The city of Detroit has - at long last – finally announced plans to tear-down the baseball shrine at the corner of Michigan and Trumble. According to the Detroit Free Press, a number of different ideas are on the table for this prime slice of Detroit real estate. Apparently, select parts of the existing structure will remain, including both dugouts and possibly a portion of the field - which would then be used by future little leaguers. Baseball Big Mouth long ago shed its tears for Tiger Stadium (CLICK HERE FOR THAT STORY) and both the Heckler and Punch N. Judy have anxiously-awaited an announcement regarding a proper burial. At any rate, you can count on us to provide exclusive coverage of this sorrowful event. As a matter of fact, we’ve decided to settle things the old-fashioned way to decipher who is assigned the task holding the Baseball Big Mouth implosion-cam at that final, fateful moment by tossing a bat in the air and going at it fist-over-fingers-over-fist in a race to the top. Now, if we only remember what that damn game was called, we’d be in business . . . Nonetheless, here are a few thoughts from two of the biggest Tiger fans on what this announcement means to them. 

Punch N Judy: Well, I’ve been to Nemo’s four times this year already and each time a silent, reflective glance or two is cast towards a place I feel I never visited enough. Much like the feelings some experience when an older loved one dies, I always think I just should have dropped by to say hello more than I did. Alas, upon further reflection, my feelings usually turn to bitterness towards a Tiger organization that allowed itself to crumble before my eyes. These dimwits, led by the moronic Bo Schembechler tried to make a loyal fan base believe that the club couldn’t compete financially without the benefit of a new stadium. Hogwash. Then when a savior (pizza baron Mike Ilitch) arrived and bought the team from Tom Monahan, he turned out to be equally as inept. Ilitch’s disrespect towards the Stadium and the whole Corktown neighborhood by extension, made me believe this Detroit icon is nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. If an idea doesn’t revolve around the Fox district in downtown Detroit, than to Ilitch, it simply doesn’t exist.

It’s no small wonder that the team had difficulties drawing fans. When the most innovative idea your audio-visual team can cook up is scoreboard sausage-races and the old “which cap is the ball under” you know you’re in trouble. Speaking of the scoreboard, how many people agree with me that those burned out lights were purposely planted by the club itself? I think this rant needs a hand-off because I’m on the verge of tears here . . .

The Heckler: Buck up soldier. Don’t go Frank Robinson on me here. We knew this day was coming. The Heckler will admit here and now that the day of implosion will no doubt cause a few more tears, but not now. I’m glad that they are finally taking some initiative, actually. I mean – you’ve seen it – it is out-and-out sad to see Tiger Stadium decay before our very eyes. Even that damn food court added late in its legacy now looks pathetic. God only knows what the inside truly looks like, as even the few pictures I have seen no doubt tell only a small sample of the tale in total.

I do take umbrage with your crucifying Mike Ilitch, however. Simply because the man’s track record (or luck) in baseball pales to his success in the world of hockey is hardly means to string the man up. At a time during his tenure, the Tigers had the highest payroll in baseball – and what did he get for it? A bunch of homeruns by guys like Cecil Fielder, Mickey Tettleton, Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia – and little else. The team went down the toilet on the field because of bad scouting, something implemented long-before Ilitch got there. He did the best he could to put a winning product on the field in the Tiger Stadium years – I really believe that. Now, the Comerica Park years are another story, but we’re not discussing that here and now.

The Schembechler move was a disaster, flat-out. I’ll say this though – no one took a bullet like Bo. From the Ernie Harwell firing to the “shackled to a steel girder” comment in regard to saving the Stadium, maybe Ilitch wasn’t so dumb after all. He kept his nose relatively clean amid all of that. Tiger Stadium’s demise began decades-before the Ilitch regime came to own the organization. If they were serious about preservation, maybe Jim Campbell and company would have actually done something besides slapping-on another coat of paint on the walls every other winter. By the time Ilitch got there, it was already on the verge of dying (let alone the surrounding neighborhood). Good-bye, old girl. You will forever remain our cherished Tiger Stadium. That any of it will remain is a miracle. At least we will still have something to show our kids. Talk to an old-school White Sox fan about what they can show their progeny of old Comiskey. “Hey son, see this parking lot? I used to watch baseball here!” “ . . . Great, Dad . . . can we go now?”

SPRING 2007 UPDATE ON TIGER STADIUM DEMOLITION PLANS! CLICK HERE!

CLICK HERE for The Hecklers eulogy on Tiger Stadium with EXCLUSIVE pics! 

All photos copyright BaseballBigMouth.com, Punch N. Judy (first two) and The Heckler - All rights reserved -

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 at 5:40 pm and is filed under MLB photos, Baseball History, Ballpark Memories, Tiger Stadium, MLB Game Stories, Baseball News and Views, Waxing Nostalgic, The MLB Hotbox, Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.