Game At Camden

LIFE TRULY is complicated. A dilemma has developed this summer. Long hooked on the diamond sport, I painfully vowed to quit the seven-decade addiction. The proverbial straw came in an early May game at Camden Yards. Arriving well before game time, I reached the elegant ballpark by water taxi and modest walk, a nice way to avoid the tangle of traffic and parking. There was time to watch fans trickle in, and placidly await my buddy, Gwinn. In the pre-game peace, while hoping the patchwork O's would whip the hated Yanks, I regarded the sparkling grass outfield, stark white foul lines, and manicured infield.

If you're one of the hundreds of collectors who spent Opening Day in 1992 standing in long lines to get your game program stamped -- and thought you were holding a valuable collector's item in your hands -- here's some bad news: You should have watched the game instead.The inaugural game at Camden Yards was designed, in part, with the collector of baseball paraphernalia in mind. Everything from beer cups to cardboard popcorn buckets were designated "Inaugural Game" collectibles. Special tickets were printed for this game, and the ticket takers refrained from the usual procedure of tearing them in half.

YOUR newspaper reported not long ago that the average cost for a family of four to attend an Orioles baseball game at Camden Yards is now $108.50.So I called Ross Perot.Imagine my surprise when the billionaire sometimes presidential candidate answered on the first ring."This is Perot," he snapped. "Talk to me!"Elated by the way my call had gone straight through to Mr. Bigbucks, I blared excitedly in his ear: "Mr. Perot, I'm calling from Baltimore."I need your help, sir!"There was a pause on the other end.I could hear the wheels turning, as one of the top financial analysts of our time mulled my request."

Accusing Baltimore's baseball team of behaving like a dictatorship, Latino community leaders, including some city officials, are bitterly criticizing the Orioles' decision to ban flags, banners and noisemakers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards during Monday's game against the Cuban national team.The Orioles say the ban, which is not new and applies to regular season games at the stadium, is necessary to ensure that all fans enjoy the game.But Latino groups -- on both sides of the planned protests over the game and the U.S. embargo against the island nation -- said that to maintain such stringent rules for a game against a dictatorship's team sends the wrong message.

Ticket policy sounds familiarIt is with some amusement that I heard some commentators complain about Fidel Castro's policy of distributing tickets to the Orioles-Cuba exhibition game by invitation only, thus depriving the average Cuban baseball fan of attending the game. Apparently, those who were offended by the policy are laboring under the misapprehension that tickets are distributed in a more democratic manner here in Baltimore.Anyone who has had the good fortune to attend an Opening Day, All-Star or playoff game at Camden Yards will tell you that the assemblage at such events is disproportionately composed of the Washington "Chablis and suspenders" crowd.

It's over. World Series dreams have shattered. Time to reflect on a glorious season and a special Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards:It was about a million degrees, I couldn't smoke, I had a wicked hangover and, though I'd been in Baltimore six months, this was my first Orioles game. Utter blasphemy in the eyes of this baseball-obsessed city.I only bought the tickets because an Oriole-worshiping friend was visiting from out of town.We had great seats."These are great seats!""I know; I paid $50 for them."

Opinion: Do not trade Rocky Coppinger. Do not trade Nerio Rodriguez. Do not trade Radhames Dykhoff. Do not give up on Sidney Ponson. Just have patience and let them grow, Orioles. Enough young pitching has gotten away.Fact: Yikes, there's a football game at Camden Yards in 39 days.Opinion: The over-under line on how long the Parcells-Testaverde marriage stays happy? How about nine games?Fact: The Orioles have won 27 of 71 games since April 15.Opinion: It had to happen, but the departure of Terry Mathews robbed the clubhouse of one of the nicest guys.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig's decision to postpone six days' worth of games because of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington means that Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken will play the final seven games of his career at Camden Yards. All series scheduled for this weekend - including the Orioles' four-game set against the Boston Red Sox - were postponed, but Selig said baseball will preserve a 162-game schedule. That means the Orioles will make up three games against the Toronto Blue Jays and four against the Red Sox from Oct. 1 to Oct. 6 or 7. Ripken's final game at Camden Yards had been scheduled for Sept.

Though the Orioles lost another game last night, 3-2, to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, they could take some comfort in knowing that few people saw it. Perhaps the result will be thrown out for lack of witnesses. An announced "crowd" - and that's getting a little loose with the language - of 22,781 watched the Orioles lose their sixth in a row. The previous low for a non-makeup game at Camden Yards was 24,558 on April 16, 2001 - also against the Devil Rays. This was the fourth-smallest gathering in the 10-year history of the ballpark.

Bill Clinton's appearance on MTV this week -- is it true he was introduced as MC Razorback? -- set the tone. Presidential candidates must appear on non-traditional cable networks to get their messages across.The big three have targeted ESPN, and, lucky us, they'll be here Sunday night for the network's telecast of the Orioles-New York Yankees game at Camden Yards. In anticipation of their visit, Clinton, George Bush and Ross Perot made practice runs during the previous homestand at OPACY -- the ballpark name ranking highest in a three-man race.