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Sports

Camden Yards: Warren's Home Away From Home

The Mount Washington resident has gone to hundreds of Orioles games.

Lisa Warren didn’t grow up at Camden Yards—they grew up together.

The Mount Washington resident was 11 when she went to her first game at the “new” ballpark. But she was already a diehard Orioles fan by then after years of watching them at Memorial Stadium.

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Along with her younger brother, Ben, now in Chicago, sister, Amy and parents, she would go to several games each season. Now Warren has season tickets and goes to about 30 each year. None, however, means more than opening day, which is where she'll be Friday when Baltimore hosts the Twins.

Amy Kitchens, a Highlandtown resident and Warren's 29-year-old sister, has accompanied her to the home opener for the last six seasons.

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“It’s always a holiday as far as I’m concerned,” said Warren, a 31-year-old French, Spanish and yoga teacher. “Partly because I get to spend it with my sister and partly because I get to spend it with the Orioles.”

Although Warren has seen games in each of Camden Yards’ previous 19 seasons, a trip to the ballpark is never routine.

“There’s always the promise of the new season. ... Everybody comes in with exactly the same record and there’s a real sense of that on opening day,” Warren said. “It’s hard to sort of ignore that feeling of excitement like, ‘This could be our year.’”

Lisa’s father, Peter Warren, is from California, and her late mother, Terri, was from Michigan. But they became Orioles fans as soon as they moved to Baltimore when Lisa was 6 months old. Peter, a teacher for more than 20 years, where Lisa once attended, said the hometown team is the reason he moved to Charm City.

“When we lived in New York City and I was looking for work … I was offered two jobs I was interested in,” said Peter, who now lives in Roland Park. “One was in Buffalo and one was in Baltimore. And the reason I took the Baltimore job was because of the Orioles, and that’s a true story.”

He grew up a Giants fan, but remembers Baltimore baseball’s glory days from the 1960s through its last World Series title in 1983.

“The reason I think Lisa is such a great fan is she hasn’t had that,” he said.

She can’t remember the Orioles going further than the American League Championship Series in 1996 and 1997.

“It gets frustrating not to see progress,” said Lisa, whose seats are in upper reserve along the first baseline. “I don’t necessarily need to see my team in the playoffs right away, but I want to see some progress.”

One of her greatest Camden Yards memories was last year’s Red Sox series in late September, when the Orioles’ dramatic season-ending victory dashed Boston’s playoff hopes. Those are the moments that make baseball’s 162-game season worth her time, while she takes a more passive approach to other sports.

“Football fans are kind of wusses. It’s once a week they sit down and watch a game,” said Lisa, whose favorite Oriole is J.J. Hardy. “I really like to watch him play. … I’m not one of the girls who likes the cute ones. I guess Hardy is not a great example of that ‘cause he’s good-looking.”

After living with Lisa for six years, 30-year-old Becky Perlmutter said her roommate is the biggest fan she knows.

“I know if I ever have a question about the game, I will know exactly who to ask,” said Perlmutter, an Orioles fan who goes to about 10 games per year. “I know she’ll be able to explain what a ground-rule double is and why that guy just got to go to third when I thought he could have made it home.”

Lisa has also watched the Orioles play in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit and old Yankee Stadium. She remembers the trip to the Bronx well.

“I was like, ‘This is what I imagined hell to be like: claustrophobic and full of Yankee fans,’” Warren said.

While Kitchens will be taking her sister's extra ticket Friday, Peter will be there with a friend. He plans to find his daughters in the stadium at some point.

“We decided we’re going to meet up and have a beer together for sure,” Peter said.

For Lisa, that should complete opening day, her favorite day of the year.

“I just feel like I’m at home when I’m at the park,” she said. “It’s just comfortable. And it’s where I feel like I belong.”

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