Oh, hi, hello. It was my birthday this month, and I told Mickey all I wanted was to go to a baseball game at Tiger’s Stadium. I don’t follow baseball as much as I used to. There was once a time when I was 16, and my family visited Hawaii, and I spent many of my mornings and afternoons glued to the television, watching the Braves play.
That really pissed off my mom. But, hey, I was an undiagnosed autistic, and baseball was my special interest. So were movies, and books, and Broadway, and awards shows, and food, and, and, and… I did Hawaii things, too, don’t you worry. Even ate Poi!
Back then, I was keeping score and stats in a notebook, but nowadays, I just really love being inside a baseball stadium. It’s one of my happy places. I try to visit a ballpark every time I go out of town, if possible. Doesn’t matter what level, either: major league, minor league… just put me in a stadium and watch me smile.
That’s all I was going after when I made my birthday wish. And Mickey? Well, he did that and then some more.
Home Plate Club at Comerica Park
The tickets he got me were in the Home Plate Club section. That means they were in the rows right behind home plate (of course), so the view was stellar. This also meant that I got access to a private lounge in the basement of Comerica Park… with unlimited food and drink.
The seats were upgraded… mesh and breathable instead of hard plastic. These aren’t even the most comfortable seats in the park, either! The ones in front of me looked almost as comfortable as a La-Z-Boy recliner and were temperature-controlled… cool in hot weather and warm in cool weather. They were more spendy than we were wanting to, uh, spend, though.
Yes, this ticket was expensive. No, I didn’t just go to the Tigers website and buy it. I had to email a fella (if you want his email to experience this for yourself, lmk), and he talked me through the options. Well, wrote/read me through the options. I learned about the Press Club, which is a multiple-course meal served in an interior space right next to the press box, with incredible views.
I already knew about the Tiger’s Den seats, which seem to have morphed into the MotorCity Hotel Casino Tiger Club. These are fantastic seats, with little tables in between them, and in-seat ordering and food delivery. With these tickets you also get access to another private club, with an, say it with me now, incredible view. These were the seats we got our first two times to the stadium and they run about $100-$150. Worth it.
But not as worth it as the Home Plate Club. These seats come with access to the Priority Club, which means I got:
- Aforementioned incredible view
- Aforementioned comfortable, mesh seats
- Or the temperature-controlled ones if you want to shell out extra money
- For reference, my ticket was $360
- Yes, I feel guilty as hell that Mickey spent that kind of money on me for one afternoon
- Yes, it was 100% worth it
- No, I have no regrets
- Well, maybe I wish he could have come with me
- But not everyone’s schedule is as flexible as mine
- Unlimited food and drink
- NOT just stadium food either.
- Also NOT just well drinks.
- A private club to escape to during the game
- Private entrance
- Short walk to the premium home plate Tigers seats
- Private bathroom
- Early entry to the ball park
- This was to take advantage of the premium food and drink
- When I say premium, I mean PREMIUM
- Sushi station
- Pasta station
- Tomahawk steaks
- Hometown pizza (Little Caesars)
- Shrimps and Grits
- Ice cream bar
- Nashville hot chicken and waffles
- This was to take advantage of the premium food and drink
- A special store with merch that is only available in that special store
- It was the original Tigers logo and VERY vibey
- I got Mickey a hat
- Take and Go Stadium treats
- Bags of peanuts
- Boxes of popcorn
- Bag of Cracker Jacks
- A CANDY WALL
- Surprisingly, I did not take advantage of this?
I arrived right when the gates opened, went through minimal security and was ushered into the private club where I proceeded to make myself a latte and eat some chicken and waffles. I brought ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Book 5 with me, so I read that, people-watched and took notes in my tiny notebook.
I tried a variety of food, took some pics and then found my seats.
Here are some pics from the Home Plate Club portion of events:
And here’re the pics I took with my “Jack White” camera.
yoof, those timestamps are stamps off.
TIGERS WIN
Now onto the beisbol portion of events.
I sat down and immediately took a selfie for some reason. This new cheapie camera practically begs me to and who am I to deny technology?
Here is what that smiling face was seeing:
It literally took me a single minute to walk from the Priority Club to my Home Plate Club seats. Lots of clubs on this baseball adventure, y’all.
I found myself sitting next to two older ladies who both reminded me of Debbie from ceramics class, so I felt right at home. Throughout the game, I learned they were sisters; it was one of their birthdays, and the other bought the tickets as a gift. I also learned it was their very first baseball game.
