Comerica Park is located Downtown Detroit adjacent to Ford Field (home of the NFL's Detroit Lions) and a few blocks away from Greektown. This area of Detroit is having a bit of a renascence with many older abandoned buildings being either torn down or renovated. I met up with my friends at a bar down the street from Comerica Park. Ideally I like to get into the stadium early to explore the stadium and watch batting practice. However, since I have been to Comerica Park several times in the past couple of year I was not really upset when my friend ordered another round of drinks 35 minutes before game time. We ended up getting to the stadium about 10 minutes before first pitch.
The outside of Comerica Park has a fair amount of decor; large statues of tigers (the animals) guard the gates. Inside the park, the concourse is very open to the surrounding city, filled with concession stands, and dotted with kiosks for each decade of Tigers history. There are also numerous activities for kids, including a carrousel with tigers rather than horses and a ferris wheel with baseball seats. One aspect of Comerica Park that I found to be disappointing was the food selection. The only specialty food items in the ballpark are coney hotdogs and Little Caesars Pizza. I count Little Caesars Pizza as a specialty item because Mike Ilitch, the owner of the Tigers, also owns Little Caesars Pizza. It was frustrating to see that a whole Little Caesars Pizza costs $18 at the ballpark but only $5 outside. One region of the concourse of note is the concourse around centerfield. The batter's eye is made of ivy and bushes with the Chevy Fountain and two cars above the concourse. On the left field side of the concourse are a series of statues of past Tigers greats including Ty Cobb.
We sat in the front row of the upperdeck near the left field foul pole. The backdrop of the stadium are the skyscrapers of Downtown Detroit including a building with a large whale mural on its side. There are a few unusually characteristics of playing field at Comerica Park. The first is a dirt track that runs from home plate to the pitchers' mound. The next are the bullpens stretch along the entirety of the left field wall. The bullpens were moved to this location from the right field wall after the second season of play. The result of moving the bullpens is a more balanced home run field and an alcove in right center field that adds character to the geometry of the outfield.
The Tigers started the game with consistent scoring in the first three innings leading 5-1 after 3 innings including two runs from a Prince Fielder home run in the first. After the White Sox cut the lead to 5-3 in the 4th inning via 3 straight singles and a sacrifice fly, the Tigers built their lead up to 8-3 with 4 straight two-out singles. Although the White Sox added two runs in the 7th inning, the Tigers bullpen held on to preserve the 8-5 Detroit victory. The heroes of the game for the Tigers were 1-5 hitters who combined for 13 hits.
My take-away from Comerica Park is that it is a ballpark in every sense of the word. The city backdrop and the open concourse makes Comerica Park feel as though it is part of the city rather than an isolated gated stadium. The nod to the history of the Tiger organization and the character of the field generates a great baseball atmosphere. The concessions at the ballpark are disappointing but the bars and restaurants around the ballpark give offer an adequate alternative.
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