Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (74 page)
Read Ultimate Baseball Road Trip Online
Authors: Josh Pahigian,Kevin O’Connell
Josh:
Take heart, Tigers fans. Whenever we write something like that, it happens, immediately making our book seem outdated.
Kevin:
To wit, the 2004 Red Sox and 2005 White Sox, who broke their long droughts right after the first edition of this book came out.
Josh:
I can’t believe you just said, “to wit.” Are you trying to sound like George Will?
Both an easy place to visit and an easy place to walk past without noticing, the new home of the National Football League’s Detroit Lions resides beyond Comerica’s left-field seats on the corner of Adams Street and Brush Street. The sixty-four-thousand-seat domed stadium is remarkable for blending in so well with the urban landscape. Because its playing field is forty feet below street level, fully 45 percent of its seats are actually underground. Thus, the building does not rise excessively high into the sky. Though we didn’t make it inside, we were impressed. Football stadiums don’t usually look this innocuous. Way to go Detroit! Now, if Lions fans pray real hard, maybe their team will put together a winning team.
There are no less than five casinos in Detroit, all located right near each other, on the waterfront. We visited MGM Grand Detroit (1777 Third St.). Kevin quickly lost all of his food and ticket money, while Josh got on a nice little run at the roulette table. This prompted Kevin to call Josh a “piker,” and some hard feelings developed on both sides. After an “uncomfortable” hour or two, we kissed and made up in the bleachers, metaphorically speaking, of course.
Intersection of Trumbull and Michigan
After the Tigers’ relocation to Comerica there was considerable debate as to what should become of Tiger Stadium. At one point, efforts were made to find a developer who would renovate the facility and convert it into a mixed-use residential and entertainment center, with lofts, shops, ice rinks and a community swimming pool. But that failed to materialize. Then the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy and US Senator Carl Levin endeavored to raise money to preserve the infield portion of the stadium structure, to build a baseball museum on the site, and to avail the remaining field to the community. That effort, though, fell short or ran out of time, depending upon whom you talk to.
In September 2009 the stadium’s demolition was completed. Ah, the march of progress….
As of early 2012, competing local groups were still debating the merits of several proposals, including one to put a charter school on the old stadium site, one to make it a home for local non-profit agencies, and one to revisit the original idea of building a commercial/residential development. Meanwhile, the field still lay in place, growing dandelions. We will leave it to you to scope out the area during your visit and to see if Detroit has finally sorted out the best use for this potentially valuable urban space.
Kevin:
They should build a state-of-the-art youth field and rec center here.
Josh:
Money talks. When this part of town rebounds, it’s prime real estate.
Kevin:
Give the community something to take pride in and it will rebuild around the best youth field in America.
Josh:
Paid for by … ?
Kevin:
Some wealthy Michigander should step to the plate.
Josh:
Michael Moore?
Kevin:
Or the big three auto builders …
Josh:
Or a few of the Tigers could pony up a million apiece.
Kevin:
Now we’re talking.
Josh:
How ’bout it, Tigers? Do the right thing and your city will always remember you.
Because Comerica’s field is sunken below street level, the view of the action is surprisingly good from Adams Street behind the left-field Pavilion where a number of gates allow a peek for those on the extremely low budget, like Kevin after he lost his ticket-money at the casino.
Kevin:
Hey, buddy. You’re not really going to leave me out here, are you?
Josh:
If I don’t, you’ll never learn your lesson.
Kevin:
If you do, the road trip car’s gonna roll out of Motown without you.
Josh:
Well-played. Here’s a sawbuck. Sit in the Skyline.
Foxtown offers a decent bar and restaurant scene. And for folks who care to look beyond the sanitized view of Detroit the ballpark neighborhood offers, we recommend venturing a bit deeper into Detroit. Hey, we did and came out of the experience just fine. (Disclaimer: Joshua R. Pahigian,
Kevin T. O’Connell, and The Lyons Press shall bear no legal responsibility for any misfortune that befalls any reader in any part of Detroit, or anywhere else in the continental United States, for that matter.)
300 Adams St.
With indoor and outdoor seating, the Elwood looks like a diner from the 1950s. Buy a beer on the patio. Shoes and shirt not required! Well, shoes may be, but we saw a topless patron (unfortunately male) seated on the patio one time when we visited. It was a hot September day. Inside, the atmosphere is more civilized with a full bar and wait service. Best of all, the foods are named after great Tigers. Kevin’s Ty Cobb Salad didn’t have any corn in it. Rather it featured a generous portion of grilled chicken atop romaine lettuce.
2300 Woodward Ave.
Located beside the Fox Theatre, Hockey Town offers your best bet for a quality pregame or postgame meal. Entrées range from $15 to $25. The three-story bar and restaurant is all hockey, all the time. Busts of famous Detroit Red Wings like Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, and Sid Abel are displayed, along with plenty of cups and trophies. Kevin tried his hand at some of the interactive hockey games and was happy to win back some of the money he had lost earlier in the day. The parents of the kids were none too pleased.
47 East Adams St.
Owned by former Red Wing Chris Chelios, this is actually one of two eateries the great defenseman owns in Michigan. The other is in Dearborn. The conveniently-located Foxtown restaurant offers a gift-shop replete with #24 souvenirs and the requisite memorabilia as decor. It also boasts 36 TVs and a Detroit-themed menu. Three types of chili—original, veggie, and chicken—are served in cup, crock or bread-bowl sized portions. Our favorite was the original. It was meaty, spicy, and just the right call before a long car ride together.
