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Sykesvilleyoungsterbatting500games,thatisasafanof theBaltimoreOrioles
CamdenYardsissecondhomeforRayDaugherty,7
ByLauraE.Le e C apitalNe wsSe rvice

Posted9/26/10

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Share RayDaugherty,ofSykesville,moves throughtheturnstilesatC amdenYardswith highfivesfortwotickettakers,Mr.Aland Mr.Stu. Heshakeshandsandoffershugstoalmost

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everyusheronhiswaytohisfrontrow seatsinsection20andembraces"Grandpa Berry,"anusherandOriolesdugoutguard. AmiddleagedmanspotsRayandteases: "Ifyougotlost,whataddresswouldyoutell them?" WoulditbehishomeinSykesvilleor333 W.C amdenSt.? Ray,7,isathomeatC amdenYards. "Foureightynine,"hesaid."Fourhundred eightyninegamesthatI'vebeento,right
(Enlarge)RayDaugherty,7,ofSykesville,hasattendednearly500 Oriolesgames.TheFreedomElementarySchoolsecondgrader sayshisinterestintheteamhashelpedhisownbaseballskills. (PhotobyLauraE.Lee)

Again,C athy'scolumnisadelight.Ilaughedallthe waythrough....

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here." Hisparentstookhimtohisfirstgamewhen hewas5weeksold. Atage4,hemadehistelevisiondebuton

TweleresignspostasCarrollCounty'sdirectorofOffice ofEconomicDevelopment CarrollCountyMovieGuide WestminsterHighSchoolClassof2011 Moremostread

anESPNproducedsegmenton"ThisWeekinBaseball."ThepiecefocusedonRay'sdevotiontotheO's andwaslaternominatedforasportsEmmyAward. "IwasborntoplaybaseballandcheerfortheOrioles,"hesays. TheO'shavelosteveryseasonofRayDaugherty'slife.Hehascheeredononeoftheworstteamsin baseballsince2003. "Nomatteriftheywinorlose,I'mstillgoingbecausethey'remyfavoriteteamandtheylikemerooting forthem,"hesays. Hisparents,DeannaMondaandMarieDaugherty,drivetoabout75homegameseachseasonfrom Sykesville,wheretheyarebuildinganewhome.Ray'sroomwillbeashrinetotheteam,withabathroom modeledaftertheOrioleslockerroom. Raywasbornvirtuallyblindinoneeye.Doctorsdiscoveredhis20/200visioninhislefteyewhenhewas 4.Hisopticianlobbiedtheeyeglassescompanythatmakessportsgogglestocreateorangeandblack glassesforRay. Hewearstheprototypetogames,peeringoutfrombehindthespectacles.

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Hewearstheprototypetogames,peeringoutfrombehindthespectacles. Ifhe'snotatschoolFreedomElementarySchool,inEldersburg,whereheexcelsinadvancedmathand isbeginningsecondgradeoratC amdenYards,heisworkingonhisownbaseballskills. Hesayshe'stheonlypersononhisyouthteamtohitforthecyclethisyear,andhecreditshis accomplishmenttowatchingtheOrioles. "Thebestpartisactuallywatchingthemplay,becauseitgivesmesomeadvicebecauseIplaytoo,"he says."Isometimesdostufflikeinthebigleagueslikegetsometripleplays,triples,cycles." AtC amdenYards,Raysits"inthefrontrow,whichisverydangerous,"hesaid. Betweeninnings,hejumpsfromhisseattotherailingtoshoutgreetingstotheplayers.Hecallsoutto NickMarkakisandhisfavorite,secondbasemanBrianRoberts.WhenRaytalksabouttheplayers,he says,"He'smybuddy,"or"Hetaughtmehowtohit." Inthefrontrow,RaychatsabouttheO'swithfellowfanMitchAnest,aburly,middleagedman,aboutthe latesttradesandhowtheycouldinfluencetheteam'sperformance.Rayknowsexactlywhomovedtothe minorsandrecitesthedisabledlistwithease. Andthestatisticsaren'tlimitedtorecentseasons.RaytellsstoriesfromtheOriolesheydaysasifthey justhappenedandasifhehadbeenthere. "AlotofpeoplelovedMemorialStadium,evenmyparents,"hesaysoftheOrioles'formerhome."WhenI camealongandIsawC amdenYardsforthefirsttime,itwasreallyfunforme.Yougetsocloseandit'sa biggerballpark,andIjustlovewatchingthem." Hebeginssentenceswithphrasesmoretypicallyusedbyoldmen,suchas,"BackinthedayswhenIwas little..."and"Backinthosedays,beforeIwasevenborn...." HisgoalistobetheO'ssecondbaseman,likeRoberts,by2022. Whatifanotherteamofferedhimacontract?Raysayshe'dgobacktotheminorsandwaitfortheOrioles tocallhimup. Hehasafavoritegame,his400th. ItwasAug.14,2009aFridaynightandFelixPiehitforthecycletopropeltheO'stoa166victory overtheLosAngelesAngelsofAnaheim.Rayrememberseverydetail,includingtheorderofPie'shits adoubleinhisfirstatbat,ahomeruninthesecond,asingleinthethirdandthen,atripletorightcenter wheretheballbecamelodgedunderthewall. Raywillhitthe500gamemarkbytheendofthisseason.Asthe2010campaigndrawstoaclose,he remainsloyalandoptimistic. "Whentheydon'twin,it'skindoffrustrating,buttheytryandI'mveryproudofthem(for)thetryingtheir bestouttheretodowhattheycando."
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Hespeaksoftenof"tryingtheirbest." And,likealltruebelievers,heremainsoptimistic,evenaboutateamattheverybottomofthestandings. AnewmanagerinBuckShowalterandastrongSeptemberseemtobolsterhishopesthatthenext500 gameswillbeevenbetter. "They'vewonmoregamesthanIexpected,"hesaid. "Nextyearwecouldmakeitto.500andthenreallystarttowinmore...maybegototheWorldSeries nextyear,whichI'vealwayshoped,"hesays. "I'veneverseenanyWorldSeriesinmylife...exceptthemovies." ThisstorywasproducedbytheBaltimoreUrbanAffairsReportingclassofthePhilipMerrillC ollegeof Journalism,theUniversityofMaryland,withsomeresourcesprovidedbyTheBaltimoreSun.Itis distributedbytheUniversityofMaryland'sC apitalNewsService.

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