Longtime on-field personality Ron Lord, right, goofs alongside team mascot “Pinch” during a recent home game. Lord has been an on-field presence at Regency Furniture Stadium since the team’s second season in 2009, even predating the Blue Crabs’ familiar mascot.
Donning his customary tie-dye shirt, his standard attire for work and play, Ron Lord heads down to the field between innings of a Southern Maryland Blue Crabs home game earlier this month. Lord has been a staple at Regency Furniture Stadium since the team’s second season there in 2009.
In the midst of an unexpected snowstorm April 9, 2016, Ron Lord, “The Tie-Dye Guy,” poses for a picture with two Chick-Fil-A cows during Blue Crabs Fanfest.
Longtime on-field personality Ron Lord, right, goofs alongside team mascot “Pinch” during a recent home game. Lord has been an on-field presence at Regency Furniture Stadium since the team’s second season in 2009, even predating the Blue Crabs’ familiar mascot.
Donning his customary tie-dye shirt, his standard attire for work and play, Ron Lord heads down to the field between innings of a Southern Maryland Blue Crabs home game earlier this month. Lord has been a staple at Regency Furniture Stadium since the team’s second season there in 2009.
In the midst of an unexpected snowstorm April 9, 2016, Ron Lord, “The Tie-Dye Guy,” poses for a picture with two Chick-Fil-A cows during Blue Crabs Fanfest.
Almost since the team first took the field at Regency Furniture Stadium in the spring of 2008, Ron Lord has emerged as one of the genuine fixtures atop the home and visiting dugouts when the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs welcome their Atlantic League of Professional baseball foes.
Lord, 63, who sells real estate as his day job in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties, has been an audible and visible presence at Blue Crabs games since the team’s second season. Known affectionately and professionally as “The Tie-Dye Guy” because of his affinity to don those shirts, Lord rarely misses a day of work or a night at the ballpark.
“I really enjoy being around people and I love sports,” said Lord, who is also a girls’ basketball official during the winter. “There are some nights when I show a house somewhere then I hustle to get to the ballpark. But I really plan my day around getting to the ballpark for the Blue Crabs games. One thing’s for sure, I don’t do it for the money — I’m probably the lowest-paid guy there, but I’m always among the most energetic and upbeat.”
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs General Manager Courtney Knichel has been enamored with Lord’s enthusiasm since the first time she met him roughly a decade ago. During her tenure as the Blue Crabs’ general manager, Knichel has seen dozens of players and coaches don a Southern Maryland jersey, but Lord has been a steadfast mainstay through the years.
“No matter the year, the weather or the time of day there is always one constant when you come to Regency Furniture Stadium — that is Ron Lord,” Knichel said. “His mood never changes, he is happy 100% of the time. Ron Lord embodies what the Blue Crabs are all about — fun and safe family entertainment. We are lucky to have him.”
Lord has been such a pronounced fixture at Blue Crabs’ home games that the team actually honored him by having their players wear tie-dye jerseys recently. Fittingly, longtime Southern Maryland ace Daryl Thompson went to the hill that night and tossed eight shutout innings and departed with the lead. But the bullpen squandered the advantage in the ninth and eventually fell in extra innings.
“It was such a fun night,” Lord recalled. “All of the players were wearing tie-dye jerseys and Daryl pitched a tremendous game. There must have been around 7,000 fans there that night and they were all very supportive. Really, the only thing that didn’t go according to plan was the Blue Crabs losing the game in extra innings. But it was a terrific night.”
While the Blue Crabs may have suffered a recently rare defeat on the night that he was honored, Lord convinced his longtime girlfriend, Pennie Platt, to join him on the field for the various pregame ceremonies. Platt was reluctant to do so initially, but when they reached the area behind home plate Lord got down on one knee and proposed. Platt gladly accepted.
“When we started heading down to the field, Pennie didn’t really want to go,” Lord said. “But I got down on one knee and took her hand and she started to cry at first, but then she accepted. The Blue Crabs may have lost, but that was definitely the highlight of my night.”
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs hosted “Ron Lord Night” last month, and this Saturday, Aug. 20, the stadium will pay homage to the Blue Crabs’ other recognizable on-field presence, their mascot “Pinch.” While Lord had no contemporaries join him on his night, Pinch is expected to be surrounded by mascots from the College of Southern Maryland [Hawk] and several nearby high schools.
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