On Visiting the Big Cats
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| Comerica Park, 2015 |
Friday, September 4, 2015
Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit TigersComerica Park
MLB, American League
Detroit, MI
7:05 PM
Outside the Game:
I had a big drive this day, and then a little one after the game, so I decided to rest up as much as possible. I had yet another lazy morning, grabbed breakfast, and then did my shower/pack/checkout routing before hitting the road back up to Detroit.
Seeing the Tigers again was an optional detour on this route, as long as I didn't get rained out of any of the games. I had a couple of flex days in the schedule just to make the most of it after the trip earlier that summer was so plagued with rain.
I had about three and a half hours ahead of me on the road, so I was off before noon, and the early afternoon brought me to the recovering environs of Detroit. One of the biggest regrets in my previous trips was not seeing the old Tigers Stadium before it was torn down. What's left still exists, so I made it a point to have my first stop be the remains. A small field used for vintage baseball and other amateur pursuits was left on the site of the old field, maintained by the "Navin Field Grounds Crew." Not much of the stadium remains except for a run of the exterior gates down one of the roads, and the flag pole from the old park.
Even though it wasn't there anymore, you could still get a sense of the shape of the place by its absence. It was more than a little spooky walking around it, and you really got a sense of how wedged into the city the old park really was. There were some weird reminders of the field not just in the area of the park, but in details such as the "Eat 'Em UP!!!" graffiti still on the walls across one street. It was one of my most rewarding stops on any of those tours, if tinged with great regret about not getting to see the old lady when she was still there.
After that, I drove over to the new park, and the only lots that were open most of the day were the ones furthest away, which were also closest to the interstate, so I was fine with that. I had to work a little to find someone to pay for a ticket that early, but I got parked, and then I went out exploring for the rest of the afternoon.
I spent some time walking around the exterior of the park and taking pictures of the fantastic stadium and making my stop in the team store. I dumped off my purchases back at the car, and then I headed into the downtown area and take my chances.
Detroit has, by no measurement, retained its former glory. But, it certainly has made a tremendous recovery from even where it was ten or twenty years ago. The downtown area seems alive again, and it looks like it is moving in the right direction for the first time in forever. I showed up the weekend of the Detroit Jazz Festival, so there were plenty of pavilions being set up, and there were extra vendors flooding downtown.
I went down to the waterfront to see my favorite statues: the tribute to Union labor that has an unfinished arch at the top, the fisting arm of labor, and the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad statue. The last was always particularly ironic, because it showed people wistfully and hopefully looking to Canada and the city of Windsor across the river, a feeling that anyone that actually had to live in Detroit could certainly sympathize with.
When it was time, I walked back to the park and got on line at one of the side entrances with a small line, where I got into a conversation with one of my line mates about the game and why I was there. The gates opened, and we went out ways.
After the game, I was one with the first wave of people out of the park, and after a longish walk back to my car, I was able to head out. It was just an hour drive after the game to my hotel on the outskirts of Toledo. Being in one of the outer lots, I was able to quickly make my escape to the freeway, and I was at my stop for the night in about exactly the driving time that Google predicted. I made a coherent check-in and then went up to my room to unpack, shower, repack, and get ready for the next day's travels before hitting the hay.
The Stadium & Fans:
Seeing the Tigers again was an optional detour on this route, as long as I didn't get rained out of any of the games. I had a couple of flex days in the schedule just to make the most of it after the trip earlier that summer was so plagued with rain.
Even though it wasn't there anymore, you could still get a sense of the shape of the place by its absence. It was more than a little spooky walking around it, and you really got a sense of how wedged into the city the old park really was. There were some weird reminders of the field not just in the area of the park, but in details such as the "Eat 'Em UP!!!" graffiti still on the walls across one street. It was one of my most rewarding stops on any of those tours, if tinged with great regret about not getting to see the old lady when she was still there.
After that, I drove over to the new park, and the only lots that were open most of the day were the ones furthest away, which were also closest to the interstate, so I was fine with that. I had to work a little to find someone to pay for a ticket that early, but I got parked, and then I went out exploring for the rest of the afternoon.
