IT'S AN ALL-STAR HOMERUN DERBY!

Homerun Derby On June 22nd; Derby Finals To Take Place at All Star Game On July 10

Calling all baseball stars! Do you think you have what it takes to be a part of the All-Star Homerun Derby On July 10th at Regency Furniture Stadium? If your answer is yes, then prove it!

The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are holding a preliminary homerun derby at the stadium in St. Charles on Saturday, June 22nd beginning at 9am. Entry cost is $10, and all proceeds benefit the Civista Health Foundation. There will be a derby for three age brackets, and the winners will compete for prizes at the Atlantic League All Star Game in St. Charles on July 10!

St. Charles Joins with homebuilders Lennar, Ryan to sponsor 2013 Atlantic League All Star Game

"Circurious" Part of two days of fun activities for fans

St. Charles, Maryland today joined the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in announcing that Regency Furniture Stadium will host the 2013 Atlantic League All-Star Game with 2013 sponsors St. Charles Companies, Lennar Homes and Ryan Homes. On July 10th, Southern Maryland will be in the spotlight as some of professional baseball's most accomplished stars take the field as the Liberty Division and the Freedom Division match-up in what promises to be a highlight of the 2013 season. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 1st at www.somdbluecrabs.com

“The St. Charles Companies couldn’t be prouder to host the All-Star Game for the very first time in Southern Maryland,” said Craig J. Renner, vice president of marketing and public relations for The St. Charles Companies. “We know our St. Charles residents and neighbors in Waldorf and surrounding region will enjoy the wide range of festivities and events planned for the two days of All-Star celebrations. We expect the All-Star game to attract baseball lovers from the entire Washington area to enjoy a great family-oriented celebration of “America’s game”.

The Charm of Opening Day

Blue Crabs' 2012 Season Opens Thursday

by Mike Billard

As winter unfolds into spring and the days lengthen and grow warmer, certain traditions play out across the country. Sleds and snow shovels are replaced with lawnmowers and sprinklers, barbecue grills are wheeled out of sheds, and fathers and sons stretch their limbs in preparation for the first game of catch of the season. Somewhere in Florida and Arizona, men who have the good fortune to play the game for a living begin to field thousands of grounders, hit thousands of line drives, slide into thousands of bases. If there is any tradition more truly American than the beginning of the baseball season, I don’t know what it is.

BLUE CRABS UNVEIL TOP 25 PROMOTIONS

Blue Crabs To Offer More Appearances, Giveaways, And Experiences Than Ever Before

For the 5th Anniversary Season of Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball, the team has made a huge effort to provide many more promotions, giveaways, and appearances than ever before!

“This season won't be like any other in the history of our franchise. Our front office has worked incredibly hard to put together a promotional schedule that not only blankets our schedule with additional value, but provides some really unique experiences that you aren’t going to get anywhere else,” said Blue Crabs Assistant General Manager Brian Radle. "We really think our fans in Southern Maryland are going to feel great about what’s in store for the 5th Anniversary Season in 2012.”

Crabby Stadium Earns Top Recognition in National Ranking

According to Livability.com, our Southern Maryland Blue Crabs play at one of the top minor league stadiums in the nation (and we couldn’t agree more!).  The list puts Regency Furniture Stadium at number three on the list.  The top ten ranking includes fields that exude “charm and magnetism” and that attract both “baseball enthusiasts and curiosity seekers.”  Livability describes our stadium as follows:

“Fans are encouraged to be crabby when they attend Southern Maryland Blue Crabs games at the 4,200-seat Regency Furniture Stadium outside La Plata, MD. The stadium, which hosted its first regular season game in 2008, has unique architecture with sloping red roofs and a left field wall that bears a door to allow players to enter the field from the locker room, modeled after the Green Monster at Fenway Park. In keeping with the crabby theme, concession stands have items like fried rockfish, crab cakes and crab-filled soft pretzels.”

Take Me to the Ballpark

This is the time of year I always looked most forward to as a kid. My friends and I would huddle around someone’s pre-cable TV set and watch the ghosted images of our favorite baseball players move in and out of the snow. Even in that era of bad reception, we could identify our heroes by the way they stood at the plate—Willie Stargell’s signature lean over the plate from the left side; Eddie Murray’s wide, low stance; whatever stance Cal Ripken was trying out for that season. As much as anything else, spring meant baseball for practically every kid in my hometown.

And that hasn’t changed much for me over the years. Having moved to Southern Maryland in the late eighties, I’ve found myself enjoying an embarrassment of riches when it comes to baseball. Each year the options seem to grow. The Orioles have always been a reasonable drive away, albeit a little too far and expensive to encourage regular attendance. The Bowie Baysox began play in the mid-nineties—a little closer and a little less expensive.  And now, in recent years and in rapid succession, both the Washington Nationals and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs have moved into town—the latter literally four miles from my front door. On any given day I can choose from the American League, the National League, or two minor league teams. (That’s a lot of batting stances to memorize)