Alex's Baseball Across America: Comerica Park Review

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C O M E R I C A P A R K

August 15, 2011

Minnesota Twins v. Detroit Tigers

7:05pm

Minnesota 9, Detroit 6

WP: Liriano (8-9, 5.12 ERA)

LP: Porcello (11-8, 4.98 ERA)

S: Nathan (10)

Attendance: 36,211

Time: 2:49

81 degrees, partly cloudy

Comerica Park sits in downtown Detroit, just across from Ford Field. It replaced Tiger Stadium in 2000. It was the site of rookie Anthony Reyes’ Game 1 victory in the 2006 World Series. It was also the site of the Kenny Rogers’ controversy in Game 2. Fortunately, the Cardinals only needed 5 games to finish off Detroit, thus not having to return to Comerica.

The gates opened just a little over 1-1/2 hours prior to game time. Plenty of fans were clamoring to get in. As soon as the gates opened, the Tigers left the field, and the Twins started their batting practice. This is really a chronic issue. If you open your gates 1-1/2 hours prior to first pitch, you don’t allow your fans to see their team take BP. I could care less about the Tigers, but people were even coming across the border to see these guys play. At least afford them the chance to converse with them in BP.

The Atmosphere: This is a cool place. I like the setting. I was hoping for a bigger, more enthusiastic crowd given the fact that the Tigers were in first. Walking around, I had the same feelings I had at AT&T and Petco. It’s a great place to play ball.

The Scorecard: Good card. I think it was a buck. Blank squares. All on single page but felt like plenty of room. Rosters all on the same page so no flipping around. It’ll slide into the #3 spot for now.

The Hot Dog: The main dog is Ballpark brand. They are grilled in mass quantity at the stands and are pretty good. They do have taste. Not as much spice as a Kosher. It’s definitely better than a run-of-the-mill dog, but it won’t crack the top 5.

The Broadcasters: They called a good game. I obviously tuned in a little early for game coverage as they were talking about the politics of people having too many kids...not exactly a baseball topic. One of the guys is a former Tiger catcher.

Entertainment: Routine stuff. The mascot is a tiger. Name of Paw. Instead of big, spongy fingers, they have big, spongy paws. I almost got one because they were everywhere.

The Scorecard.

They have a GREAT authentics area. It gives St. Louis a run for their money. You can buy balls, bases, and line-up cards. You can even pre-buy these items for that days game. That’s awesome. I pre-bought a ball. The gal said I got lucky because they’d now be priced much higher given Thome’s 600th. You can get same day balls in Houston, but you gotta wait in line after the 4th inning. Here you can just drop by after the game. No stress and no missing the game! Why do I harp on authentic game used items? I think it’s a good thing for teams to do. They are more unique than the standard souvenir, and you can get them for whatever special occasion...being there for your first game, seeing something historic in a game...anything. It’s just fun.

Views from Around the Park:

Other words: There was a question about who the star of “My Cousin Vinny” was--the painfully obvious answer being Joe Pesci. The fan missed it! I still have not seen this movie, but I knew that answer. Relevant to baseball? Of course not. But, who cares? This is one of dad’s all-time favorites. Downtown Detroit turned out to be much better than I thought. It’s clean, safe, and there’s plenty to do down there. I stayed at Greektown Casino, which may seem odd, but there were many baseball goers there...even families. Very nice hotel. Free parking in a secure garage. Not a bargain, but there were no bargains downtown. On the elevator, I ran into 2 groups that had been at the Cleveland rainout yesterday. One of those groups was also headed to Pittsburgh the next day...just like A Free!

Gripes: None regarding the stadium. Now, show up and root on your first place Tigers.

C O M E R I C A P A R K

D E T R O I T , M I C H I G A N

H O M E O F T H E T I G E R S

The story of this game was Jim Thome. He’d been sitting on 598 homeruns. He hit opposite field homers in back-to-back at bats to get to 600. Much of the crowd seemed unaware what was going on until the scoreboard flashed the message. Their unawareness would explain the looks I got while yelling at #600 to “Get up! Gooooo! Goooooo! Yea!!!!”. Thome is one of the good guys around. Most people remember him as an Indian. He’s from “that era” but I’ve never heard his name mentioned under suspicion. He’s only the eighth player to get to 600--if you are into asterisks, you could argue he’s the sixth. I could see him hanging it up after this year. If that’s the case, he’ll be in the Cooperstown in just over 5 years.

