Oriole Park at Camden Yards: The leading candidate for 2016 All-Star Game

Mandatory Credit: David Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Oriole Park at Camden Yards will be celebrating its 25th anniversary as an MLB ballpark in 2016. Coincidentally, OPACY is the leading candidate for the 2016 All-Star Game.

Opening its doors in 1992, Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the original retro ballpark in the MLB. Many have tried to duplicate it, but none were ever able to. Built on the land that Babe Ruth himself grew up on, OPACY has an historic aspect to it. The B&O Warehouse contributes to this historic aspect in large. Constructed in 1899, the warehouse was in use through the 1960s by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad until it was mostly vacated in the 1970s because of the use of trucks and more efficient, single-floor warehouses.

When the Orioles were looking for a location to house their new downtown ballpark, the vacated warehouse made 333 West Camden Street that prime location for the Baltimore Orioles’ new home.

With a 45,971 seating capacity, Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a traditional, fan-friendly ballpark.

A year after it opened, OPACY hosted the 1993 All-Star Game when Ken Griffey Jr. actually hit the warehouse during the 1993 Home Run Derby.

OPACY was made for the Home Run Derby. Being a hitter’s friendly ballpark, plenty of homers will be hit during this event. All left-handed hitters will most likely be aiming to hit the warehouse like Griffey did back in 1993.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, OPACY is the leading candidate to get the 2016 MLB All-Star Game while the Marlins and the Padres are the leading candidate for the 2017 All-Star Game.