Summer College Ball: A Visit To The Baltimore Redbirds

The Cal Ripken Collegiate League began their 2014 season recently. This is a collegiate summer baseball league whose players have at least one year of NCAA eligibility left. The league’s teams are often structured similarly to minor league baseball organizations and offer a good value for fans. It is also a wood bat league, which makes it different than the regular college baseball season.

Three of the teams are based out of the Baltimore area, while the rest are in and around DC. The Baltimore Dodgers play at Joe Cannon Stadium near Arundel Mills Mall and Youses’s Orioles plays at Bachman Park in Glen Burnie.

I am trying to make the rounds of all of  the teams, especially the local ones. So I started by a visit to the Baltimore Redbirds. They play their home games at Carlo Crispino Stadium at Calvert Hall College High School.

The stadium is small, holding 300 in a covered grandstand. The field is sports turf. Fan noise is pretty high and the fans are quite knowledgeable. The environment is family-friendly, and the PA announcer does a very nice job and keeps the fans engaged between innings with baseball trivia questions.

A small food stand is located down the first-base line. Prices are good, with hot dogs on sale for $2. There are also hamburgers and cheeseburgers priced at $3 and $4, respectively. A small amount of souvenirs is available as well, including Redbirds t-shirts and hats.

The crowds are similar in size to what most northeastern college baseball stadiums have in attendance. They tend to be mostly family and friends of the players on both teams. I saw the Redbirds play the Vienna River Dogs and both teams were stocked with players from large and small colleges, such as Ole Miss, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Flagler College, VMI, VCU and even Cecil College.

Games are free, and so is the parking (just stay out of the foul ball zone). The level of college ball on display makes this a great value for fans. The Redbirds, the defending 2013 champions, are currently second in the league standings to the Bethesda Big Train.

If you are a soccer fan as well, try to find a day that the Baltimore Bohemians are scheduled to play at nearby Paul Angelo Russo Stadium, also at Calvert Hall and make it a two sport day.