I had the day off on Thursday so I went to a ballgame.
Strolling the concourse at Oriole Park before the O’s-Marlins encounter, I chatted up a couple of fans. Both were Oriole season ticket holders who wanted to talk about the Nationals.
“Your fans are so lucky to have had those two miserable seasons in a row,” one of them told me. “To get [Stephen] Strasburg, and then [Bryce] Harper … I’m just afraid the Orioles will actually have a better second half and blow the first overall pick next June to Pittsburgh.”
The other gentleman chimed in: “Yeah, I’m hoping the Orioles have their typical second-half collapse and pass the ’62 Mets for the worst record ever. That’s something to really hang your hat on.”
Technically, the 1916 A’s at 36-117 were worse than the 40-120 Mets, but no matter. I understood his point.
The first guy then brought up the issue that many fans in Charm City may have already contemplated relevancy.
“This club [Baltimore] is becoming irrelevant in their own town,” he said. “You can’t find anyone wearing an Orioles cap downtown anymore. There are Yankee caps everywhere, but no one’s wearing Orioles stuff anymore.”
Fan number two said he’d only been to a Nats’ game in D.C. one time since he lived about 45 minutes north of Baltimore and it was such a long drive, but he’d be on hand for this weekend’s series at Oriole Park.
“I find myself switching over to Nationals games on MASN between innings of Oriole games,” he said. “And I have to confess, I’ve watched the Strasburg games until he’s been taken out.”
Both men said they’d rather not be mentioned by name, since they didn’t want any backlash from other Oriole fans who might see their interest in the Nats as being disloyal.
However, both said they saw no conflict in supporting both teams, outside of head-to-head play.
“I’m an Oriole fan, born and bred,” the first guy said (and honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this guy not wearing something black-and-orange). “But I retired in my 50’s, I’ve got time on my hands, and having two teams in such close proximity is more than I can resist.”
Indeed, the crossover effect is visible all around, with a few dozen fans coming through the turnstiles sporting a Nats cap and an Orioles shirt, or vice-versa.
The Nationals-Orioles rivalry is rather tepid in its present form. The last couple of years when the Nats were dreadful and the Orioles just plain bad, it was a tough sell. The Nationals are approaching that famous corner all teams want to turn. The Orioles aren’t quite sure where that corner is. But this season, however it turns out, is just another mile marker in the journey.
When both teams are simultaneously competitive — which may be a while — watch out.
Phil Wood is a contributor to Nats Xtra on MASN. Contact him at [email protected].
