6/17/25 6:40PM Pirates @ Tigers

[oblong]

Upper Deck box seats between 1B and 3B were the best seats in baseball according to George Will. 

In the summer if you got seats in the upper deck in RF you baked.  But if you were one of the first ones to be let in the park at the corner of MI and Trumbull you could run up to that spot and get a bunch of baseballs that were HR's during the BP session that was going on.

 

[Motor City Sonics]

27 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Casey is fine. He doesn't quite have Ace level command, maybe he never will, but he keeps us in the game most nights.

Most teams would kill to have a 4th starter as good as Casey Mize

[davidsb623]

8 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

well that's a good question, I can't date when the CF wall was put in. I know it was after Kaline started playing because I've heard him say the flagpole was still in play when he started playing and I even remember seeing games before it was there. Demeter played in Detroit 64-66. If you still  saw the flagpole on the field, it was still 440.

the only clue I found that may date the fence is the Detroit Historical story about the ball park says they put a score board in CF in 1961 but moved it to LF when hitters complained. If they had originally put the same aux scoreboard in CF that we used to see in LF, it's logical they would have had to have put a straight wall behind it - so 1961 is one possible dating. 

I am 99.9% sure the flagpole was always in play and there was never a temporary fence at 420'.  

[romad1]

17 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

Most teams would kill to have a 4th starter as good as Casey Mize

I hope they don't.  I'd hate to worry about the safety of Tigers employees. 

[davidsb623]

There does look like some sort of a wall to the right of the flag pole that squares off CF.  Hmmmm.  Flagpole still in play though.

 

[romad1]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

Must be the Mandela effect because I would have lost a $100 on the flagpole still being in play at Tiger Stadium up until the end.  I recall it being mentioned as a distinctive feature.  

I loved Tiger Stadium but I am also not romantic about it.   All of these people still complaining about Comerica vs Tiger Stadium are the same ones who complain when a business closes but when you ask them the last time they patronized that business they say "Back when Bush was President.... the dad"

It was a great place when the crowd was under 20K.  Anything over that and you risked obstructed views, both in terms of a pole blocking some of the view and the upper deck blocking views of fly balls. 

it had its charms.  Nice memory: taking advantage of my veterans status to get in free around 1991-1992.  After an appointment at the Detroit Military Processing Station headed to center field bleachers, lay out on one of the bleacher benches to take a nap until a hot dog vendor approached me around 11:30 and ask I "sir, was ready for his luncheon".   I thought that was hilarious.  

Edited yesterday at 12:51 PM by romad1

[gehringer_2]

29 minutes ago, davidsb623 said:

I am 99.9% sure the flagpole was always in play and there was never a temporary fence at 420'.  

 

20 minutes ago, davidsb623 said:

There does look like some sort of a wall to the right of the flag pole that squares off CF.  Hmmmm.  Flagpole still in play though.

 

you are right about the flagpole - I dont see it in the overhead shot - supposedly it's the same pole reinstalled at CoPa - or at least that was the plan at one point. But you can clearly see the straight wall and the space behind it. The other giveaway is that they never changed the warning track. Look at the overhead shot above and you can see it follows the contour of the original wall.

Of course if you hit it to the upper deck, which I saw Dave Winfield do once, that was 440+!

 

Edited yesterday at 01:08 PM by gehringer_2

[romad1]

You guys don't remember the flagpole being in play?  Get some of that stuff that helps your memory I can't seem to recall the name of it...

[Klondike]

26 minutes ago, davidsb623 said:

I am 99.9% sure the flagpole was always in play and there was never a temporary fence at 420'.  

They walked it off about 20 years ago and determined the 440 sign is actually 420.

[Klondike]

16 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

 

you are right about the flagpole but you can clearly see the straight wall and the space behind it. The other giveaway is that they never changed the warning track. Look at the overhead shot above and you can see it follows the contour of the original wall.

Of course if you hit it to the upper deck, which I saw Dave Winfield do once, that was 440+!

I saw Robin Yount hit it off the facing of the upper deck a little to the left of center and of course on opening day of 1985 Larry Herndon hit it off the facing into a stiff breeze straight away. That was the hardest hit ball I've ever seen. They lost 4-1 and Sparky was not impressed saying " I'm not a home run guy" lol.

Edited yesterday at 01:13 PM by Klondike

[Tiger337]

11 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Casey is fine. He doesn't quite have Ace level command, maybe he never will, but he keeps us in the game most nights.

Right now, they are lacking a #2 starter.  Mize, Olson and Flaherty are all fine, but they don't have a big guy to put behind Skubal for post-season.  Hopefully, one of them gets on a roll at the right time which is often what wins the post-season.    

[gehringer_2]

13 minutes ago, Tiger337 said:

Right now, they are lacking a #2 starter.  Mize, Olson and Flaherty are all fine, but they don't have a big guy to put behind Skubal for post-season.  Hopefully, one of them gets on a roll at the right time which is often what wins the post-season.    

Olson would be pretty close to #2 if he could just stay on the field.

[Sports_Freak]

3 hours ago, oblong said:

Must be the Mandela effect because I would have lost a $100 on the flagpole still being in play at Tiger Stadium up until the end.  I recall it being mentioned as a distinctive feature.  

I loved Tiger Stadium but I am also not romantic about it.   All of these people still complaining about Comerica vs Tiger Stadium are the same ones who complain when a business closes but when you ask them the last time they patronized that business they say "Back when Bush was President.... the dad"

It was a great place when the crowd was under 20K.  Anything over that and you risked obstructed views, both in terms of a pole blocking some of the view and the upper deck blocking views of fly balls. 

