Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Summer 2023

 

Hi everyone,

This is Emmy coming back for another blog post regarding this past summer’s internship with the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. Before going into the summer season, here is a bit of context about Babe Ruth. Ruth played on, the then, Minor League Baltimore Orioles for his first year as a “pro.” After this, the Orioles were in need of money. Babe being the youngest, along with most potential, was traded to the Boston Red Soxs for five years. While he did well, the team already had a stellar line up, so they didn’t see him as a foundational member. Thus the Curse of the Bambino, and the Red Soxs went through a major “baseball drought” from 1918-2004. Even though it’s a superstition, it’s always a fun debate. And finally, Babe stayed with the New York Yankees for 14 years, until retirement. And, fun fact, he played every position, 22 year career, except manager. With all this said, when the Oriole’s release their upcoming schedule, we plan for major crowds from the Red Soxs and Yankees. Immediately, we label these homestands in our calendars. Whenever these homestands come, we make sure to get more than enough staff to help with the flow of guests. What wasn’t scheduled was the fact that the Orioles would quickly go from the joke of MLB to “The Underdogs.” Crowds started coming to the museum with every homestand, no matter the team. It was quite incredible to see the amount of people who would travel, even from cross country, “just to see the O’s.” Two of these memorable homestands were the second Yankees games along with the Mets. The Yankees already played the O’s in the first week of April. Crowds were as expected, but, again, I cannot emphasize enough, how quickly the O’s brought in crowds. By their second homestand in July, we knew those tickets and fands were coming. So much so, we already knew, well in advance the entire homestand was sold out. We were completely blown away with the amount of fans. Within a three day homestand, the museum brought in over 1,800 guests, representing 38/50 U.S states also including representation from: Japan, Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It should be strongly stressed, we have never had this many guests, even before Covid-19. While overwhelming at points, it was completely and utterly heartwarming to have so many baseball fans. At the same time, on the first week of August was the final New York Mets homestand. Just like the Yankees, it was completely sold out. Yet, this was new from our understanding. The New York Mets, typically, did not sell out because their team is, almost never, in high standings. This was new information to us. With the first day of the homestand, it became quickly as to why they sold out. From what guests told us, someone was able to coordinate around 1000 people to take a roundtrip to Baltimore to watch the game. Not just this, they all got matching t-shirts with this ticket package. What’s even funnier, is what the shirt said, “The 7 Line Army Invades the Beast.” Along with this tagline was an owl taking over the stadium and winning? (I’m not quite sure the pictures fans posted aren’t super clear.) It was quite entertaining talking with Mets fans as they were discussing how, “Yeah, we thought we would have a better season, that’s why we chose the design…but ya know ya gotta believe.” So, in the midst of all of O’s orange, black, and white, was a sea of Mets blue. Oriole fans are one level, but every other fan is a totally different experience to interact with. I truly encourage you all to come to the museum during the peak of summer with a homestand. It’s incredible with the amount of stories you get to exchange!