May 3–On some Wednesday night this summer, Mark Hendrickson will pitch in Camden Yards and then drive home to York.
And he will stop along the way at Vito’s Pizza and Beer on South Queen Street. His long-time baseball friends from York Township will be there, like they always are once each week. A few beers, some razzing, some compliments, some laughs. A perfect ending to the night for the 6-foot-9 Baltimore Orioles pitcher. And York, it turns out, feels more like home now than ever. Despite not growing up here, both sides of Hendrickson’s family live in York County. He played Susquehanna League baseball here. He has a house here and a fiancee here.
And, now, the veteran left-hander really is able to pitch close to home. Consider that he often drives down I-83 to games with one of his York baseball buddies.