And they were INTO it. We talked about our experience watching baseball with our dads. I told them how my dad would bring me with him on his summer business trips, and we’d hit up whatever ballpark was closer. They told me how they would listen to the games on the radio as a family.
We were all very happy when the Tigers won. 3-0! With a home run, with a bat crack right when the song “My Nene” started playing on my LeftZolas playlist (this is a mixture of the Leftovers and Zola soundtracks and, yes, that is weird but I love it.)
Now, one of the perks of this veryspecialbaseballticket was that I could go get food whenever I wanted and bring it back to my seat. I mostly picked stadium food with a side of beer and/or cocktail, but I coulda brought sushi if I wanted.
Two things to mention and then I will show you pics of my stadium food:
- At one point, I saw a gentleman walking back to his temperature-controlled seat with a plate piled high with broccoli
- Dood did some tootin’ later that night, I bet.
- I stood for the National Anthem with a plate of nachos in my hand.
Here are those nachos, plus my other stadium food:
I loved this excperience so much. They weren’t huge full plates of food, I got little tastes of everything. My favorite way to eat. I read that the food rotates throughout the innings, so I went inside to check pretty frequently.
At one point, I was wandering around looking at the food and spied something and yelped, before I could catch myself, “French Fries!”, grabbed some and happily walked back to my seat. Speaking of walking, there were multiple stadium birds wandering around like they owned the place.
There was a mass exodus at the top of the 9th, but I stayed until the very end… and then headed back to the Priority Club where we had time after the game for dessert and more cocktails and whatever. Let me tell y’all, if I were back in my heavy drinking days, I would have made money on this ticket.
Post-Tiger’s Detroit Wandering
I picked an afternoon game to maximize my wandering time. And wander I did. First, I headed to Elwood Bar, which is only open on game days and cool as hell. There, I met Dianne, one of the best bartenders I’ve encountered in the DTW. She asked another patron, “Am I nice?” and they immediately replied “Yes” and I agree.
It was packed and Dianne was holding this shit down, y’all. The other waitstaff obviously respected her and she made sure a fun time was had by all. I had a Cherry Lime beer there and loved every sip. In inquired about a old-school phone-shaped tap handle and was provided a generous sample. Somehow, my beer was free, so I left the amazing Dianne a tip and kept on adventuring.
I set my sights on the Elephant Room, a place we frequented for Ghetto Tech Brunch a few years ago. I knew they had excellent cocktails and a vibe that fit my brain. Welp, they used to at least.
I didn’t even go inside, because I saw these AI fliers outside, advertising their specials:
What a fucking disappointment. But I knew there were so many other things to do in my city, so I walked towards Campus Martius Park. And I found myself inside Parc for one reason and one reason only… to continue my quest for a glass of Chablis that tastes like an iceberg. Or, hell, a glass of Chablis at all. IT IS SO HARD TO FIND.
I gave the bartender my challenge and she said, “We don’t have Chablis, but I think you would like the Sancerre. Wait, let me check with the wine expert.”
The wine expert came over and agreed; the Sancerre was closest to the iceburg-y flavor I’d been searching for. And it was… close. Not exact, but as near as I’ve tasted since NYC.
Good times, there. And the night wasn’t over yet! I left Parc with no real goal in mind and found myself in front of Greektown Casino. So, I went in and wandered for a bit. I’m not much of a gambler, but I thought it might be fun to play a game of chance, so I messaged my gambling friend Ross with this question:
“hello. I’ve found myself in a casino with about $40 to spend. How should I spend it to my greatest benefit?
He gave me a very thoughtful answer that included low-stakes video poker or low-denomination slots to extend my casino time. Or if I wanted the best odds at a big win, to put it all on a single pass line at craps or a hand of blackjack or baccarat.
Or Keno.
I did none of it and instead found myself at a tucked-away bar where I met another bartender named Diane. She was obsessed with travel and made me a delicious drink with egg whites.
Don’t worry, I did put that $40 to good use later.
Oh, I forgot to introduce my new friend (pictured above). This is Rube, named after one of my all-time favorite squirrelfriends. Every time I go to the stadium, I leave with a new friend, and this is the latest.
Then I got dangerously close to Canada, wandered the Riverwalk and hopped into a Lyft to head home.
I say it all the time, but it’s so true. I love Detroit so much, y’all.
Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig
I got home and I was silly… and I also hadn’t eaten anything since the game. I was hungy, so I took that $40 I didn’t spend at the Casino and took Mickey and me to Carter’s Hamburgers instead.
Money well spent.
