Batting Cage

The parents of a 4-year-old girl have filed suit against an Ellicott City man who owned a batting cage where the child was injured when she was struck in the face with a baseball bat.Claudia and Richard Holman of Abingdon claim that the previous owner of A&C Grand Slam Inc. in Woodlawn was negligent in permitting baseball bats to be swung outside of the batting cages.The couple's daughter, Kathleen Holman, received "serious, painful and permanent injuries" when she was hit by a bat swung by a teen-age boy on March 8, 1991, the suit says.

The Orioles played a game before their game yesterday, using one of their back fields for a little simulated action that didn't lack for interesting -- and at times comical -- moments. Unable to arrange any split-squad games this spring, the Orioles set up a batting cage and had some of their pitchers, including Jeremy Guthrie and Garrett Olson, face a small group of hitters. Triple-A pitching coach Larry McCall and instructor Don Werner took turns serving as the plate umpire while standing behind the cage.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- When Charles Johnson moved his family last winter from Pembroke Pines to nearby Plantation, he didn't classify it as a career move. His 20-month-old son, Brandon, needed room to romp and Johnson wanted to provide him the freedom of an acre lot. It also enabled Johnson to install an outdoor batting cage and throw himself into a winter remodeling effort. Four or five times a week, Orioles batting practice pitcher Rudy Arias would drive from his Miami home to Plantation.

SEATTLE -- After taking ground balls for 20 minutes and then proceeding to the batting cage to work on his swing, injured Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada walked through the visiting clubhouse at Safeco Field and said to nobody in particular, "I've never felt so happy in my life." A night after taking his first swings since going on the disabled list June 22 with a fracture in his left wrist, Tejada did more extensive work and pronounced himself pain-free and a little more than a week away from his return to the lineup.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- --The seven-letter word keeps resurfacing in the life and baseball times of Aubrey Huff. Without. Huff, the Orioles' new middle-of-the-lineup slugger, graduated from a Texas high school without being drafted and without getting any serious looks from Division I colleges. In his first seven seasons in the majors, Huff hit 141 homers without fanfare because he played primarily in the obscurity of Tampa Bay, a place without baseball tradition, without a consistent fan base.

Baseball's All-Star Game in Baltimore is still 21 weeks away, but the preliminaries have begun.Between now and July, Baltimoreans and out-of-town visitors can get a realistic foretaste of things to come at a preview center that has opened at Camden Station. The Civil War era landmark's ground-floor waiting rooms now contain 4,000 square feet of exhibits about some of the most remarkable moments in baseball history.Displays are devoted to the history and development of Baltimore baseball since the 1870s, to Negro League players and, of course, to Babe Ruth and the nearby museum honoring the Baltimore-born legend.

My First Job!Do you have a summer job? Many famous athletes held other jobs before they became superstars!Brady Anderson center fielder, Baltimore Orioles"I worked at a batting cage in San Diego. I was a freshman in high school."I stood behind the cage wearing a batting helmet. When a customer was done hitting, I swept up the balls."I earned $16 for four hours of work. After my shift, I would spend $12 at the batting cage. The boss wouldn't let me hit for free!"Meet Teresa WeatherspoonGuard Teresa Weatherspoon of the New York Liberty is a showstopper!

WMAR-2 news anchor Jamie Costello isn't big on shopping. "My wife does a lot of the shopping. She loves Wegmans. If we're within 20 miles, we're going to Wegmans." Raised in Rosedale, Costello, 47, now lives in Towson with his wife, Donna, and two kids, Lauren, 14, and Matthew, 11. Though he's no shopaholic, Costello does have fond memories of the retailers he grew up visiting on Howard Street. "We used to go to Stewart's, Hochschild, Epstein's. ... The red dot sale at Hecht's used to be the best deal in town."

It wasn't the ball that seemed so frightening as it came flying toward the plate. The prospect of swinging at the ball and missing it was what scared me.I don't know how fast the ball was propelled, only that it wasn't as fast as I would like it to be in the retelling. I can say this: I didn't swing and miss. I watched. I watched the ball all the way until it slammed into the back of the batting cage. This is what as known as not being able to pull the trigger. What I'm trying to say is, if it had been me firing at Archduke Ferdinand, no World War I.I waited for the next ball.

It's nice to know that some players are reading this blog, though it can get a little uncomfortable at times. Melvin Mora apparently didn't appreciate my reference on Friday to Tony Batista possibly being in his ear again and imploring him to hit home runs. I didn't say it was happening. I just hoped that Mora, in his contract year, wasn't going to start swinging for the fences each time he stepped to the plate. Mora made sure to point out to me yesterday that he isn't Tony Batista. He passed along the message through a co-worker.

