MLB blogger Bill Baer (@Baer_Bill) of Crashburn Alley has created a donation page to support Oriole Park at Camden Yards employees who are likely to miss out on a significant portion of their paychecks following the week’s events in Baltimore. As the city recovers from the week’s protests and riots, Major League Baseball has moved this weekend’s Orioles-Rays series originally scheduled for Baltimore to St. Petersburg. Today’s game against the Chicago White Sox will be closed to the public. The first two games in the White Sox series were postponed and will be made up as a doubleheader on May 28.
Due to the cancellations and limited number of people in the stadium for this afternoon’s game, many members of the game day staff at Camden Yards have been called off work. This will result in employees missing anywhere from one to six days of pay. I don’t have to be the one to tell you that missing that much of your paycheck may cause some significant financial hardship. Employees will be paid for two hours of work on April 27 prior to the cancellation of the game.
Baer has reached out to the Orioles organization to determine the best way of donating any funds received. It has not been made clear at this time whether or not the Orioles will take steps to ensure their employees are paid for events outside of their control. As the city continues to recover from the events of the past week, such a gesture may generate some good will in the community.
Yes, the franchise is also likely to be financially affected by the events of the past week, but not as much as the employees who are the heart and soul of the ballpark. While there are many far-reaching effects of the riots in Baltimore, the Orioles can do their best to mitigate the impact on their own loyal employees. Orioles’ VP John Angelos’ strong comments directed at the state of the economy and political elite will ring hollow if the franchise does not take care of their own during this stressful time.
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