Orioles Success Thus Far Shocks MLB, Creates Excitement In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—The baseball season is reaching the mid-point, and if you've been around town in the past few weeks you've probably noticed a lot of people wearing orange. That's because the Orioles are the surprise team in Major League Baseball.
Ron Matz reports the O's are hot, in more ways than one.
The Orioles are as hot as Baltimore's weather.
"I'm a huge Orioles fan. We're doing great this year. Buck Showalter has really stepped up," said Alyson Berkshire, Orioles fan from Dundalk.
Baltimore is a sea of orange and black. At Poor Boys in Dundalk, owner Mike Tyson says O's gear is flying off the shelves at Poor Boys.
"More and more people are wearing orange every day. Men, women, kids, even dogs--you name it, lots of orange. It's going good," Tyson said.
The ladies are showing their colors, too.
"We're doing a lot of stuff for the ladies. We have women's clothing designed by Alyssa Milano. We also sell earrings and jewelry. They'll come here before the game and get something to show their colors," Tyson said
We're looking at the O's a lot more on the tube. MASN says ratings are up 48 percent.
Attendance is also up at Oriole Park at Camden Yards by an average of more than 4,000 fans per game over last season.
"I think they're definitely a surprise. I'd like to see them make some moves, maybe get some more pitching. But I'm very, very happy they're above 500. I'll take it," said Jason Royal, Orioles fan.
Tyson is happy and taking stock.
"We usually have a majority of Ravens stuff. We've had to expand and expand the Orioles stuff, pack some of the Ravens stuff away. We've got more and more Orioles stuff coming in," he said. "We've outgrown our space here. We're opening another store in Abingdon in Harford County. The grand opening will be July 21. Terrell Suggs, T-Sizzle will cut the ribbon and do a signing."
Even T-Sizzle's in Orioles country, as the O's cruise into the All-Star break.
"I think there's definitely more excitement this year. You're a diehard Orioles fan no matter what, but there's more excitement when they're winning. I'm very happy with the way things are going. I think they're going to make the playoffs," Berkshire said.
If the season ended Thursday, the Orioles would be in the playoffs. They have four games left before the All-Star break against the Angels in Anaheim, Calif. When the second half of the season begins, they're back home against the Detroit Tigers.
