Amid a live interview during a Mid-Atlantic Sports Network broadcast last month, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias had to pause.
“That almost got me,” he said after Oakland’s Mitch Moreland sent a Jorge López sinker back screaming toward him.
Through two Orioles homestands, Elias is likely not the first to utter those words this year at Camden Yards, or perhaps, their inverse: “I almost had it.”
Last season, the coronavirus pandemic kept fans out of Oriole Park, leaving foul balls to clank into empty seats. But with the Orioles allowing in a maximum attendance of 25% of the stadium’s capacity to start the 2021 season, fans’ pursuit of a keepsake can continue.