No telling what he could have accomplished had he not run into arm problems.

He was the most promising newcomer in years. But they put him on the mound until his arm was useless. The Bird was fantastic. But the management wanted short term media coverage rather than long term success.

What a waste.

Baseball is still one of the great sports on the planet, no matter how much people have tried to malign it. Detroit is a baseball town. It's really nice to see Tiger Stadium in this clip. I have many, many memories there. Hot dogs were called Red Hots there (served solely with your choice of mustard and/or onions -- nothing else).

Baseball, and Australian rules football. The two best sports on the planet.

I had given up on baseball for a few years. The Tigers weren't doing all that good. This guy got me back into baseball. I was 19 years old.

It was classic Americana.



The fans banged the old fold back seats in unison sending a harmonic rumble through the entire structure.

One of those, "You had to be there" things.

At the time, it was the oldest park in the major leagues.

But the fucking wealthy wanted sky boxes so they could attend the games without having to put up with the rabble in the stands, or maybe to be able to ignore the game altogether and talk about their investments while they had their penthouse service. Caviar, but no Red Hots.

Baseball is not caviar. It is Red Hots. If you want ketchup or relish, you can go to the concession stand and get yourself. Red Hots are only served with mustard and/or onions. No caviar.

And sky boxes are not baseball.

God how I miss that place. No better place to see a game!

Behind the home team dugout. The best seats were there. One could see everything. Front reserved seats were the best, as close to the box seats as one could get, but under the upper deck in case of rain.

In my day they were still affordable. And yes! I want my Red Hot with both mustard and onions.

Get yer Red Hots!

It was a wonderful place to watch baseball.

And those folks in Chicago rave about Harry Carey. Ptew! That's because they never had Ernie Harwell calling the plays.

I love my home town.

Cooley high school graduate, 1966.


Sadly, now also gone.

And sit in the bleachers on a summer day.

So many 'Tiger Fans' just let Illitch destroy one of baseball's jewels so he could consolidate his holdings in Fox Town and control more of the parking money. It was about the Money, Lebowski. It sure wasn't about preserving a precious piece of Detroit Baseball History.

I was a proud member of the Tiger Stadium Fan Club. In the end, greed won...as it always does.

Americans don't value greed as a virtue.

The rich KNOW THIS which is why they are scrambling to grab what they can before it all ends.

It's GONE. Can't bring it back. My summers are ruined.

I wish you were right. I always thought Tiger Stadium had a chance to come back, like Orchestra Hall did. But they tore it down to make sure that wouldn't happen. Greed wins. I'm sorry you're wrong, because I want you to be right.

again, Tiger Stadium is not coming back, and most of these 'fans' are perfectly happy with that family values corporate plastic shithole the team plays in now. I mean, the Tigers now play in a stadium named after a corporation that moved its headquarters from Detroit to Dallas. That's pretty symbolic in my opinion. And you can damn well bet that we the taxpayers had to help Mike Illitch pay for his new stadium. The whole affair ruined my relationship with baseball, sorry to say.

As always, there is a small percent of the population that has the soulfulness to appreciate a place like Tiger Stadium but we are the minority. Can we tell the next generation of fans what they missed? I've tried, my friend. The good ones are sympathetic, but really, what can be done? The cow is out of the barn, that fight was lost.

I wish I could be less pessimistic, because I do agree with you in spirit. Anyway, thanks for listening to me grouse about it. Hope the rest of everybody's day is good. Cheers.

what a feeling it was to see him. May he rest in peace. Underpaid and over-utilized.

Everyone at Tiger Stadium that night knew we were witnessing something special, and the mood was electric. Like he was just our little secret. His next start was this game against Yanks on national TV. Suddenly our secret was out and his incredible year was everyones to see. I miss that ballpark, I miss that city...

He and Dave Rozema were so lovable.

Yeah Campbell and Fetzer did wear him out. Damn shame.

I was at the game where he beat the dreaded Yankees with help from a hit by Aurelio Rodriguez of all people. What a great game that was.

And of course a massive feast in Mextown afterwards: Xocimilco, of course.

Great days in the D.

He was a joy to watch. R.I.P.