Everyone came hoping for a Luke Scott T-shirt jersey. One fan left with a whole lot more.
Thanks to a friend’s purchase and a timely jaunt through the Oriole Park at Camden Yards gates at 5:24 p.m., Ellicott City resident Kevin Gracie left Tuesday’s game a richer man.
Gracie, 24, became the 50 millionth fan in Oriole Park at Camden Yards history Tuesday night, and he was handsomely rewarded. The University of Baltimore law student was presented with $50,000, season tickets for five years, and a VIP package featuring a personalized Orioles jersey.
He begins his second year at UB today, and the timing couldn’t have been better.
“I don’t have any money so until the Maryland Lottery gives me a check at the end of the week, I’m still figuring out how to pay for books for class [Wednesday],” Gracie said. “Hopefully none of my teachers are Orioles fans if I don’t show up to class [Wednesday].”
Gracie has been coming to Orioles games since he was four years old, most of them with his aunt.
Sporting a white Orioles hat and his new jersey with the No. 50 in orange on the front and back, Gracie played the part of a seasoned pro in front of the media, while explaining he attends roughly 15 games a year.
“I’ve always dreamed of having season tickets – they’d be great to have – but obviously not in the financial spot to have it up until today apparently,” Gracie said. “I’ll come to as many games as I can when I have time.”
Gracie’s friends bought tickets before the game, hoping to come away with the free T-shirts. Gracie brought a backpack to tote them home. While each of his four friends left with a Luke Scott No. 30 on cotton, Gracie got to touch the grass while the local media peppered him with questions.
“It’s amazing,” he said of the grass behind home plate. “I’m going to take my sandals off.”
The Orioles reached the 50 million mark in attendance at Camden Yards in just 17 seasons — the fastest of any major league park in history.
It’s not the only milestone the Orioles will surpass this season, though.
The club is on the cusp of welcoming its 100 millionth fan since moving to Baltimore in 1954. Before Tuesday’s game, the club was 157,273 fans shy of reaching that mark.
With an average home attendance of roughly 26,000 fans per game, the Orioles could break the 100 million mark by Sunday’s series finale with the Yankees.
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