The Crowd: I just wished it had been bigger and more charged up. You’re in first. You could be in last. You could be cheering in the postseason in 6 weeks. Every game from here on should be a sell-out. Is this Atlanta? The Tigers had JUST acquired Delmon Young from the Twins. He literally went to the park on the Twins team bus, and then was traded and started the game in a Tigers uniform. In his first at bat for the Tigers, he cracked a homerun. That spells curtain call in St. Louis. Not here.

The Stadium: As mentioned, it sits in downtown. There are several bars and restaurants within easy walking distance. It is directly across the street from Ford Field, the home of the laughing stock of the NFL. Statues of past greats grace the area beyond centerfield. If you have a phobia of tigers, do not go near this place. They are EVERYWHERE! There is a carousel inside the stadium and even a Ferris wheel. It may seem kind of gimmicky but I actually liked them. They fit in well and are just a couple bucks for the kids to ride. The carousel is surrounded by food stands and has a fair-type feel to it...you can close your eyes and feel like Roy Hobbs is about to pitch to The Whammer. They have volunteers working many of the concessions with some of the proceeds going to whatever organization is running them. I like that! I’ve never seen a pro team do this, and others should follow suit.

The Ferris wheel.

S T A T I S T I C S U P D A T E

MLB Games Seen

18 of 31

Days

45 of 86

Driving Miles

10,883.6 of an estimated 18,735

States

Estimated Gallons of Gas

572 of an estimated 1,102

Hot Dogs Eaten

Too Many

Border Crossings

0 of 2

P R E D I C T I O N S U P D A T E

(AFTER 17 OF 30 GAMES)

Runs

159 of 249

Hits

304 of 512

Errors

26 of 36

Home Runs

41 of 65

Doubles

58 of 101

Triples

9 of 10

(one of these was almost an inside-the-park homerun! great play!)

Sacrifices (Hits & Flies)

17 of 31

Strikeouts

263 of 415

Walks

96 of 189

Home Team Wins

11 of 17

Complete Games

1 of 1

Shutouts

1 of 2

Saves

10 of 15

Blown Saves

2 of 7

Balks

1 of 2

Wild Pitches

6 of 19

Hit Batters

5 of 18

Walk-offs

0 of 2

Stolen Bases

20 of 40

Caught Stealing

7 of 15

Ejections

1 of 4

Smallest Crowd

18,640

The Coliseum, Oakland

July 27th, Tampa Bay v. Oakland

Largest Crowd

44,111

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

July 9th, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v. Seattle

B A L L P A R K R A N K I N G S

The Stadium

1. PETCO Park, San Diego

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Target Field, Minneapolis

4. Comerica Park, Detroit

5. Wrigley Field, Chicago

6. Safeco Field, Seattle

7. Minute Maid Park, Houston

8. Chase Field, Phoenix

9. Miller Park, Milwaukee

10. Coors Field, Denver

11. Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati

12. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

13. U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago

14. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City

15. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

16. Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim

17. The Coliseum, Oakland

The Atmosphere

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Target Field, Minneapolis

3. PETCO Park, San Diego

4. Wrigley Field, Chicago

5. Comerica Park, Detroit

The Crowd

1. AT&T Park, San Francisco

2. Target Field, Minneapolis

3. Miller Park, Milwaukee

4. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

5. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

The Scorecard

1. Target Field, Minneapolis

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Comerica Park, Detroit

4. Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington

5. Minute Maid Park, Houston

The Hot Dog

1. Coors Field, Denver

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Wrigley Field, Chicago

4. U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago

5. Safeco Field, Seattle

The Broadcasters

1. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

2. AT&T Park, San Francisco

3. Miller Park, Milwaukee

4. Target Field, Minneapolis

5. The Coliseum, Oakland

Beer served the ole fashion way...out of a can and into the cup. None of that simply twisting a cap and passing down.

Okay, okay. I had 2 dogs here. I had not eaten since breakfast and was starving. This was the Kosher. I’m not digging the finely chopped onions. To me, they don’t taste as good and it’s harder to eat that way. Serve them sliced!