I spent some time walking around the exterior of the park and taking pictures of the fantastic stadium and making my stop in the team store. I dumped off my purchases back at the car, and then I headed into the downtown area and take my chances.
When it was time, I walked back to the park and got on line at one of the side entrances with a small line, where I got into a conversation with one of my line mates about the game and why I was there. The gates opened, and we went out ways.
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| Home plate to center field, Comerica Park |
Comerica Park is one of the only ballparks left in the major leagues that has any whimsy. Sure, there are more historic parks. Sure, there are newer parks with more technology or “wow” factor, but Comerica might be the only that has a real sense of design and theme. That theme, of course, is “tigers,” and it is embraced on every level of the stadium. The location in the slowly revitalizing downtown is nearly next-door to the home of the Lions at Ford Field across the street.
The exteriors of modern ballparks have evolved to be extravaganzas, but Comerica really is at the top of the class. Tigers, baseballs, and sometimes, tigers with baseballs are to be found all over the exterior of the park. Entrances dot the periphery of the park, but the main one at home plate has two white tiger statues patrolling above a balustrade of bats, and the epic first-base entrance has four of the white tigers arrayed around tiger columns and photographs of heroes and announcers past. Other white tiger busts (with balls mounted in the mouths) line other of the brick-exterior building, and two full-color tigers prowl the main scoreboard at the third-base entrance. Plaques outside the park honor Ty Cobb, Turkey Stearnes, the stadium dedication, and the College of Law building that previously stood at this downtown locale.
Club entrances provide VIP entre to the Tiger Den and the Tiger Club. The extensive team store is also accessible from the outside early before game days, containing a display showing the evolution of the Old English D throughout the years. Long rows of ticket booths string out from the main entrances, and the Beer Hall Bar sits at the far corner of the exterior of the park.
All the entrances open up on a main promenade that runs around the entire park. All the seating areas run down from this promenade, and they are further separated into two sections by a walkway that runs the length of the grandstand. The VIP box seats close to the field are below this walkway, and the less prestigious seats are (mostly) in the upper area, though there are some premium seating areas in that section by the dugouts and behind home plate. The seats run all the way around to center field, where a large batter's eye complex topped by Chevy cars sits. An additional, full-sized upper deck runs the length of the seating area, though the section in right field is separated from the main grandstand, and ramps from the upper promenade lead out to a walkway above the upper deck box seats and below the regular seating above. As with all modern parks, in between the two is a mostly double-decker row of luxury suites and party rooms, as well as the press box.
The park looks out onto the downtown Detroit buildings from about left-center to the right field corner (obscured by the batters' eye in dead center), while the monolithic video scoreboard dominates the entire left-field corner, topped with two colorful tigers that light up in the night. Also visible in left-center is the statue walk, with the names and (where applicable) numbers of the players enshrined in the nicest baseball statuary wall this side of Pittsburgh.
The main promenade holds most of the concessions, along with an endless array of Tigers history, including stands for each decade, pennants from the ceiling, the aforementioned statues, giant player bobbleheads, the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame, a roped-off statue to late broadcaster, Ernie Harwell. There are two, large, special areas on the ground level, including a food court area with the merry-go-round in the center, and a picnic area with concessions, a baseball Ferris Wheel, and baseball-themed topiary. The upper deck isn't neglected, either, with special area such as Bar 416 and The Jungle.
Another noteworthy item was a concession on the lower promenade that let you get buy a 3D printing of yourself as an action figure in Tigers gear. I knew that technology had advanced, but I didn't know that it was this ready for commercial prime time. A combination of a steep price tag and my unwillingness to be immortalized in Tiger gear prevented me from partaking, but who knows what happens if this shows up at Not Shea.
Beloved mascot Paws arrives before the start of the game to glad handle with fans young and old alike. After spending so long in minor-league parks, you realize that the major-league between-inning events aren’t that much better quality, they are just on a bigger scale, and with much bigger budgets. It is still a race around the outfield, but the participants are in professionally made car outfits and projected on an obscenely large jumbotron. It was also a "cheer night" at the park, so before and during the innings breaks during the game, there were several cheerleading exhibitions, which were okay, I guess.
