Detroit musings

     On my epic journey to attend a baseball game in each franchise's home park before I turn 70, this past weekend Toby and I stopped in Detroit, the home of the American League's Tigers. As a drive trip, it was one of the longest one I will have undertaken to reach my goal; a circuitous trip to Atlanta and Cincinnati bested the Detroit mileage. . All of the West Coast trips were of course airplane flights; Arizona, Texas, Colorado, too. Future trips to Missouri and  Florida, Chicago and Milwaukee will involve a flight and a car trip. Boston and Washington are strictly motor vehicle excursions.

     I have seen games in three different stadiums within one city (Philadelphia); a number of teams in two different parks within the city (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New York Mets and New York Yankees); four domed stadiums--one with the roof open (Arizona), two which no longer exist (Seattle and Minnesota)  and one in Canada (Toronto); plus one where the team no longer plays in that town (Washington Senators/RFK Stadium) but this franchise was also seen in its new city and stadium (Texas Rangers/Ballpark at Arlington).

     Sometimes I have stayed to sight-see in the city. Other times, it was merely a stop passing thru en route to another destination.

     Detroit was one of the latter stops on the MLB tour.. The visit to Detroit was in conjunction with traveling the next day to Pittsburgh, where my daughter resides.

     This was not my first visit to Detroit. About 25 to 30 years ago we visited Detroit as a family. We went down by the Detroit River and we drove around a deserted downtown on a Friday evening. It was an eerie, uncomfortable feeling when we were in the park and when we were driving. Detroit was a hard city then, with lots of crime and it had been the site of tremendous urban flight, leaving the vacated downtown to those who dared to look for trouble. We stayed way outside of the city, feeling much safer due to our location.

     On this short visit, Toby and I stayed north of Detroit and Wayne County, opting to be in Troy, which is located in neighboring Oakland County. Traveling up I-75, it was interesting that we exited 14 miles from downtown, at, of all places, 14 Mile Road. It was not just a reflexive decision. Detroit still has its bad reputation, deserted in parts, demoralized in other spots. Why feel uncomfortable somewhere, when there is a higher degree of  being able to sleep comfortably? We like to stay at Homewood Suites, which is part of the Hilton hotel chain; the only one in the area was located in Troy, which made my decision to stay outside of Detroit a very easy choice. It proved to be fortuitous as major I-75 repairs just south of Detroit closed the highway for miles, leaving a detour of I-696 and I-275 as the only real Southbound super highway out of Detroit and by staying overnight in Troy, the hotel was only 4 miles away from an exit to I-696.

     Detroit has been undergoing a bit of a rebirth. Sportswise, the Tigers and the NHL Red Wings have remained in Detroit for their existence. The NFL Lions played in Detroit for many years, only to abandon the city for the norther suburb of Pontiac and court a more affluent and whiter crowd; Ford Field, their present home, is very visible over the left field stands of Comerica Park. The NBA Pistons, when they left Detroit, went first to Pontiac and then Auburn Hills; they will join the Red Wings in a new arena just across I-75 and nearby the Tigers' and Lions' buildings.

     There is a casino in the city of Detroit. Fans flock to Comerica Park to see the Tigers play; nearly 30, 000 came into Detroit to watch a below .500 Tigers squad.  The Lions and Red Wings routinely sell out. There were restaurants and bars doing a brisk business on this warm August evening. The austere Detroit Athletic club was full of well-to-do patrons eating outdoors with a clear view into Comerica Park. Money was being spent into an economy that needed a boost--remember, the city of Detroit was bankrupt in 2013 and reemerged from bankruptcy in 2016. The 1967 riots and the 1973 election of Mayor Coleman Young were the starting points for the city's downturn.

     There were a myriad of reasons behind the filing for bankruptcy which included imprudent fiscal mismanagement first and foremost. A tax abatement for the equally mismanaged Chrysler Corporation did not help. Horrible decisions in the 1980's and then again under former Mayor Kwame Kirpatrick from 2001-06 virtually broke the financial backbone of Detroit.

