For Orioles fans, familiar Opening Day traditions are reinvigorating after a trying year: ‘This feels like a huge step forward’

The sign above the entrance to Pickles Pub said it all: “BASEBALL IS BACK.” The Orioles welcomed fans back to Camden Yards for the first time in more than 18 months on Thursday, hosting the Boston Red Sox for their first game game of 2021. Attendance was limited to 25% capacity, with an announced crowd of 10,150 fans declared a sellout as the team tried to adhere to its own health and safety guidelines after the coronavirus pandemic limited last season to 60 games and kept fans out of ballparks across the country.