There were days in August and September when Lara Hall struggled to drag herself to Camden Yards.
Though she’s an optimist by nature, the 51-year-old Baltimore resident dreaded watching her beloved Orioles sleepwalk through loss after loss on the way to the worst season in the club’s 65-year history.
She looked forward to the 2019 season with “tempered” expectations, so she watched with genuine surprise and delight as a fresh version of her team won four of its first six games to start the season. This burst of success made Thursday’s home opener feel like a genuine celebration of what’s to come, even if the club’s anticipated rebuild could take years.