I just rolled into Baltimore and am sitting inside the train station fully excited to see Camden Yards tonight. Oriole Park at Camden Yards sparked a baseball stadium renaissance when it opened in 1992. For the decades prior to Baltimore's decision to return their home baseball games back to a comfortable and unique park the trend had been to play the game in boring, symmetrical, artificial turfed, all-purpose domes and cookie cutters. Camden Yards broke that mold and now there are only a few shitty stadiums left.
The other thing that crosses my mind about being in Baltimore is Cal Ripken Jr. The Iron Man played in a record 2,632 consecutive games and ended the streak voluntarily. He is also one of only eight players to hit over 400 homeruns while collecting over 3,000 hits. Cal played all 21 seasons for one team, the Baltimore Orioles. In today's game that is astounding as well. Ripken is the greatest shortstop in my lifetime, if not all-time. Here's a list I've compiled in the past 38 seconds of the top 9 shortstops to play during my lifetime:
1. Cal Ripken Jr.
2. Robin Yount
3. Alan Trammell
4. Ozzie Smith
5. Tony Fernandez
6. Omar Vizquel
7. Jose Reyes
8. Nomar Garciaparra
9. Jimmy Rollins
*Yankee fans might notice the exclusion of one of their favorites. To make my list players had to show up at all-star games.
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