WMAR-2 news anchor Jamie Costello isn't big on shopping. "My wife does a lot of the shopping. She loves Wegmans. If we're within 20 miles, we're going to Wegmans." Raised in Rosedale, Costello, 47, now lives in Towson with his wife, Donna, and two kids, Lauren, 14, and Matthew, 11. Though he's no shopaholic, Costello does have fond memories of the retailers he grew up visiting on Howard Street. "We used to go to Stewart's, Hochschild, Epstein's. ... The red dot sale at Hecht's used to be the best deal in town."

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.-- --The seven-letter word keeps resurfacing in the life and baseball times of Aubrey Huff. Without. Huff, the Orioles' new middle-of-the-lineup slugger, graduated from a Texas high school without being drafted and without getting any serious looks from Division I colleges. In his first seven seasons in the majors, Huff hit 141 homers without fanfare because he played primarily in the obscurity of Tampa Bay, a place without baseball tradition, without a consistent fan base.

It's nice to know that some players are reading this blog, though it can get a little uncomfortable at times. Melvin Mora apparently didn't appreciate my reference on Friday to Tony Batista possibly being in his ear again and imploring him to hit home runs. I didn't say it was happening. I just hoped that Mora, in his contract year, wasn't going to start swinging for the fences each time he stepped to the plate. Mora made sure to point out to me yesterday that he isn't Tony Batista. He passed along the message through a co-worker.

With less than a month to go before the opening ceremony, lots of folks are tweaking their performances and putting on their Games faces. Like, for example, Leilani Okuda. She's working out in the batting cage. Checking her form in a full-length mirror. Practicing martial arts and Zen meditation. And hoping to stay anonymous once she reaches Athens. Okuda, a Honolulu native, is one of 12 softball umpires - six men and six women - who will officiate the 32 games from Aug. 14-23. "If you do the job right, no one remembers your name," she says.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - At 10 minutes past noon yesterday, longtime Orioles bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks steered his golf cart into position at Fort Lauderdale Stadium and sounded the air horn. Within moments, the key components of a vastly improved Orioles infield were in place together for the first time, going through the first cadences of a long season. Orioles bench coach Sam Perlozzo took a knee behind the pitcher's mound and tossed grounders to $72 million shortstop Miguel Tejada, who quickly fed the balls to a rotating quartet of second basemen that included two friends fighting for the starting job: Jerry Hairston and Brian Roberts.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Miguel Tejada arrived at Orioles camp yesterday, donned his orange and black uniform for the first time and made a bold proclamation: "This team is not a losing team anymore." With Tejada, it seems, few things are done without passion. Not even reporting to spring training. Coming off six consecutive losing seasons, the Orioles will hold their first full-squad workout today, and Tejada wanted to get a jump on the proceedings after signing a six-year, $72 million contract in December.

The Orioles played a game before their game yesterday, using one of their back fields for a little simulated action that didn't lack for interesting -- and at times comical -- moments. Unable to arrange any split-squad games this spring, the Orioles set up a batting cage and had some of their pitchers, including Jeremy Guthrie and Garrett Olson, face a small group of hitters. Triple-A pitching coach Larry McCall and instructor Don Werner took turns serving as the plate umpire while standing behind the cage.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - At 10 minutes past noon yesterday, longtime Orioles bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks steered his golf cart into position at Fort Lauderdale Stadium and sounded the air horn. Within moments, the key components of a vastly improved Orioles infield were in place together for the first time, going through the first cadences of a long season. Orioles bench coach Sam Perlozzo took a knee behind the pitcher's mound and tossed grounders to $72 million shortstop Miguel Tejada, who quickly fed the balls to a rotating quartet of second basemen that included two friends fighting for the starting job: Jerry Hairston and Brian Roberts.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- When Charles Johnson moved his family last winter from Pembroke Pines to nearby Plantation, he didn't classify it as a career move. His 20-month-old son, Brandon, needed room to romp and Johnson wanted to provide him the freedom of an acre lot. It also enabled Johnson to install an outdoor batting cage and throw himself into a winter remodeling effort. Four or five times a week, Orioles batting practice pitcher Rudy Arias would drive from his Miami home to Plantation.

My First Job!Do you have a summer job? Many famous athletes held other jobs before they became superstars!Brady Anderson center fielder, Baltimore Orioles"I worked at a batting cage in San Diego. I was a freshman in high school."I stood behind the cage wearing a batting helmet. When a customer was done hitting, I swept up the balls."I earned $16 for four hours of work. After my shift, I would spend $12 at the batting cage. The boss wouldn't let me hit for free!"Meet Teresa WeatherspoonGuard Teresa Weatherspoon of the New York Liberty is a showstopper!