Orioles Fly South After Empty Nest Syndrome

Most of you will be aware of the recent events in Baltimore, which have led to two Orioles games being postponed, and the third in the series against the Chicago White Sox will be played behind closed doors tonight, which I am pretty sure is a first for Major League Baseball.

Pinnacle Sports Tweeted:

Although the Tweet implies that home field advantage is a given, the truth is that any home field advantage in baseball is small at best. The one exception is the Colorado Rockies who benefit from playing in Denver, a mile above sea level, but for some teams home advantage is negligible.

In the ten seasons (plus this one) from 2005, the Baltimore Orioles have won 411 games at home, and lost 407, which is 50.2%. Seven of those ten seasons they lost more games at home than they won, although to be fair, the last three years have all been winning ones.

The Orioles' 'home' games this weekend (Friday thru Sunday) will now be played in St Petersburg versus the Tampa Bay Rays with the Orioles still the official home team, but in baseball, the starting pitcher holds the key to the odds rather than where the game is being played.