My how the tables have turned.
With two strikes on Red Sox pinch hitter Mauro Gomez in the bottom of the ninth, the crowd began to cheer for Orioles closer Jim Johnson who was about to record the franchise record for most saves in a single season (46).
The only thing is, the O’s were playing on the road at Fenway Park in Boston.
I wasn’t in the stands, merely watching on MASN, but I could certainly see Baltimore fans donning orange on their feet and was able to hear the cheers as Johnson looked in for the final strike.
For years Red Sox fans have made Camden Yards their second home, often calling its comfy confines Fenway South. I’ve always proclaimed that the mass majority of these Red Sox fans aren’t from anywhere near the New England area. Look at the license plates in the parking lots.
The incredible rise of Orioles merchandise sold outside of Maryland certainly supports this hypothesis. Can you feel the bandwagon getting full as Virginia and Delaware trades in their pink Sox hats for a cartoon bird?
The Red Sox come to Baltimore just four days after their current series concludes with the Orioles. We’ll see just how much of transformation has been made at Fenway South then.
What a magical season. All the pain of the last 14 years it’s slowly going away.
Go Birds!