So since moving to Baltimore a few years ago, I've refound a love for baseball thanks to the Baltimore Orioles. In 2012, when I first moved here, it was hard not to become a fan as they won 16-extra inning games in a row.Anyway, I probably watch 140 games a year. Pretty much every game unless I'm on the road at the Boston Marathon, US champs, or Worlds/Olympics.So I was watching the game last night and saw on twitter that Centro was at the game with his gold medal.https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/770421101289730048?lang=enI thought to myself, "That's cool, but it kind of sucks they didn't mention him on the broadcast or have him throw out the first pitch." Last week, when I was watching the Orioles play the Nationals in DC on tv, they had Katie Ledecky up in the booth for a full inning, she threw out the first pitch, etc.So this morning I'm reading the sports page in the Baltimore Sun and see a big photo of Centro under the caption "Fast in Rio, slow in Balitmore". The blurb mentions that Centro was scheduled to throw out the first pitch but got "stuck in traffic" and thus had to settle for being recognized between innings.I then looked to see if the story was online. It's not but a similar one is as shown here:http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-notes-chris-tillman-s-comeback-from-shoulder-injury-underway-20160829-story.html
The Baltimore Sun wrote:
Centrowitz admitted to growing up in a Yankees household, but said he’s followed the Orioles as his hometown team.
“My parents grew up in New York, so I was kind of raised a Yankees fan,†he said. “So don’t hold it against me. I was born and raised in Maryland so I tried to take my path that way … I’ve been to so many games over the years here at Camden Yards.â€
As an Os fan, I was going to demand an immediate apology but am trying to calm down a little bit out of respect for the gold he won in Rio. If I'm going to be honest, I have acknowledge when I first moved here I rooted for the Texas Rangers over the Os (now I do not) and when Centro was growing up the Orioles were awful (they had a losing record every year from the time he was 8 to 22).
But showing up late for the first pitch? Should I forgive him for that transgression?
I mean if he showed up on time, maybe he could have chatted with the guys about how to pull off the huge upset as the underdog. Instead, they are slowly falling out of playoff contention.