Mazzilli enjoys the moment

BALTIMORE — Lee Mazzilli got a phone call from a good friend yesterday morning — New York Yankees manager Joe Torre.

The Orioles’ Mazzilli, making his major league debut as manager last night against the Boston Red Sox, learned much of what he knows from working for Torre for the last four years as a coach on the Yankees staff and has been close to Torre since the two were teammates on the New York Mets in the 1970s.

“He called and told me, ’Just be yourself,’” Mazzilli said. “Don’t try to be anyone else. Just take it all in and enjoy it.”

Mazzilli was trying to do just that. When he was driving to the ballpark, he said was struck by the impact of his opportunity.

“I had to sort of pinch myself,” he said. “You realize there are only 30 guys who have this job, and you feel lucky.”

Mazzilli was hired in part because of his power-of-positive-thinking philosophy, and he was in tune with that before last night’s opener.

“Everything we have done since I’ve been here has been a step forward, from top to bottom,” he said.

He also talked about the support he has received from the men who hired him — Orioles vice presidents Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan.

“They have given me a lot of latitude with the club, which is unique for a first-year manager,” Mazzilli said. “They have put it on my shoulders. That means a lot to me.”

They have not given him complete latitude, though. Mazzilli was not allowed to hire any coaches, instead inheriting the staff left over from Mike Hargrove’s tenure, including bench coach Sam Perlozzo and first base coach Rick Dempsey, who both competed with Mazzilli for the managing job.

Seeking continuity

Mazzilli said his young team will remain intact for several years.

“We are a young team,” Mazzilli said. “The average age on the team is 27. This team is going to be the same for the next three or four years. They will not be eligible for free agency for at least three years, and that is what is most impressive, knowing that we will have good quality players that will be around.”

50 years and more

Orioles greats Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, Mike Flanagan and Rick Dempsey threw out ceremonial first pitches to their modern-day counterparts — Lee Mazzilli, Kurt Ainsworth, Melvin Mora, Miguel Tejada, Matt Riley and Javy Lopez — before last night’s game.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig also participated in a ceremonial first pitch, tossing to Palmeiro.

This offseason, Camden Yards has undergone a few changes. To enhance the traditional feel of the ballpark, a brick facade was added to the wall behind home plate. Two rows, a total of 70 seats, were added behind the plate. In addition, 24 field-level seats were added on the first and third base lines, increasing capacity to 48,954.

The stadium’s grounds crew ripped out the ivy on the pitcher’s backdrop — a wall beyond the center-field fence — because the clinging vine was choking itself. To honor the franchise’s 50th season in Baltimore, the left sleeve on the Orioles’ uniforms will feature a commemorative patch.