Orioles hold Tupac Shakur bobblehead promotion - His sister throws out the ceremonial first pitch

BALTIMORE (AP) — Fans lined up well before the gates opened at Camden Yards on Friday night in anticipation of a Tupac Shakur bobblehead give-away at the ballpark.

"I grabbed three of them," Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said before a 4-3 loss to the Athletics.

Shakur was raised in New York and Baltimore before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1980s. He lived in Oakland, California, in the early 1990s, which made Friday's matchup between the Orioles and Athletics an appropriate time to honour the rap icon, who was killed in 1996. The familiar riff from California Love was played while the starting line-up for the As — who left Oakland before last season — was being announced.

Albernaz mentioned Pain when asked his favourite Tupac song.

"This is back on — I'm dating myself — Napster or LimeWire, trying to download that," Albernaz said.

He also said All Eyez On Me best encapsulates the current Baltimore team.

Everyone on the Orioles' active roster was born in 1989 or later, so it wasn't immediately clear whether the players were familiar with Shakur's music.

"I hope so," Albernaz said. "I probably should ask around about that."

Sekyiwa ‘Set’ Shakur, Tupac's sister, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

The game drew 39,311 fans, the most for a Baltimore home game since opening day.