BALTIMORE -- The two dozen 7 to 14 year olds, now clad in their brand new green Pitch, Hit & Run T-shirts, needed a wake-up call.
"I could use a coffee," one of the young participants said jokingly on the elevator ride down to the field when a volunteer jovially asked how everyone was doing.
It was 8 a.m. ET, and just after each kid gave one last hug and kiss to mom and dad for good luck, they got mentally ready to live out their dream: Play on the field at Camden Yards. Just like their role models on the Orioles have long done, they stood in the bowels of the ballpark, waiting to see the diamond and let the nervousness wash away.