By Tim Anderson
When lifelong fan Sam Angell first heard of the changes the Baltimore Orioles were forced to make to their home schedule as a result of the violent social uprising that threatened the city last month, he was annoyed.
“I quickly realized how selfish a reaction that was,” Angell said.
Angell, a Baltimore native who now lives in Philadelphia, wanted to instead put his frustration to a universal good, and he thought he knew exactly what his hometown needed: a second opening day.
“Opening Day always brings such great optimism and enthusiasm for the long journey ahead, and I think that’s exactly what Baltimore needs right now,” Angell said.

Photo by Gail Burton of the AP.
Every April, Baltimore baseball fans treat the home opener of the Orioles’ new season as a holiday of sorts. Each opening day, thousands of fans swarm the streets around Oriole Park at Camden Yards, patronizing local bars and restaurants before, during and after the game.
This April, a sold-out crowd of 45,936 fans attended the home opener with more watching from local businesses outside the stadium.
Harvesting the power of social media, Angell and a group of friends started a grassroot movement called ReOpening Day with the hopes of recreating the opening day experience for the second time in one season.
The group’s Facebook and Twitter pages have caught the attention of thousands around Baltimore. Currently, more than 2,750 people have said they will be attending on the event’s official Facebook page.
Ryan Blake, 20, is one of the fans who has RSVP’d to the event. Blake hopes that ReOpening Day will be a start in getting baseball fans to travel back into Baltimore City.
“Lots of people are hesitant to go into the city now, and rightfully so,” Blake said. “Hopefully ReOpening Day will provide a bit of a comfort zone that allows fans to realize that what happens inside the stadium is a nice distraction from what has happened a few blocks down the road, whether the Orioles are winning or not.”
Blake, who says he attends between 20 to 30 games each season, was one of the handful of fans that cheered on the team from outside the stadium during the game that was closed to the public. Blake described the environment outside the park as “strange,” but marveled at the energy from the fans around him.
“For me, it wasn’t just about watching the O’s play. It was about bringing a special group of fans together to show our support for the team and for the city of Baltimore,” Blake said.
“We got some national attention which was awesome, not for selfish reasons, but because we showed people how great Baltimore baseball fans are.”
Along with the RSVPs, Angell and company have been contacted by many members of the local media, including the Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck who wrote a column about ReOpening Day that appeared in the paper.
While many may be surprised that a movement started by a group of fans has received such attention, Angell, who works in athletic communications for Drexel University, is not so shocked.
“I am generally an optimistic person when it comes to sports, and I honestly was hopeful right from the beginning that it would catch on and we could get a great crowd at the ballpark on Monday,” Angell said.
Angell hopes that the crowd will not only be at the ballpark, but also be at local businesses around the park that have suffered as a result of the uprising in the city.
“To me, Baltimore is such a great city because it’s so unique, and that comes from the wide variety of businesses that we have here. We hope ReOpening Day is an opportunity for people to celebrate their local businesses,” Angell said.
Many local businesses were damaged while some were forced to close their doors indefinitely as riots erupted throughout the city in protest of the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died while in police custody.
The Orioles had to postpone two of their games, move three home games nearly 1,000 miles away to Tampa Bay, Florida, and even play a game at Camden Yards that was closed to the public.
Businesses that depend financially on the Orioles during baseball season were not only hurt by the changes to the schedule, but also by the 10 p.m. city-wide curfew enacted by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
ReOpening Day has been sponsored by a number of bars in the city such as Pickles Pub, Sliders, Camden Pub and others that were affected financially by the uprising.
“All of them were impacted by the schedule changes and the curfew, and some were even physically impacted by the protests, so we’re hopeful that this is a day to help them get back on their feet,” Angell said.
The Maryland Food Bank has also partnered with ReOpening Day, encouraging fans to bring nonperishable food items to Frank and Nic’s West End Grille on Pratt Street.
Joanna Warner, the director of communications for the Maryland Food Bank, said that the uprisings in Baltimore further damaged areas that were already among the highest in the nation in food insecurity and poverty.
“The uprisings essentially shut down West Baltimore’s access to food, closing corner stores that communities relied upon, and, at times, gridlocking transportation that would have enabled residents to travel to outside areas where food was available,” Warner said. “Now, even as many stores begin to reopen, some of the hardest-hit remain closed, and store owners may be hesitant to re-invest in rebuilding in this fragile state of stability.”
The Maryland Food Bank is optimistic that efforts from movements such as ReOpening Day will not only help the immediate needs of the community, but also bring awareness to the long-term problem of habitual food insecurity.
“We hope that food drives like the ReOpening Day efforts will not only help us replenish the supply of food that we have been rushing out to communities in the last few weeks, but they will also help us raise awareness of the year-round need that exists in our Baltimore City communities,” Warner said.
For the fans who are unable to make it to the city on Monday to donate, Angell says that he will be posting information on the event’s Facebook page on how they can help the Maryland Food Bank in other ways.
Angell also hopes that those fans who cannot make the game will participate in a ReOpening Day of their own.
“We hope people around Baltimore wear orange on Monday to show their optimism for the city, whether they’re coming to the game or not,” Angell said. “If they aren’t coming to the game, we hope they find the time and resources to patronize a local business in their area, just to let those people know that Baltimore is still there for them.”
While the city continues to face struggles much bigger than baseball and the financial health of local businesses, Angell hopes that ReOpening Day can be a step in the right direction for Baltimore.
“We don’t expect an event like this to solve all of Baltimore’s problems, and we don’t want it to be a distraction while those problems once again get pushed aside. But I believe those challenges are much better faced with a sense of optimism and enthusiasm,” Angell said.
“We want the crowd at Camden Yards to be a sign that Baltimore is up for a challenge, and ready to face it with a lot of pride and enthusiasm, whether it’s the challenge of repeating as AL East champions and winning the World Series or the challenge of fixing our city.”