Then, alas, it was time to head toward Orlando and the flight home -- but there was a chance for one more dose of baseball. A quick peek at the schedule turned up a game along the way at Tigertown, Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, preseason home to the Detroit Tigers for half a century.
Here, aside from the scheduled event of Detroit against the dTC Cincinnati Reds, the big thrill was a chance encounter under the grandstand with legendary Tigers (and one-time Orioles) broadcaster Ernie Harwell.
"I remember you doing the play-by-play with the Orioles in 1954," I told him, recalling the team's inaugural season broadcasts and the radio accounts that captivated me as an 8-year-old.
He was gracious, smiling as he said in that mellow voice, "Well, we didn't win a lot of games that year, but we sure had a lot of fun."
If you go
The O's have scheduled 15 games in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., their spring home, beginning Thursday, Feb. 27, against the Minnesota Twins, 16 "away" games at various sites, and a final preseason "home" game that really is -- back in Baltimore.
Spring training tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, by mail or fax, and through Florida TicketMaster outlets, priced at $12 for box seats, $9 reserved grandstand and $6 bleacher.
A ticket form for mail or fax orders is available at Camden Yards or by calling the Orioles at (410) 685-9800, or through the Fort Lauderdale box office at (800) 236-8908. The TicketMaster number for Broward County is (954) 523-3309.
The "away" schedule includes seven games at Municipal Stadium in West Palm Beach -- four against the Montreal Expos and three with the National League champion Atlanta Braves, who are sharing the ballpark.
Tickets for any of those games may be ordered through the TicketMaster number, or by sending a check to Braves/Expos, P.O. Box 2619, West Palm Beach, Fla. 33402-2619.
The Expos have box seats available at $12, grandstand $10 and bleachers $6, while the Braves sell individual tickets only in the $10 and $6 categories. There is a $4 handling fee for each order. (TicketMaster imposes a service charge for each ticket.)
The Orioles' other "away" game sites and ticket information for each stadium:
Los Angeles Dodgers will begin sales of individual-game tickets Feb. 1, all priced at $9, through the stadium box office at (561) 569-6858. Tickets must be picked up at the stadium.
Chicago White Sox, seats priced at $10, $8 and $5, available through TicketMaster at (813) 287-8844.
Minnesota Twins, seats at $10 and $8, available by calling (800) 33-TWINS. There is an additional handling fee of $1.75 for the first eight tickets, plus a $1.75 charge per order.
Boston Red Sox, tickets at $10 and $9, with a $2 handling charge per order, available by calling the stadium box office at (941) 334-4700.
New York Mets, tickets $10 and $8, plus a $1 handling fee per order, available through the stadium box office at (407) 871-2115.
Florida Marlins, tickets $12, $9 and $5, through TicketMaster at (407) 839-3900.
Orioles schedule
KADate.............. Opponent ..........Site .................Time
Feb. 27 ...........Minnesota ......Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
Feb. 28 ...........Florida ........Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 1 ...........Florida ........Viera ..............1:05 p.m.
March 2 ...........Montreal .......Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 3 ...........Atlanta ........Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 4 ...........Los Angeles ....Vero Beach .........1:05 p.m.
AMarch 5 ...........New York Mets ..Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 6 ...........Montreal .......West Palm Beach ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 7 ...........Atlanta West ...Palm Beach .........1:05 p.m.
AMarch 8 ...........Montreal .......Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 9 ...........Montreal .......West Palm Beach ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 10 ..........Atlanta ........Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 11 ..........Philadelphia ...Fort Lauderdale ....7:05 p.m.
March 12 ..........Montreal....... Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 13 ..........Florida ........Viera ..............1:05 p.m.
March 14 ..........Atlanta ........West Palm Beach ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 15 ..........Los Angeles ....Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 16 ..........Chi. W.S. (SS) .Sarasota ...........1:05 p.m.
AMarch 16 ..........Minnesota (SS) .Fort Myers .........1:05 p.m.
AMarch 17 ..........Boston .........Fort Myers .........1:05 p.m.
March 18 ..........Los Angeles ....Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 20 ..........Atlanta ........West Palm Beach ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 21 ..........New York Mets ..Fort Lauderdale ....7:05 p.m.
March 22 ..........New York Mets ..Port St. Lucie .....2:10 p.m.
March 23 ..........Atlanta ........Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 24 ..........Los Angeles ....Vero Beach .........1:05 p.m.
AMarch 25 ..........Florida ........Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 26 ..........New York Mets ..Port St. Lucie .....1:05 p.m.
March 27 ..........Montreal .......West Palm Beach ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 28 ..........Montreal .......West Palm Beach ....1:05 p.m.
AMarch 29 ..........Montreal .......Fort Lauderdale ....1:05 p.m.
March 30 ..........St. Louis ......Camden Yards .......3:05 p.m.
(SS) - split squad
Pub Date: 1/19/97
