This Opening Day Was Something Everyone Needed

On his drive to the stadium Monday morning, Orioles veteran first baseman Ryan O’Hearn noticed things looked different.

In some ways, it felt as if he hadn’t left six months ago. The sights of Camden Yards, the brick B&O Warehouse, the stadium lights, and the route to the clubhouse are all familiar after a few years here.

But in one big way, the scene before 10 a.m. around Oriole Park was distinct. Orange-clad fans were already walking the streets, finding a place to meet friends, having a pregame meal or maybe a (very early) drink. 

It was more than four hours until game time, but it was also Opening Day. “It’s going to be a fun day,” O’Hearn said.

Oh, was he right. 

Later, the “loud environment” notification on my Apple Watch went off twice. The first time was right after a National Guard fighter squadron flyover and as a sellout crowd of about 45,000 fans screamed “O!” during the national anthem, performed by Baltimore native and American Idol contestant Gabby Samone. The second came when O’s closer Felix Bautista (returning after injuring his arm in August 2023) entered the game against the Boston Red Sox with the O’s holding a four-run lead before the bottom of the ninth. 

“That was an amazing atmosphere today. Really cool in the home opener to have that kind of crowd and energy and support,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Really cool for Felix to feel the love from Baltimore fans. The energy in the ballpark today was fantastic.”

Somehow, though, the decibel meter on my wrist missed what sounded like the loudest moment: The collective roar after centerfielder Cedric Mullins came to bat with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.

“It was really cool,” he said afterward, “almost to the point where it was dull because I was just trying to zone in.” 

The 30-year-old, now the O’s longest-tenured player, delivered in the situation—hitting a two-RBI single up the middle and off the right foot of Red Sox reliever Cooper Criswell. The fans who had given Mullins a standing ovation during pregame introductions were alive again, and it sounded like a playoff game—if it were one where the Orioles scored multiple runs (unlike last year when they scored just one in two losses at home to the Kansas City Royals in the A.L. wild-card round.) 

On an 80-degree Monday afternoon, the O’s won 8-5, marking a strong start to a potential third-straight postseason run. (Next step: win a game, but there’s time…)

Even without star Gunnar Henderson (out for at least two more games with a muscle strain near his right ribs), the offense is off to a hot start, scoring 12, 9, and 8 in three wins in the first five games of 2025, and against division foes Boston and Toronto to boot. 

During the home opener, outfielder Tyler O’Neill was 4-for-4, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle went 2-for-3 with one RBI, and the Birds scored on a double by Mullins that one-hopped the right-center wall in the first inning—giving them a 4-0 lead before starter Cade Povich threw a pitch.

The hits not only put early numbers on the scoreboard, but helped calm Povich, the O’s second-year pitcher and fifth starter, who likened Monday’s feeling to his first MLB start. 

“They were definitely there,” Povich said of pregame and first inning jitters, but getting the ball with a four-run lead “makes it easy. My job is to keep them from scoring more runs than we have, and when they put up four right away, it definitely makes it pretty easy to go out there and pitch.” 

Povich left with a 4-3 lead after 94 pitches, then the O’s offense scored four runs in the eighth against the Red Sox bullpen.

To start the run, a Mountcastle single put runners on second and third with no outs. Designated hitter Heston Kjerstad’s hit to leftfield scored O’Neill to make it 5-3 before Red Sox reliever Justin Slatin loaded the bases and exited, paving the way for Mullins’ heroics.

Jackson Holliday, playing shortstop in place of Henderson, added another RBI to make it 8-3. Bautista ultimately finished the game, though he allowed two runs in the ninth and had a wild pitch. 

Before the game, thousands of fans wandered Eutaw Street and the concourses. Orange was everywhere. Long lines formed for the centerfield bar deck, at new permanent food stands like Ekiben and Attman’s Deli—and the Coca-Cola fountain machines. “There’s free soda this year,” we overheard. 

That’s not quite the case. This year at Camden Yards, there’s a new 12-item value menu. Among the offerings: You pay $4 for a Coke product and cup, and you can refill it as many times as you want during a game at automated machines.

“The point is making sure there is something for everyone here. This is a personal project of mine,” says team president of business operations Catie Griggs, hired from the Seattle Mariners last July by Orioles owner David Rubenstein. 

The O’s note that with an affordable food menu and $15 bleacher seats in center and right field, a family of four can go to a game, eat, and drink for under $100 at the ballpark, at a time when many fans have accepted overpriced items at sporting events.

Of course, they’d like fans to buy season ticket packages, too, and the team hopes to fill seats and luxury boxes to corporate buyers to boost attendance. About 2.2 million attended games in 2024, the highest since 2015, but still below the 3 million-plus from all but the 1994 strike-shortened season during Camden Yards’ first 10 years.

“If you start with doing the right thing for your fans, it tends to work out,” Griggs told us. “This is the right thing for our fans. We’ve got an incredible ballpark. It’s in the middle of the city. We realize that we’re not necessarily welcoming in as many people. For many of them, price is an obstacle or at least is a concern. So, anything we can do to address that, it’s good for the fans and hopefully it ends up being good for us.” 

Don Rovak, the Orioles’ new chief revenue officer, previously worked for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, which launched a similar program in 2017.

“We saw people were enjoying it, coming to more games,” Rovak said, and ultimately spending more on concessions, but “overall, it’s a give back to the fans.” 

That can’t hurt. “We’re here for our fans, truly,” Griggs said. “We want our fans to be here.”

On Opening Day, it felt, looked, and sounded like everyone was happy to be back in Birdland. 

“It was awesome out there,” said O’Neill, who signed a three-year contract with the O’s this offseason after playing for Boston in 2024 and six years in St. Louis. “There was definitely a buzz with the fans…I’m really excited [about] what we got going on here in Baltimore.” 

Unfortunately, Derik Queen, hometown hero and Maryland’s NCAA basketball tournament star, air-mailed his ceremonial first pitch over O’Hearn’s head. But he delivered a reasonable assessment immediately afterward, saying “I didn’t know my pitch was going to be that bad,” and “I think I let it go too high,” though he added he hadn’t practiced. 

Rubenstein—who filmed a pregame interview for MASN, sat near the O’s dugout, and threw out hats to fans before the key eighth inning—addressed the team in the locker room. 

“Special guest!” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, as disco lights glinted off the ceiling and walls. 

“Thanks for winning today,” Rubenstein said. “It was great for the fans, and great for Baltimore.”