A chance to get their major-league moment
Orioles ballgirl and ballboy hopefuls turn out on a chily day for their auditions
It wasn’t exactly baseball weather, with a light wind and temperatures a few notches above freezing. Nevertheless, 62 bright-eyed hopefuls bounded onto the third-base line Saturday afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in hopes of securing a slot as a 2017 ballgirl or ballboy.
If spirit were the only criterion, the whole group would have won the judges’ endorsement.
“It was a great day, better than other seasons I remember,” said Reagan Warfield, a MIX radio morning host and one of the judges. “I’ve seen a good combination of enthusiasm and skill level. And I can only imagine how nervous they were.”
It was a demonstration of enthusiastic, if at times errant, throws, occasionally awkward fielding, and expectations as high as the upper deck. These rookies — all of them 18 or older — got to spend a few minutes on the field (no stepping on the grass, please) and in the dugout.
Their job during the season is to retrieve batted foul balls during a game, usually handing them to a lucky fan in the stands.
Candidates first appeared before a video camera to explain why they wanted to be at Oriole Park.
Each was then directed to run out to their position along the foul line, accompanied by the blare of a trumpet over the PA system, and yell, “Charge!”
Then they got to show off their ability at fielding foul balls.
“This day has been a childhood dream for me come true,” said Walt Beatty, 39, who once played baseball for Joppatowne High School.
Ex-Marine Glenn Murphy was making a return appearance. “This is my sixth try,” he said. Lauren Lake, 25, a clerk for the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, walked out of the dugout, looked at the empty stands and said, “It’s eerily quiet here today. It’s never been so quiet.”
She said she had heard about the competition and thought she brought experience to the table. “I played baseball at Glenelg High School, and I’m in a rec league that plays at Latrobe, Swann and Carroll parks.”
The successful applicants will be notified by the Orioles in a few weeks.
“Some of the throws coming back were a little bit erratic,” said Greg Carpenter, a co-host of the WLIF radio morning show and one of the judges. “But you could see the sincerity of them and their enthusiasm.”
“This day is great. It makes the Oriole family bigger,” said Morgan Lippert, a former coach and umpire for a Forest Hill team who lives in Bel Air. “I turned in my glove for a rugby ball and a mouth guard a while ago, but I’m here today for this chance.”
Britton Logan, 21, a second-year student at the Community College of Baltimore County, normally plays third base or outfield in a softball league. Describing himself as a diehard Orioles fan, he predicted he’d make the cut and “be here Opening Day.”
Two sisters, Andrea and Maryssa Castillo, lined up with the rest of those auditioning.
“I played softball in high school,” said Andrea Castillo, an environmental chemist who lives in Columbia. “It’s not my first time on the field. I had my engagement photos taken by first base.”
She then considered her performance as a ballgirl contender. “I missed a couple, but it’s still fun,” she said.