Orioles to let kids in free this season
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles have launched a program that will enable kids to attend home games this season free of charge.
Fulfilling a child’s request to “take me out to the ballpark” has become a lot cheaper at Camden Yards. Every adult who purchases a regularly-priced upper deck ticket can bring up to two children, age 9 or under.
The “Kids Cheer Free” program begins for the March 31 game against Minnesota.
The program is designed to bolster attendance and is part of the team’s effort to attract youngsters to the game.
Orioles executive vice president John Angelos says, “The Orioles’ mission, and that of the national game of baseball, is to cast a broad community outreach. That effort starts with thoughtfully expanding our initiatives benefiting kids and families.”
Tickets are available for games through April 29. Tickets to remaining games will be made available on a month-by-month basis, as the season progresses.
LYNN A TWIN
Patiently monitoring baseball’s slow-moving market, the Minnesota Twins made several significant improvements to the team that made a surprise run last season to the AL wild card game. Right-hander Lance Lynn became the latest addition when the Twins finalized a $12 million, one-year contract on Monday, another low-risk move to strengthen a pitching staff that ranked 19th in the major leagues last year with a 4.59 ERA.
“I think there was at least, my take on it, a real interest of the player to make this a marriage and I think that helped our cause,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Lynn, who joined his new teammates on the field for an afternoon workout in Fort Myers, will be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday before taking the mound for an exhibition against Baltimore.
Molitor thinks there’s a chance that Lynn could be ready to pitch the first time through the regular-season rotation.
After missing the 2016 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Lynn went 11-8 with a 3.43 ERA in 33 starts for St. Louis in 2017 last year. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Lynn was an All-Star in 2012, his first full season in the majors.
With the Twins, Lynn will join fellow newcomer Jake Odorizzi, acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay, in the rotation. Jose Berrios will likely take the mound on opening day on March 29 against the Orioles, and Ervin Santana will join the group in late April or early May once he’s recovered from surgery on his middle finger.
Kyle Gibson will likely round out the starting five, putting 25man roster spots in question for Adalberto Mejia, Phil Hughes and Tyler Duffey. —AP