Some random observations after attending the home opener of the baseball season — a 7-4 Tigers victory over the Chicago White Sox — and watching it later on a TV recording. Followed by more sports shorts . . .
PARKING, PRE-GAME, and HORSEPOWER: Lots of parking lot operators hit the $100 threshold. Supply and demand, of course. I got there early enough to find a free curb space less than one mile from Comerica Park — right across the street from a lot priced at $50. In many cases, your car space costs more than your game ticket.
Among the tailgate parties marched 10 Detroit police horses (mounted by their riders), seven in one herd and three in the other. (Enough for a derby!) In the Detroit area, as we constantly remind each other, the home opener is considered an unofficial civic holiday.
That’s a mixed blessing. Or, perhaps, a mixed-drink blessing. On the FanDuel pre-game show, reporter Johnny Kane asked a tailgater “You know what time it is?” and the man responded “Time to drink!” The clock had not yet reached the crack of noon.
A few hours later, inside the ball park, there were long lines at the rest rooms and the drunk guy behind my upper deck seat constantly dropped loud “F-bombs” in just about every sentence. And he was in a good mood.
PRIME SEATS GO EMPTY: Both at the ball park and on TV, you couldn’t help but notice the strange sight of all those new, empty, blue-green seats behind home plate in the lower deck, a prime section containing the very best views in a sold-out stadium.
These 300-plus “Home Plate Club” seats look like the first-class cabin of an airplane. They even have headrests. They seemed roughly half-filled on a day when all tickets were allegedly sold. These chairs are expensive. (If you have to ask, you can’t afford them.)
The Tigers won’t reveal the prices although the Detroit News reported it to be $200 per game at minimum and $16,200 for a season at minimum. You have to buy more than one game in a package.
They come with technology that will warm or chill your rear end. It is part of a renovation that has seen the lower deck behind home plate sub-divided into three, gentrified, gated communities geared toward corporate expense accounts and gentrification.
Perhaps those prime seats will sell better later in the season when the Tigers finish building the exclusive private HPC dining area below the grandstand and connected to these cushy seats. Maybe they should stick with the franchise’s feline theme and change the club name to “Fat Cat Habitat.”
SCOREBOARD PROBLEMS: For much of the opening game, the giant scoreboard in left field showed the wrong score. Whoever ran the contraption was late to post runs while an inning was in progress and often late to post the updated score in between innings.
In addition, the scoreboard format is aggravating even when working right. If you look up between pitches, the big board — as well as all the little boards — tell you to “Get loud!” If you want to know the inning, batter, count, or number of outs — or even the gosh-darn score — forget about it.
The scoreboard instead tells you to “Make noise!” This mess needs fixing. Stop showing so many shots of fans mugging for the camera and squealing “Wheee-hoo!” Show more replays and fewer young women shouting house promotions into microphones. Just cover the darn game. Thank you.
ENTERTAINING ANNOUNCERS: At times, you can’t tell the Tigers’ radio and television announcing teams without a scorecard because so many voices shuffle back and forth, in and out. This year, Craig Monroe and Kirk Gibson are gone, for different reasons.
But the best of all combinations might be on the FanDuel telecasts with Jason Benetti on play-by-play and Andy Dirks as color analyst. Both are bright and well-informed, with a bent toward absurdist humor. (Where else can you hear a discussion about how many human beings think they could win a fight with a grizzly bear?)
When Spencer Torkelson struck out with a loud F-bomb Friday, Benetti quipped: “I’m just glad to know our field mics are A-Plus.” One suggestion: Go easy on the schtick. This isn’t Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. A little goes a long way.
@metrotimes #Detroit #DetroitTigers #ComericaPark #TigersOpeningDay #MetroDetroit @Detroit Tigers ♬ original sound - Detroit Metro Times
PISTONS’ PLAUDITS: The astonishing turnaround for the playoff-bound Pistons is one of America’s best sports stories. They’ve qualified for the post-season for the first time since 2019 and they aren’t the kind of team any foe would want to meet in the first round of the tournament.
Team president Trajan Langdon and Coach J.B. Bickerstaff have built — in less than 12 months — a team with versatility, personality, and a chip on its collective shoulder. Let’s hope the six-game absence of guard Cade Cunningham — he returned Saturday night — was a well-earned rest rather than the “left calf contusion” that was officially announced.
In his fourth NBA season, Cunningham continues to ripen as a team leader and a multi-talented force who makes his teammates better. At times, Cunningham and center Jalen Duren seem to be sharing the same brain, teaming up for crisp high screens and alley-oop dunks.
Around them, Isaiah Stewart fills a niche as a shot-blocker and physical intimidator; Malik Beasley hits long jump shots for three points; and Dennis Schroder fits right in as the backup floor leader.
RED WINGS’ THINGS: Back when all four local pro sports teams were near the bottom of their respective league standings, the playoff drought of the Red Wings blended in with the whole dreary atmosphere. But now that the other three have reached their respective tournaments in the last few months, the struggle of the hockey team stands in sharp relief.
Yes, the Wings could get hot and reach the tournament in these final few games of the regular season. But, if they don’t, you have to wonder why they haven’t built a contender or even a playoff qualifier since 2016. In his six years as general manager, Steve Yzerman has constructed a roster that no foe fears.
They get bullied by meaner teams, like Ottawa and Anaheim. If they fail to qualify again, a star like captain Dylan Larkin might need a new scene, even though he is a local boy who made good. He’s gone stale here and that’s the danger facing other young talents like Mo Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, and Marco Kasper .
Yzerman is now on his third coach. Perhaps the problem is neither the coach nor the captain.
THE GREAT ONE: In several decades of hockey coverage, I personally saw more than 100 of Wayne Gretzky’s 894 regular-season career goals, the most at that time in the history of the National Hockey League. I covered him closely for three seasons in New York where he finished his 20-year career with the Rangers.
On Sunday, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scored his personal No. 895 to break Gretzky’s record, so Gretzky went on the ice in the immediate ceremony and he said all the right things. More than any good or bad guy I’ve covered in sports, Gretzky was the most cordial and professional star to deal with.
Lately, he’s been laying low and it has been sad to read and hear how some Canadians have turned against this national hero because of his friendship with U.S. President Donald Trump, who insults Canadians gratuitously and threatens them with tariffs.
In all the years I’ve known him, Gretzky always tries to say and do the right thing. He would suffer silly questions mercifully. He knew he was a role model and embraced the role. Sure, he often spoke in cliches, but always in a moderate and helpful tone.
On Sunday, one of Gretzky’s strongest statements was non-verbal. He wore on his suit coat lapel a pin that showed a red background behind a white No. “9.” Some may have overlooked it, but Detroiters know that was the number and sweater color of Gordie Howe of the Red Wings.
When Gretzky scored No. 802 in 1994, he beat Howe’s previous record. As of today, the list is Ovechkin, Gretzky, and Howe. This was Wayne’s way of honoring his predecessor while honoring his successor, passing on the crown from one king to the next. Nice touch.
