Game #15-Comerica Park Home of the Detroit Tigers--Half Way There!

What an extra special time for us to celebrate the very important women in our lives who have been impacted by breast cancer. Tonight's Detroit Tigers game, Friday, May 12 was "Pink Out The Park." This indeed was a time when my heartstrings where pulled as my forever friend, Kat Gelardi, who is a breast cancer survivor was with us. Additionally, Jim's sister, Cyndi Skye is currently battling breast cancer and Jim's first wife, Sue Bray lost her life to breast cancer 13 years ago. So we will just say it was pretty emotional for us all. It was incredible to see so many people unite for a cause that has touched so many lives. The baseball field was lined with hundreds of breast cancer survivors in the pregame ceremony. The National Anthem was sung by a breast cancer survivor and the first pitch was thrown out by a breast cancer survivor. The Detroit Tigers pulled out all the stops in "Pinking Out The Park." There were banners, large pink ribbons, pink balloons and pink decorations that covered the ballpark. Even the scoreboard was lit with pink. The staff, grounds crew and players wore pink and they gave the fans pink pullover zip shirts as they entered the gate. What an amazing night! I must say when I was planning the baseball trip I had a totally different picture of Detroit than I do now. We toured downtown Detroit before the game with our friends Tom and Kat who were born and raised in Detroit. We were very surprised by how clean it was and how safe we felt. We never saw one homeless tent or homeless person laying in the streets of downtown. The same was true for our arrival at Comerica Park. The area around the ballpark is well kept and beautiful. The ballpark is located between two historic churches and across the street from the historic Fox Theatre which opened in 1928. Outside the stadium we were greated by a very large tiger statue which we snapped a picture by, see our Instagram for pictures. @ourfieldofdreams2023. There are also 33 tiger heads with baseballs in their mouths that light up on the brick walls outside the park. As we entered the ballpark we were given a pink zippered shirts for breast cancer awareness. Once inside the gate we could not believe our eyes as the entire stadium was decorated in pink. Just inside the gate there were many tables set up by Karmanos Cancer Institute with loads of information and literature on breast cancer awareness. One table had signs for fans to write the name of people they know who have been impacted by breast cancer. We all got signs to acknowledge those loved ones impacted by breast cancer. We then took our walk around the ballpark to see the many special features of this park. They have large poles set up by decade through the concourse, each have artifacts about that particular decade of the Tigers. Also, as we walked around the concourse in left-center field there are statues of almost all the players whose numbers have been retired by the Tigers. Who were these amazing people? Lou Whitaker #1, Charlie Gehringer #2, Alan Trammell #3, Hank Greenberg #5, Al Kaline #6, George "Sparky" Anderson #11, Hal Newhouser #16, Willie Horton #23, and Jack Morris #47. We loved the way the statues appeared to be in action with dirt flying up. See the pictures on Instagram. It is very impressive as you sit in the stands to look out into left-center field and see these statues and their numbers on the brickwall. Fantastic display! A new thing I learned is that way back in baseball history the players did not have numbers like Ty Cobb who played for the Tigers from 1905-1926. So you will see in our pictures that Ty Cobb's name is on the retired numbers wall without a number. If you want to read about some remarkable records (90 MLB records in his career) and interesting facts look up Ty Cobb. The stadium also has a fountain in center field known as the Chevrolet Fountain. This fountain goes off when on a Tiger player hits a home run or the Tigers win. We were told the tiger's eyes on the scoreboard light up on a homerun but we did not see that. We did witness one Tiger home run and saw the fountain go off. Another very unique feature and boy I wish I had my grandkids with me, was the carousel with tigers and Ferris Wheel with twelve cars designed like baseballs. We could have filled the Ferris Wheel with our grandkids! Really cute you must see the pictures on Instagram. And finally the feature that you will only find at the home of the Detroit Tigers is the "keyhole." A keyhole is a distinctive dirt strip between home plate and the pitcher's mound. This was very common in the early ballparks but is rare in modern facilities. Now on to the food.....WOW do they have loads of options at Comerica Park! I have never seen so many food vendors in a ballpark in my life. There was something for everyone! Of course for Jim it would be a hot dog. Jim got a sausage dog with peppers and onions. He gave it a 7.5. See the reel on Instagram. It was so hard for me to make a food choice but anyone who knows me know that tacos is high on my list of foods I love. So it was the steak tacos for me. They were deliciously spicy and so very good! Now on to the game. It was a tough one for the Tigers! Tigers starting pitcher Matthew Boyd struggled and left the game in the middle of the 2nd inning. In the 1st inning Boyd allowed a walk, and two singles by Ty France and Jarred Kelenic which scored a run. Score Mariners 1 - Tigers 0. Then in the 2nd inning it all went to heck for poor Boyd allowing three walks, singles by Jose Caballero, J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez making it 5-0 Mariners. That was the end for Boyd when Tigers brought in Mason Englert to try to stop the Mariners. Not so easy for Englert as Jarred Kelenic grounded into a force out bringing in a run. Score Mariners 6 - Tigers 0. Englert's time was short being replaced in the top of the 5th by Will Vest. Then in the bottom of the 5th inning the Tigers showed some life with a 2 run homer by Tigers catcher Jake Rogers. Score Mariners 6 - Tigers 2. The Tigers would blow through their bullpen with another pitching change in the top of the 6th placing Will Vest on the mound who held the Mariners at bay. Another pitching change came in the top of the 7th for the Tigers as two singles by Mariners Julio Rodrigues and Eugenio Suarez put pressure on the bullpen. Jose Cisnero came in and the Mariners scored again when Teoscar Hernandez hit a single. Score Mariners 7 - Tigers 2. Then the final scores came in the top of the 9th when the Mariners Ty France hit a single followed by a home run by Julio Rodriguez. Score Mariners 9 - Tigers 2. It was definetly Julio Rodruguez that was the star of the game with three hits, including a homer, and driving in four runs. Well that makes it 6 wins and 9 losses for the home team on our tour. We are taking a small break to fly back home and give our house sitter a break. We will be back to continue our "Field of Dreams Tour" on May 21 in Guaranteed Rate Field where we will see the Chicago White Sox take on the Kansas City Royals. We are thrilled to be joined in Chicago by our dear friends Scott and Lina Ingalls. Let's hope they bring some luck for the HOME TEAM! Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there and until next time PLAY BALL!