Tim Cossins, the Baltimore Orioles field coordinator and catching instructor, tosses a ballcap onto the head of Hall's Cross Roads Elementary School student Angelina Mosley during a rally at the Aberdeen school Friday, Feb. 7. (Courtesy Baltimore Orioles, Todd Olszewski for the Washingto)
For the first time in three years, the Orioles will close the offseason by giving their fans the chance to meet with players and other faces of the organization.
The team announced Jan. 9 the return of the “Birdland Caravan,” a four-day tour featuring events throughout the region Feb. 2-5. The first Birdland Caravan, a replacement for FanFest, took place in 2020, but the tour wasn’t held in 2021 or 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic and the Major League Baseball lockout, respectively.
Events include meet and greets with the Oriole Bird, autograph signings and happy hours, with tickets for autographs and the events at Topgolf Baltimore and Bowlero College Park going on sale at orioles.com/caravan. The Topgolf event is one of two in Baltimore after the original caravan bypassed the city.
Players scheduled to participate throughout the tour are Bryan Baker, Félix Bautista, DL Hall, Austin Hays, Gunnar Henderson, Joey Krehbiel, Heston Kjerstad, Dean Kremer, Ryan Mckenna, John Means, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Grayson Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman, Kyle Stowers, Dillon Tate, Ramón Urías, Terrin Vavra and Nick Vespi, with executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, manager Brandon Hyde, assistant general manager of analytics Sig Mejdal and assistant general manager of baseball operations Eve Rosenbaum attending, as well.
In addition to the public and ticketed events, Orioles players and staff will pack food for local families at the Maryland Food Bank during a private event on Feb. 3.
“We are excited to reintroduce the Birdland Caravan to our fans throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and engage with them beyond the ballpark,” Jennifer Grondahl, the Orioles’ senior vice president of community development and communications, said in a statement. “The weekend’s events will feature unique opportunities to interact with players, prospects, and staff, in a larger geographical circle than ever before. We’re eager to get back out into our communities and celebrate the exciting present and future of Orioles Baseball.”
Birdland Caravan schedule
*Tickets required
Feb. 2:
- 5 p.m.: Kickoff fan rally at Bel Air High School (Elias and Hyde)
Feb. 3:
- 4-6 p.m.: Happy hour at Evolution Craft Brewing Company in Salisbury (Elias, Hyde, McKenna, Mountcastle, Stowers)
Feb. 4:
- 10-11 a.m.: Oriole Bird Meet and Greet at Weis Market in Elkridge
- 10 a.m. to noon: Bowling at Bowlero in College Park (Elias, Kjerstad, Rutschman, Urías, Vavra)*
- 10:30-11:30 a.m.: Autograph signing at Frederick Community College (Session 1: Rodriguez and Vespi. Session 2: Hall and Hyde)*
- 2 p.m.: Fan rally at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia (Hall, Hyde, Rodriguez, Vespi)
- 2-3 p.m.: Autograph signing at Bowie State University (Session 1: Rutschman and Vavra. Session 2: Urías and Kjerstad)*
- 4-6 p.m.: Happy hour at Checkerspot Brewing Company in Baltimore (Elias, Hall, Hyde, Rodriguez, Kjerstad, Rutschman, Urías, Vavra, Vespi)
Feb. 5:
- 10-11 a.m.: Oriole Bird Meet and Greet at Weis Market in Owings Mills
- 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Topgolf at Topgolf Baltimore (Baker, Hays, Krehbiel, Mullins)*
- 10:30-11:30 a.m.: Autograph signing at York Expo Center in York, Pennsylvania (Session 1: Means and Tate. Session 2: Bautista and Kremer)*
- 2 p.m.: Fan rally at Winters Mill High School in Westminster (Bautista, Kremer, Means, Mejdal, Rosenbaum, Tate)
- 2-3 p.m.: Autograph signing at Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel in Towson (Session 1: Mullins and Baker. Session 2: Hays and Krehbiel)*
- 4-6 p.m.: Happy hour at Crooked Crab Brewing Company in Odenton (Baker, Bautista, Hays, Krehbiel, Kremer, Means, Mejdal, Mullins, Rosenbaum, Tate)
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Originally published at Tribune News Service