The Evidence

Just in case you thought perhaps a blogger got really desperate for material and made up the whole story about that game in July 1985, here is a photo of my ticket stubs. Notice they were issued by Ticket World, and not the nefarious Ticketmaster. What idyllic days they must have been. There was a 75 cent service charge. Steep. My seats were lower reserved, and cost $7.50. I found an old Tiger Stadium seating chart. Gotta love the Internet. These seats were down the first base line in foul territory. Maybe I was in obstructed view! That's it! I finally hit upon the real reason for my total lack of memory. Whew. I was getting worried for a minute there.

Saving Tiger Stadium

I have such a sentimental fondness for Tiger Stadium, a feeling that is, no doubt, shared by countless others--the memories made there are indelible.  I also have a genuine love of the old girl herself.  That is, her seating was so intimate to the action.  If you sat in the upper deck box seats on the first or third base line, you were quite literally on top of the action--an unmatched game experience.

Now, I'm not bagging on Comerica.  It's a fine ballpark.  Rather cookie-cutter, but nicely done in most respects.  However, the seating is decidedly not fan-friendly.  It ranges too far back off the action.  I do like the right field grandstand and bleachers.  I like being in fair territory, and if you're in the rows near the front, it's quite nice, for a decent price.

I'm proud of the efforts the conservancy is making to save a portion of the ballpark.  It would be great if programs like Reviving Baseball in Inner-Cities (RBI) could make use of the historic field.  However, I don't blame people if they donate money to more urgent humanitarian causes right now.  Especially with Michigan's current economic situation, there are many in dire situations, and they need help.  Real human crises should trump baseball history.

So, if she does vanish, I'll be sad, but not broken-hearted.  Perhaps she'll go down, but others may have a better shot, just like Oscar Wilde's Happy Prince.