1384 Michigan Ave.
Those visiting the old Tiger Stadium neighborhood will find this iconic Motown bar, which has often turned up in articles attempting to quantify the best sports bars in America. Despite the team’s move, it still sees steady traffic on game day, thanks in part to the shuttle buses it runs to and from Comerica for patrons. We suggest stopping in for a few pints and a burger and then perusing the collection of framed newspaper pages hanging on the tin walls to honor great moments like Kirk Gibson celebrating the 1984 World Series victory or Cecil Fielder rounding the bases after hitting his fiftieth homer in 1990. When you’re done with this unique stroll through memory lane, you can hop on one of the refurbished green-and-white school buses and ride to the game.
100 W. Montcalm Way
www.thetownpumptavern.com/TownPump/Welcome.html
On the fringes of Foxtown but still only a short walk from the park, The Town Pump Tavern resides on the ground floor of what must have been a pretty nice hotel at one time. Really, we can’t overstate the eloquence of the ivy-covered stone exterior. Inside, the rectangular bar has a nice old-time feel to it. Local brews include Motor City Ale, Oberon, and Belles Amber, and the menu features cheap appetizers, hand-tossed pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Kevin dug the atmosphere and Josh dug the prices. A road tripper’s delight.
Josh:
When I was a teenager in Charlton, Massachusetts, there was a girl we all called “the town pump.”
Kevin:
I’m not touching that one.
Josh:
That’s what I said!
In this era of homer-friendly parks, Comerica initially offered a variation of the game more akin to the one our fathers knew back in the 1960s. Yet long-ball-loving rooters and stat-consumed sluggers complained the field was too spacious. The last straw came when Detroit’s right-handed batters combined to hit only sixteen home runs in 1,288 Comerica at-bats in 2002. So the Tigers did some remodeling to bring the dimensions more in line with the typical ballpark specs these days. Even still, Comerica’s outfield is larger than average and its gaps make it a doubles- and triples-hitter’s paradise. We hope it doesn’t shrink any more in the years ahead.
ONE DECADE AT A TIME
The walking museum on the first-level concourse features monuments dedicated to each decade in Tigers
history, beginning with the 1900s and continuing through the 2000s. The display cases are on wheels with big tires, embracing the car culture that, like baseball, is as American as it gets. The 1930s exhibit was Josh’s favorite. Not only does it feature memorabilia from the 1935 World Series but also a number of cartoons from the Series, including one of a tiger killing a cardinal with a baseball bat. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit violent, and Josh should get into some anger management sessions.
A history buff, Kevin liked the 1940s monument and its “Baseball Answers America’s Call” exhibit, featuring Tigers players who served in the armed services during times of war. Hank Greenberg, Virgil Trucks, and Dick Wakefield all appear in their military uniforms.
The 1950s monument salutes Al Kaline, the youngest batting champ ever, who hit .340 in 1955 as a twenty-year-old. Incidentally, fellow-Tiger alum Ty Cobb won a crown as a twenty-year-old himself in 1907. But Cobb was 12 days older than Kaline when his winning season concluded. Thus, he was relegated to second-youngest batting champ ever when Kaline won his crown.
The 1960s pillar displays the famous
Detroit Free Press
headline, “We Win!” celebrating the 1968 World Series triumph over the Cardinals.
Behind the home plate concourse, Major League Baseball’s most elaborate kiddie area offers chances for children and adults to ride on the fifty-foot-high Fly Ball Ferris Wheel and on the colorful painted tigers that comprise the Tiger Carousel.
If you’re scrounging for loose change, check out the Wishing Well at the mouth of the Big Cat Food Court. Roll up those sleeves and dive in like Kevin did. Or join with local fans in wishing for a hometown win and cast a coin into the water.
Remember the monster in the
Predator
movies that could blend in with its surroundings? There was an
X-Files
episode devoted to a similar creature back in “the day,” as well. Yes, we know we’re dating ourselves with these references, but please bear with us, because the camouflaged cameramen who stand on a platform amid the center-field ivy do a pretty good imitation. Well, they do when water isn’t cascading onto their equipment when the liquid fireworks erupt. We were intrigued, as well, by the puddles that formed on the center-field warning track whenever the fountain squirted. Shouldn’t the Players Association put a stop to that sort of thing?
The dirt path from the pitcher’s mound to home plate leads to a pentagon—or home-plate-shaped—patch of dirt that surrounds the batter’s box. This, opposed to the dirt circle found at most parks. It’s a nice touch, but it’s also a really big plate. As for the path itself, which is similar to the one at Chase Field in Phoenix, we like it. It is a nod, of course, to the ball fields of yore that sprouted little grass on that part of the infield due to the primitive ground keeping practices of the era, which were no match for the wear and tear of the catchers’ and pitchers’ repeated footsteps.
The dugouts at old Tiger Stadium were loathed throughout the bigs due to their cramped quarters. So when the Tigers built Comerica, they sought to remedy this affront to player comfort. But perhaps they over-corrected a bit. Comerica’s dugouts are known as the widest in the game. They’re so wide in fact that most players stand along the screen, rather than sit on the bench, so as to have a better view of the game.
Josh:
Well, at least they allowed plenty of room for Jim Leyland to hide while smoking his cigarettes.