Even the diehards wouldn't complain about missing the urinals in the men's rooms. Pretty much totally disgusting. 😅😅

[Tiger337]

15 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

Olson would be pretty close to #2 if he could just stay on the field.

Yes, health is the problem - just 84 IP over the last 365 days.  Staying on the field is an important skill especially for pitchers, but he is probably the best bet (other than Skubal) to get on a roll in October.   

[lordstanley]

5 hours ago, oblong said:

Must be the Mandela effect because I would have lost a $100 on the flagpole still being in play at Tiger Stadium up until the end.  I recall it being mentioned as a distinctive feature.  

I loved Tiger Stadium but I am also not romantic about it.   All of these people still complaining about Comerica vs Tiger Stadium are the same ones who complain when a business closes but when you ask them the last time they patronized that business they say "Back when Bush was President.... the dad"

It was a great place when the crowd was under 20K.  Anything over that and you risked obstructed views, both in terms of a pole blocking some of the view and the upper deck blocking views of fly balls. 

And because of the upper deck and the fencing off of the center field stands on either side, you were pretty much stuck in your section to watch the game unless you snuck into an empty seat. Not like today at Comerica and all the other stadiums where you can walk around the entire park on the concourse and stop several times for wide open views. Yes, you could possibly stand behind the top row of seats of any lower deck section at Tiger Stadium, but because of the upper deck all you could really see were the pitches and any ground balls, anything in the air was a rumor.

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

Yes, health is the problem - just 84 IP over the last 365 days.  Staying on the field is an important skill especially for pitchers, but he is probably the best bet (other than Skubal) to get on a roll in October.   

Now I hear that while he's on his rehab assignment, he can't use his change up. That is one of his best pitches, he may do OK in AAA, but at the ML level? IDK.

[CMRivdogs]

The internet is telling me that the walls at Tiger Stadium were moved back in 1955, taking out the flagpole and the hill. If I remember correctly when they built the current park in Houston there was a hill in centerfield (not sure about the flagpole)

Comerica had the flagpole in play when it was first constructed. I think it was during the 2001 season I saw Sammy Sosa hit a bomb in that direction, he did the patented home run hop then watch the ball fall harmlessly into the CF's glove ( I can't remember who)

One of my favorite early Comerica moments

[Sports_Freak]

I just got an email that makes me think they won't be playing today;

 

[Tiger337]

3 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

Now I hear that while he's on his rehab assignment, he can't use his change up. That is one of his best pitches, he may do OK in AAA, but at the ML level? IDK.

I am pretty sure he won't pitch in the majors until he can use all his pitches, but yes there are reasons to be skeptical of pitchers coming off injuries 

[Sports_Freak]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

I am pretty sure he won't pitch in the majors until he can use all his pitches, but yes there are reasons to be skeptical of pitchers coming off injuries 

He's only allowed to stay on a rehab assignment for so long. And Hinch says he only needs to build up his endurance before returning. IMO, it would be a mistake not allowing him to use one of his best pitches. But Hinch, Fetter and the other coaches know these players much better than I do;

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/aj-hinch-reveals-reese-olson-213048418.html

 

[4hzglory]

2 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

He's only allowed to stay on a rehab assignment for so long. And Hinch says he only needs to build up his endurance before returning. IMO, it would be a mistake not allowing him to use one of his best pitches. But Hinch, Fetter and the other coaches know these players much better than I do;

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/aj-hinch-reveals-reese-olson-213048418.html

 

I could be wrong, but I thought they waited until he was able to throw the change up before sending him on rehab.  I know the fact that he couldn't was why the rehab was delayed.

[Sports_Freak]

26 minutes ago, 4hzglory said:

I could be wrong, but I thought they waited until he was able to throw the change up before sending him on rehab.  I know the fact that he couldn't was why the rehab was delayed.

He wasn't allowed to throw it in his first rehab start. He just got another injection. At least, according to Hinch and reports.

"“He didn’t throw any changeups, and that was by design,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said, according to an article from MLB.com."

Edited yesterday at 07:03 PM by Sports_Freak

[chasfh]

6 hours ago, Klondike said:

I saw Robin Yount hit it off the facing of the upper deck a little to the left of center and of course on opening day of 1985 Larry Herndon hit it off the facing into a stiff breeze straight away. That was the hardest hit ball I've ever seen. They lost 4-1 and Sparky was not impressed saying " I'm not a home run guy" lol.

I saw at least a hundred games in the upper deck bleachers during my late teens and early 20s, and the only time I ever saw anyone hit a homer up there was Jose Canseco, during the same game Cecil hit one over the LF roof.

[chasfh]

2 hours ago, lordstanley said:

And because of the upper deck and the fencing off of the center field stands on either side, you were pretty much stuck in your section to watch the game unless you snuck into an empty seat. Not like today at Comerica and all the other stadiums where you can walk around the entire park on the concourse and stop several times for wide open views. Yes, you could possibly stand behind the top row of seats of any lower deck section at Tiger Stadium, but because of the upper deck all you could really see were the pitches and any ground balls, anything in the air was a rumor.

Once you walked into the bleachers section, you were fenced off from the LF grandstand and RF reserved seat sections. However, if there was a guy manning the gate at the fence, he would let you out of the bleachers and into the grandstands if you slipped him as little as a dollar. From there you could walk around to the rest of the ballpark.

Edited yesterday at 07:41 PM by chasfh

[Tiger337]

3 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

I just got an email that makes me think they won't be playing today;

 

Will the wind be blowing in or out?