Ripken Stadium

The Cal Ripken World Series, played over the past 11 days in Aberdeen, links two of the biggest names in baseball history. "You get the Babe Ruth people and the Cal Ripken people and mend them together with Cal and Billy Ripken themselves; it doesn't get any better than that," said Chuck Ross, manager of the Lexington, Ky., team that competed in the tournament for 12-year-old players at Ripken Stadium. Ron Tellefsen, the president and CEO of Babe Ruth League, Inc., since 1980, made it official Saturday that the Cal Ripken World Series would be in Aberdeen "for many years to come."

When the Aberdeen IronBirds came into existence for the 2002 season, Orioles officials scrambled to find enough players to fill the roster. The Rookie-level team at Gulf Coast was still in the club's farm system and the short-season Single-A Aberdeen franchise was a late-winter arrival to the fold, meaning precious little time was available to amply stock both squads since the June draft nearly coincided with their openings. But when the IronBirds begin their new season tonight at Ripken Stadium against the Hudson Valley Renegades, the opposite problem will prevail.

Confident about continued growth in the Aberdeen area, Presbyterian Home of Maryland has outlined plans for what would be Harford County's first large continuing-care retirement community, a $110 million project that could be built within the next five years if market trends continue. The nonprofit corporation, which accepts residents of all faiths and backgrounds, has identified a site for The Village at Carsins Run: 136 acres on two parcels the organization has acquired at Technology Drive and Route 22, across from Ripken Stadium.

As the nation's top prospects play in the AFLAC All-American Baseball Classic tonight, they will compete under the watchful eye of scouts representing every major league team. A squad of rising high school seniors from the East will take on their counterparts from the West at 7:30 p.m. at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, with honorary chairman Cal Ripken as host. A home run derby will take place at 6:30 p.m. featuring five players from the East team and three from the West. The lone Maryland player on either squad is St. Paul's standout Steve Johnson, a Kingsville resident and one of 10 pitchers selected.

As the end of the Major League Baseball regular season drew to a close this year, something that hadn't happened in a long time came to pass: the Baltimore Orioles made it to the postseason, winning the wild card playoff with the Rangers and then dropping their divisional round playoff with the Yankees. All-in-all, the 2012 season was a success for the Orioles, who hadn't make the playoffs since 1997. Some credit the team management, some the players, most likely both. This is baseball, though, a sport notorious for its legendary superstitions.

The Eastern Tech Mavericks saw Tuesday how fickle of a game baseball can be. After scoring six runs in the top of the fourth inning, the Mavericks surrendered 10 runs in the bottom half of the fourth and lost a Class 2A state semifinal game against Parkside, 10-6, at Arundel. Holding the Rams scoreless in the bottom of the sixth inning, Eastern Tech loaded the bases in the last frame before junior center fielder Nick McElfish's drive up the middle was handled by junior shortstop Tyler Illian, who then flipped to second for the final out. "This might be the team that I'm most proud of, with all that they've been through," Mavericks coach Spike McElfish said after the game, referring to a number of injuries endured by the team during the season.

Mike Bennett is the latest of three mayors of Aberdeen who expressed irritation over the deal the city forged years ago for Ripken Stadium. Like his two predecessors, when he ran for office, he expressed a desire to negotiate a deal regarding the stadium that would go a little lighter on Aberdeen's municipal finances. The harsh reality is, however, the deal was made more mayors ago than that and those who made it fell into two distinct categories: hero-worshiping local pols and well-informed people skilled and savvy in the business of professional sports.

In case you haven't noticed, they take their minor league baseball pretty seriously up in Aberdeen. And on opening night, the IronBirds pull out pretty much all the stops. For starters, Maryland men's basketball coach Gary Williams was on hand to throw out the first pitch last night. Cal Ripken, the IronBirds' owner and an all-but-certain Hall of Fame shortstop for the Orioles, got behind the plate to catch it, and then everyone's eyes turned skyward as four A-10 jets from Warfield Air National Guard Base did a flyover during the national anthem.

In his team's biggest game of the season, Fallston pitcher Jordan Lozzi came with his "A" game, striking out 10 Northern-Calvert batters on the way to a 6-2 victory in the state 3A semifinals at Joe Cannon Stadium. "I think sometimes I had trouble with my fastball," said the self-effacing Lozzi, a senior who is 7-0 this season. "But my curve I was able to get over for strikes." Fallston, No. 2 in The Baltimore Sun's poll and 20-1, advances to Saturday's 7 p.m. 3A state final at Ripken Stadium against Frederick, which won Tuesday night's second semifinal, 5-3, against a stubborn Towson team that did everything it could to manufacture runs.

Michael E. Bennett will take the center seat at City Hall tomorrow night when he is sworn in as the next mayor of Aberdeen. Giving a preview of his administration, the former state trooper said he will be less involved in day-to-day activities than his predecessor and offered a different perspective on the unfinished initiatives that S. Fred Simmons leaves behind, such as the use of surveillance cameras, a desalination plant, and the city's ownership of...