SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – One week after the ‘big game,’ football was far from the minds of folks at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota on Sunday. ‘Birds’ fans from near and far flocked to the stadium to see their beloved O’s take flight in an open workout.
“I can’t wait for baseball season,” Lee Bishoff said. She relocated to the area at least in part because of her beloved team, and grew up going to games in Baltimore with her father.
Baltimore is bringing some of its finest athletes down south, and these birds are making snowbirds and new Suncoasters out of fans from the D-M-V (DC, Maryland and Virginia).
Some came to catch a glimpse of the future.
“We both really love baseball, and we get to see the young kids, who, we don’t get to see a lot of, til a couple years down the road,” Jeff and Claire Simmons said. They too relocated to be closer to their favorite team each spring.
“I moved here seven years ago and we got married, so I drag him to spring training now,” Lee Bishoff said, pointing to her husband.
“Spring training is such a short time, you know I want to get as much out of it as I can,” she added.
Matthew and Jake Cohen are from the DC area, and came for the long holiday weekend to check out the Nationals and Orioles in action.
“They’re one of our favorite teams,” Matthew Cohen said.
“We heard about the new facility. We wanted to check that out. We wanted to see some of our favorite players,” he added.
“And what are you here for?” Cohen bent down to ask his son Jake.
“I’m here to get a lot of autographs from players,” the younger Cohen said, holding a binder of Orioles baseball cards.
They weren’t the only ones hoping to score a memento.
“Yeah it would be a pretty cool thing to get an autograph from a major league baseball player,” Conor Kerr said. His family traveled from Massachusetts for the occasion.
Another Orioles fan named Lane has been coming down for three-years straight from Maryland.
“Love the team, love the players,” Lane said.
“It’s cold back home so gotta come down to warm up a little bit,” he laughed.
And he nabbed a priceless score on Sunday morning. He got a baseball signed by his favorite player, Jordan Westburg.
“Yeah, it’s everything,” he said.
“It’s why we come out to spring training. We want to support them and all, and it’s cool when they recognize the fans and give back a little bit,” he added.
As special as the day was for Lane, Howard Heiland may have had a special week taking in the Orioles action.
“I think I got close to 40, I counted 36 last night,” Howard Heiland said smiling, showing off his fireman’s helmet filled with signatures.
It was the first trip to Sarasota for the lifelong Orioles fan, and one he won’t soon forget.
“Oh man, this is an experience,” Heiland beamed.
“A trip of a lifetime,” he added.
When asked if he’s thinking of coming back again he answered pretty quickly.
“Oh yeah, I’m definitely coming back,” he said.
It seems the Suncoast might be looking to add a few more members to its lineup.
Copyright 2026 WWSB. All rights reserved.