds hosted the 2006 New York-Penn League All-Star Game. The Cal Ripken World Series moved across the street to Cal Sr.’s Yard, a replica of Baltimore’s Camden Yards, in 2005. The team mascots are gray birds named Ferrous and Ripcord.
The Cal Ripken World Series
In 2009, Aberdeen will host the 10th-Annual Cal Ripken World Series from Aug. 14 through Aug. 22. It will take place at Call Sr.’s Yard. The tournament will include eight teams from regions across the United States — the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Ohio Valley, New England, Pacific Southwest, Midwest Plains, Southeast, mid-Atlantic — the Maryland State Champion and the Harford County Champion. Joining the 10 U.S. teams will be international teams from Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico and South Korea. This will be Japan’s first appearance in the Cal Ripken World Series.
Ripken Stadium
The stadium is part of Cal’s baseball complex off Interstate 95 at Route 22. The complex also includes several smaller fields for local youth sports leagues. The stadium hosts the Aberdeen Ironbirds as well as soccer matches. The expansive parking lot of Ripken Stadium is frequently used as a venue for SCCA autocross on the East Coast. The stadium also served as a concert venue for 38 Special and Counting Crows.
Frank’s Pizza
The best subs in Aberdeen are at 37 W. Bel Air Ave. A Web review states, “After school you hang with your pals at and enjoy the best pizza ever!” This old mainstay features cheese fries with baked mozzarella. Does it get any better? 410-272-1024
Lee’s Hunan Chinese Restaurant
The best place for Chinese food in Aberdeen features Cantonese, Szechuan and Hunan cuisine. Located at 971 Beards Hill Road, the restaurant’s PuPu platter gets rave reviews. 410-272-6610
Aberdeen Swim Club
Located on Old Robin Hood Road off Paradise Road, this Olympic-sized swimming pool is open during the summer months and has a picnic area, volleyball court, planned activities through Harford Health and Fitness Club. 410-272-4885
U.S. Army Ordnance Museum
Within Aberdeen Proving Ground, this museum features a collection of army artifacts dating from the American Revolution, including a gatling gun and a German railroad gun. The U.S. Army Ordnance Museum was established in 1919 to exhibit and preserve captured enemy material and certain U.S. ordnance material that had been shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground for testing purposes. Admission is free. 410-278-3602
Aberdeen Proving Ground Recreation and Community Activities
Aberdeen Proving Ground features bowling, swimming, crafts, picnics, boating and Texas Hold’em tournaments. The golf courses at APG are once again available to the public using the day-pass system. Visitors must enter thought the Route 715 gate from Route 40. Please be prepared to show a valid picture ID and your vehicle registration.
Boys & Girls Club
This newly constructed building opened its doors in December 1994 and currently serves an average of 130 youths daily. They have an active membership of 1,100 youths between the ages of 6 and 18. The club offers positive programs and activities for kids. 410-272-8233
Festival Park
In 1990, the old school athletic field at the corner of Franklin, Howard and Parke streets was renovated into a Festival Park with a pavilion used as an outdoor bandstand, a playground area and beautiful landscaping that offers a refreshing atmosphere. 410-939-6767.
If all goes according to plan, the combination of baseball and BRAC will transform the town named in 1852 after its Scottish counterpart into a destination city in Harford County.
“They are trying to revitalize the downtown,” said Janet Emmons, who works for the Chamber of Commerce. “First, we need to rectify the water problem.”
There’s not enough wet stuff to support the planned influx of people, but Aberdeen officials are determined to correct the problem.
“It’s got to be fixed,” said Emmons. “We’re getting so many jobs.”
After losing 3,400 military jobs as a result of BRAC, Aberdeen Proving Ground will gain more than 5,300 civilian jobs with an emphasis on technology.
“All the technology that will go on out there will exceed Silicon Valley,” said Don Curry, a longtime Aberdeen resident and high school classmate of Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr.
The resurgence of Aberdeen began in 2002 when Ripken brought baseball back to his hometown with a minor-league franchise and touched all the bases. From little league to the minors, Aberdeen is a baseball utopia.
Owned by Cal and his brother Billy, the Aberdeen Ironbirds play a short season at Ripken Stadium as a “Class A” affiliate of the Orioles. The team logo– a blue-eyed jet — pays tribute to their mother Violet and the APG. The “iron” and the “bird” reference Cal, of course.
The Ironbirds, whose alumni include Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters and Brian Matusz, have had a positive impact on the community by providing family entertainment. New stores and restaurants have sprung up around the baseball complex, too.
“It’s exciting to see the changes,” said Aaron Moszer, general manager of the Ironbirds.
“It’s been a shot in the arm to Harford and Cecil counties.”
Players from the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy, tournaments, camps and the Cal Ripken World Series practice and play on signature fields modeled after some of the majors’ most famous spots: Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards, the replica of which stands next to a Marriott hotel that resembles the B&O warehouse in Baltimore.
All these baseball programs have flourished in Aberdeen.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind project,” Aberdeen resident Don Curry said. “Cal and Billy kept asking, ‘How can we make it like the big leagues?'”
The people of Aberdeen are asking the same questions about their town.
A planned development based on the “Avenue” concept of White Marsh, Md., was scheduled to be built near the stadium, but the project has been delayed.
The BRAC migration has started, with the population expected to exceed 20,000 in three years. A housing shortage resulted in the closure of Beachtree, a popular golf course, so more homes could be built.
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” said Curry. “I really hope we can hold on to the small-town atmosphere. We’ll see.”
