…a carnival atmosphere
(on a cold, bleak, snowy day)
Bygone baseball: The unfamiliar, the unusual, the dramatic
By C. Philip Francis
Detroit Tiger baseball fans have recently been involved in both the death of a ballpark and the birth of another. Last September young and old paid their final respects to ancient but beloved Tiger Stadium at Trumbull and Michigan that had been around since April 20, 1912. But that was then, and now is now, and a new baseball shrine for the faithful opened 88 years to the month after Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) began business. The name of the new Tiger playground is Comerica Park. No, it’s not just another ballpark although our mailman said that to him it would always be Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers had opened the season on the road with a win, but came home with a losing record. Now they were ready for both the annual Opening Day festivities and also the pageantry of the opening of new Comerica Park, one of three new Major League ballparks to begin this season. Opening Day is always the other spring holiday, and one never knows what April weather might be like in Michigan although it had been in the 70’s a few weeks earlier. Tuesday, April 11, 2000 dawned to see snow, clouds, and a temperature near freezing. Add a brisk wind, and it was certainly not your typically baseball weather, but granddaughter Chris and I were ready to open Comerica Park with two tickets awaiting us at the Will Call window, we hoped. They were.
It was a day when the local Boys of Summer became the Boys of Winter. It was also a day of lines and waiting, but who cared, we were there to join the other 39,166 fans to become part of baseball history. Just in case anyone forgets the team’s nickname, the thirteen Tigers we counted near the main entrance would quickly remind them. A fan entering will walk between two 80-foot bats that are designed from the much smaller ones used by Ty Cobb and Charlie Gehringer. Just in case you love big cats, there are the two striped tigers prowling atop the huge scoreboard whose eyes light up when Detroit hits a home run. Their eyes were dark that day. We bypassed the carousel and ferris wheel wondering if they were running that day.
Ticket owners were not well blessed by the weather as we not only saw snow but rain, a mixture of rain and sleet, and a wind chill of near 20. It was a blanket type day as most people were well bungled up. The long lines for programs at twelve dollars a shot with no lineup sheets, food, and even the rest rooms were taken in stride as this was a holiday crowd who gave a thumb’s up to the new ball stadium with comments like: Beautiful, great, couldn’t be better, what a place for a ballgame, and what a lovely field as the grass was greener than in August. The lack of upper deck seating in the outfield allows a fine view of the Detroit skyline, and it is a wonderful place to wallow in baseball fever.
Part of the pre-game pomp was to include an Air Force F-16 fighter fly-over and a parachutist who would bring the first ball and resin bag, but the skies dashed that.
The flag in old Tiger Stadium had been removed during the final day program last September, and was now ready to be become part of new Comerica Park. It was passed to the outfield flagpole by present and former Detroit Tigers including 89-year-old Eldon Auker, a Tiger pitcher of the 1930’s, George Kell, Al Kaline, and Sparky Anderson. The master of ceremonies was Detroit Tiger legendary and Hall of Famer Ernie Harwell. The Star Spangled Banner was sung, two youngsters who had been chosen at random threw the formal “first pitch”, and now it was time.
Yes, there was a ballgame to be played with the Seattle Mariners in town, but many missed much of it as the long lines continued throughout the afternoon. Tiger Brian Moehler threw the first official pitch of the new structure, a strike to Seattle leftfielder Mark McLemore. The first hit was by Mariner John Olerud who doubled to rightfield, and the Tigers’ first was a triple by Luis Polonia.
If anyone had wanted to keep score it would have been very difficult as our gloved hands were too frozen to move. Few fans were still there when the final ball was caught, but those who hung on saw a 5-2 Tiger victory. As we left the ballpark we saw a large sign on a nearby church that urged, “Pray for the Tigers here.” It may have helped.
It took us two days to warm up, and in spite of the weather, the traffic, and the lines, we would not have missed it for anything. Thanks Harvey for the tickets.