Tigers to Play God, Birds

Beginning tonight, the Matt Weiters era is upon us in Baltimore. There is a palpable buzz in the entire area. Casual baseball fans have bought tickets for tonight's game. It's been the talk of sports radio all week. This is the turning point for Baltimore Orioles baseball, as he leads the team out of the doldrums and into a glorious new era of AL East dominance.

In my "day job" I've had the opportunity at times to work closely with part of the Orioles minor league system. Let me tell you, this hype has been building for two years. It is justified. The kid is awesome.

It isn't only baseball fans that are going to benefit either. As a regular Baltimore City resident my life has already improved dramatically. How, might you ask?

• I used to walk to Camden Yards for games, now I can just think about Matt Wieters and fly directly to my seats.
• When Matt Wieters is at bat, all TVs show him in HD.
• When Matt Wieters drives to the ballpark, all the roads he drives over become freshly paved. 
• May 29 will forever be a paid vacation day to celebrate "Matt Wieters Day"

I've got to tell you, life is better.

If you enjoyed my top of the head original creations, then you'll surely love the original which has some real gems in there.

Seriously though, the hype around this kid is like nothing that I've ever seen. Apparently, it is like nothing that this city has ever seen either. For Tigers fans, there is nothing comparable. The current Orioles streak of bad baseball (starting in 1997, I believe) is shorter and less bad than the what the Tigers dealt with for the 90's and first half of the 2000s yet the only thing that comes somewhat close to being in the same ballpark as this was the signing of Pudge Rodriguez--you know, an actual Hall of Famer to-be that was supposed to (and did) turn the franchise around. Minor League wise, we are in the dark. A system stock full of Rick Porcellos and Justin Verlanders wouldn't match this. I'm telling you, the feeling here it is unreal.

That being said, I am happy for O's fans. Things like this are rare and they are fun. I'm glad to see the city get energized over the Orioles. I'm sick of going to O's games filled with Red Sox and Yankees fans, or like last night, where I could basically count the attendance from where I was sitting. If nothing else, I hope that this brings people out to the ballpark. Camden Yards is one of the best places in baseball to watch a game and has aged very nicely. A full Camden Yards would be a true summer night joy.

So here's to the start of the Matt Wieters era, and I wish him well. If he goes on to actually have a great career, then my life as a baseball fan in Baltimore will be much improved. If he accomplishes the near-impossible task of actually living up to the hype, then more power to him. But maybe, just maybe, he can start his domination of the American League and the baseball world on Monday, after the Tigers are out of town with 3 out of 4 in their back pocket.