Even though it was a largely meaningless late-season game with a jazz festival competing for eyeballs, the park was more than 50% filled, and they were very much there for the game, even though Cleveland very much beat up on the home-town kitties this game, the crowd stayed until the bitter end.
At the Game with Oogie:
Beloved mascot Paws arrives before the start of the game to glad handle with fans young and old alike. After spending so long in minor-league parks, you realize that the major-league between-inning events aren’t that much better quality, they are just on a bigger scale, and with much bigger budgets. It is still a race around the outfield, but the participants are in professionally made car outfits and projected on an obscenely large jumbotron. It was also a "cheer night" at the park, so before and during the innings breaks during the game, there were several cheerleading exhibitions, which were okay, I guess.
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| Brat and Gatorade |
I got in as soon as the gates opened, and I made the most of my time, sprinting through the park to take all sorts of pictures in all sorts of places. And I needed all the time to hit every last nook and cranny I could in the place, which had some many details crammed into so many places.
I eventually settled on a super brat and a Gatorade topped off with a corn dog as my dinner for the evening before heading down to my seat in the "Tiger seats" on the third-base line. These were covered seats up from the seating walkway with solid wooden chairs that each came with their own little table (where I kept my scorecard) and table service (which I didn't take advantage of).
There was no one else in my section of seats, but I did manage to have an embarrassing interaction with a couple in the section one over from me, as I had read the ticket wrong and were in their seats, but I was convinced I was in the right place until they patiently explained my error, and I sheepishly went one section to the left for the remainder of the game.
The Game:
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| First pitch, Tigers vs. Indians |
This meaningless late-season contest between the bottom of the barrel Tigers and the hanging around .500 Indians didn't mean much in the standings, and Cleveland’s walk-over was done pretty early.
Cleveland started, however, by going in order in the first, while the Tigers just had a leadoff single to show for their part of the inning. A double-play helped the Indians go in order again in the second, and they were joined by Detroit. Something finally got started in the top of the third, as Cleveland had a leadoff walk followed by a homer to left to stake them to a 2-0 lead (all they would need as it turns out), while Detroit again went in order.
The Indians went in order in the top of the fourth, while the Tigers had a walk to show for the bottom of the frame. The fifth was the scoring inning for Cleveland, starting with a leadoff homer to center. A single, two doubles, a hit batsman, and two walks (one intentional) lead to them batting around for four runs, leaving them with a 6-0 lead, while the Tigers went in order. The Indians went in order in the sixth, while Detroit finally got on the board with a leadoff double brought in with a fly out to deep left and a two-out single to left to close it to 6-1.
Cleveland got the run back and more in the top of the seventh with a two-run half on the back of a walk, a single, and a double, to extend the lead to 8-1. The Tigers went in order. Both sides went in line in the eighth, and the Indians went in order thanks to another double play in the top of the ninth. The Tigers largely laid down for their last licks, getting only a two-out single to seal up Cleveland's 8-1 win.
The Scorecard:
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| Indians vs. Tigers, 09/04/15. Cleveland wins, 8-1. |
The scorecard was a separate $1 item from the program. It was a four-page center fold on good cardstock, with the scorecard taking up the entirety of the left side of the centerfold, with the right side dedicated almost exclusively to showing how to score. The complete lineups for both teams were printed under each team, and the opposing pitchers' limes went with the opposing team. There wasn't a ton of place for replacements, but that is less of an issue in the AL, and the entire card was on a white background with plain scoring boxes for good readability.
There weren't many plays of scoring note during this game. In the bottom of the seventh, there was a ground-out into the regrettable resurgence of the overshift, which I recorded 4o-3. Outside of that, it was all pretty pedestrian.
The Accommodations:
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| La Quinta Inn |
My hotel for this night was the La Quinta Inn just outside of Toledo. It was just on the edge of fancy-ish, but once again, if it is clean, quiet, and I can get a night’s sleep, I don’t care too much.
The bathroom was right at the entrance to my room, with the vanity and sink on the left of the entrance and the shower and toilet to the right. The bedroom was nice enough with a king-sized bed (with only three pillows) with an end table and lounge chair on one side of the room and a desk, low dresser with TV, and refrigerator and microwave on the other.
2015 Ohio
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