     However, two individuals are clearly responsible for the upturn in Detroit's fortunes. Investment by Quicken Loans founder and Detroit native Dan Gilbert, who also owns the highly successful Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA, along with the efforts and capital of the late Mike Illitch, founder of the Little Caesar's pizza chain and owner of the Tigers and Red Wings, has led to many new areas inside of the city becoming hot spots for residential and commercial development. The remainder of the city needs to be reborn, with a societal re-connection to the new Detroit a vital and necessary component of an economy still seeking to reestablish itself.

     There was a palpable excitement around Comerica Park, which opened in 2000 but seems to be much newer. Comerica Park, one of the 19 other new stadiums designed by H.O.K. Architects, the preeminent name in MLB stadium design, replaced the venerable and dilapidated former stadium of the Tigers--Tiger (nee Briggs) Stadium, which looked old even in my childhood. While full of idiosyncrasies that make the ballpark unique to Detroit and the heritage of Tiger Stadium, much of the Comereica Park grandstand reminds me of PNC Park in Pittsburgh, AT&T Park in San Francisco, Coors Field in Denver or the original H.O.K. masterpiece, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles since 1997.

     The dimensions in left and center field are pitcher friendly while the shorter Pepsi Porch in right field favors left-handed hitters. Comerica's corridors are wide and comfortable. There are interactive games for kids and a small merry-go-round within the food court. The ballpark is decidedly fan-friendly, even with the almost New York-like prices for good seats. Prominent over the left field bleachers is a huge scoreboard with a video monitor, topped by two tigers acting as sentinels for the dazzling, lit script Tigers moniker. Walls in left and right field carry the names and in some cases, the numbers of great Detroit Tigers' players. Flags representing the Tigers' four World Championships fly over those walls. A carefully manicured field contains a dirt path from home plate to the pitcher's mound, a throwback aspect of the game in its early days. Beautiful light stanchions rise above the grandstand and in the outfield. Comerica Park reeks of modern Major League Baseball majesty, coupled with deep roots in Detroit and baseball history. Besides, if you didn't realize this was Detroit, Chevrolet has a big sign in the ballpark, with a real truck and car leaning over the letters. Chevy also sponsors free WiFi for the fans.

     I found Comerica Park well worth the long trip. Even if they did not have soft ice cream to satiate my wife, as they do in many other ballparks. Despite the fact that the hideous-looking deep fried Oreos were highly recommended by the woman who sat next to me. That the hot dog denizens of Michigan liked their Coneys with relish, mustard and ketchup spread separately and equally along the meat was another subject for deep debate.

     The score was 9-4 in favor of the visiting Minnesota Twins.  This was the second time I had seen the Tigers play inside of a week.  On August 5, they lost at Baltimore, primarily due to poor pitching. Detroit is not a very good team with some older veterans and young players. On this day, the Tigers surrendered 2 homers and 16 hits. Aging superstar Miguel Cabrera, a two time M.V.P. and four time A.L. batting champ as well as a Triple Crown winner, ended two scoring chances by hitting into a double play and popping out. Cabrera, who has been experiencing lower back issues, looked past his prime and nearing the end of his career. Thus, his 2017 season totals are way below his normally high standards and, consequently, the Tigers offense looks anemic at times.

     Still, a base running blunder at third base by the Tigers squelched a seventh inning rally and sealed the victory for the hungry, streaking Twins, who won their 8th game in a row and now are a relevant team in the A.L. Wild Card hunt. I was so aghast about the stupidity of the runner making the third out for no good reason that I startled the woman sitting directly below me who was wearing her bedazzled Tigers t shirt. And by the way, it was Michigan State University night at the ballpark. The cheerleaders, dance team and mascot came in from East Lansing for the game along with a number of green clad alumni and supporters. Sparty does look a lot like the Rutgers Scarlet Knight, except for the MSU mascot is in green and white instead of Scarlet.

     I found our second foray into Detroit to be most pleasurable. It did help greatly that the $15.00 parking lot we located on Brush Street fed right into Madison Street and then quickly onto the interstates headed to the suburbs. That way we didn't get caught too late for the latest exodus to the suburbs.