Report: Orioles Willing To Share Camden Yards With Blue Jays, Governor Hogan And Maryland Still Need To Sign Off
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It looks like the Orioles could be getting a roommate for the 2020 baseball season.
Reports indicate that the organization has granted permission to the Toronto Blue Jays to use Oriole Park at Camden Yards for their home games this season as long as they agree to certain conditions.
Dan Connolly and Ken Rosenthal reported at The Athletic that the two teams have had detailed discussions about the Blue Jays using the park as their home stadium this year. The Orioles have reportedly agreed, but there is a major hurdle standing in the way. The agreement needs to be signed off on by the state of Maryland and Governor Larry Hogan.
That hurdle is what tripped up the Blue Jays hopes of using PNC Park in Pittsburgh as yesterday the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced it would not give the team permission to use the field.
According to The Athletic, the state and Governor Hogan have yet to make a decision on whether to allow the Blue Jays to use the ballpark. Associated Press Canada Bureau Chief Rob Gillies said that they have interviewed Governor Hogan asking about the possibility and the governor said that "We've had some discussions with the Orioles," but he remains concerned about coronavirus case numbers both in-state and spikes in other states.
The AP interviewed Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. Asked about the Jays in Baltimore: "We've had some discussions with the Orioles. I don't know the final details of that. Obviously we're watching our numbers very carefully every day. We're concerned about the spikes in other states."
— Rob Gillies (@rgilliescanada) July 23, 2020
However, even in the scenario where Governor Hogan and the state sign off, there are still potential obstacles in place. The Orioles have set a list of conditions one of which, The Athletic reports would include the Blue Jays not using the Orioles clubhouse or the visiting clubhouse to dress for games. From the report:
"The home clubhouse, not surprisingly, would be off-limits to the Jays. But according to a source, MLB and the Orioles also would not allow the Jays to use the visiting clubhouse, which would be reserved for the teams that come to play at Camden Yards, whether facing the Orioles or Jays."
Blue Jays players have indicated publicly however that they would rather play in a major league park than in a minor league one like their Triple-A affiliate's in Buffalo. So it would seem, even with the inconveniences of potentially sharing Camden Yards, the option would be preferable for Jays players to other potential scenarios.
The drama of the Jays home stadium status began when the Canadian government ruled that the team could not host games in their home stadium last week out of concerns of potential for coronavirus spread. The Blue Jays are scheduled to be on the road until July 29th against the Washington Nationals, though that two-game set is now expected to be played in Washington according to Connolly and Rosenthal. The next home series for the team comes July 31 when they are supposed to play the Philadelphia Phillies. That gives the franchise and the league a little over a week to figure things out.