This may be my first baseball post.
I am 43 years old. Which means I was born in 1968. And yes, I do have a 43 year old stuffed tiger on my desk that my dad bought for me in the fall of 1968 when the Tigers won the World Series. And yes, I was 6 months old at that time.
I grew up with baseball. If you were to play me a recording of Al Kaline and Ernie Harwell calling a Tiger game and let me smell the grilling of burgers and the faint smell of Pabst Blue Ribbon, I would know it was Saturday night in the summer of my childhood, which was a very good place. And I can tell you where I was when Kirk Gibson hit a home run in the 1984 World Series. And I wear number 3 on the soccer field because I loved Alan Trammell. And thanks to my dad, I never go to the ball park without buying a scorecard and keeping score. And yes, I know how to keep score.
Brandon Inge has been my favorite Detroit Tiger for years. That is, ever since Bobby Higginson last jogged half-sideways out of left field and back to the Tiger's dugout for the last time. And don't get me going on Bobby Higginson - we may never again see his equal at gunning a man out from left field (Delmon Young, prove me wrong).... But Brandon has been my Tiger for years. And when he doesn't play I have to admit I care a little (but just a little ) less about my beloved Tigers. And few things in baseball are as exciting as watching Brandon Inge stand off third base - you just never know what will happen - and odds are good that if something does happen it will be an excellent play.
To Brandon's credit, he could have quit this summer when the Tigers offered to release him. But the man has the heart and the soul of an athlete. And he went to AAA. And he worked his butt off. And he came back tonight and at his first at bat hit a home run into the stands in left field. And almost hit another home run during his second at bat that went deep into center field and ended in a ground rule double and generated an RBI. And the crowd went nuts as well they should.
Welcome back Brandon Inge! Poetic justice tonight? Perhaps. But way to rock the house on your return! And thanks for making the season more exciting for Tiger fans everywhere - we are cheering for you and the rest of our Tigers. I know I am not alone in thinking our chances for cheering the Tigers on in October just improved exponentially.
Great night, great baseball in the D.
2 comments:
Tonight was awesome! My fave player was always Tommy Brookens, so it was cool to see him high-five Inge a few times tonight.
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