25th Anniversary Flashback Moments: Janet Marie Smith
In honor of the 25th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, we will be showcasing one special moment each week this season.
Here's another flashback moment from the players that know the Yard the best.
Janet Marie Smith has had an influence on more than a few major ballpark projects in the league's history, but it all started with the original design of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The Orioles hired Smith during the 1989-1990 off season when the ball club was putting together the final design touches on what would eventually become a model for new baseball stadiums.
The team brought her back in 2009 to oversee upgrades to the team's spring training home in Sarasota, Fla., as well as renovations completed at Camden Yards.
Smith said, "The very first game for me will always be a stand out. As many things that we had tested, there was no way of knowing how that park was going to play until there had been 9 innings of baseball with 48,000 fans in the stands, but I think what mattered most is that it played. It was a place that had a timeless quality to it, and it belonged to Baltimore and it would be home for generations to come."
She is now senior vice president of planning and development for the Dodgers.