Comerica Park Nightmare

Beware: Honest and colorful language in this post. I am not typically an internet slammer spewing negativity too often but my last Tiger game in Detroit was stupid. Feel free to skip this post and wait for my next as it is just a whiny, bitchy review.

I posted about going to a game with Dennis from Too Many Verlanders a while ago. If he hadn't been with me that day to laugh at the audacious bullshit I might have been physically thrown from the stadium out of frustration. It will be my last game at Comerica Park, forever. I am still a Tiger fan but have no reason to throw money away just to have a shitty time at the ballpark.

My experience that day was not ideal to say the least. I showed up to the game at 2pm to be in line for the Miguel Cabrera bobblehead picture frame giveaway. When your ball club loses 100 games a season it is the little things that matter and giveaway days at Comerica can be crazy. As soon as I stepped into line it began down pouring. I was soaked! Nobody's fault really but then they opened the gates late. When I finally got to the front of the line security opened my very small pull string bag I always bring to games and unwrapped my camera I always bring to games and said it was too big. I had to leave and could not enter. I had just waited 2 hours in a monsoon and have brought this camera to HUNDREDS of games at this stadium and a handful of others and never once had a problem. I threw a fit and reluctantly was escorted away from the stadium. Taking pictures is the only reason I attend games. Especially now that the whole viewing area on the lower level has a net blocking a clear view. But, now they have a strict 80mm zoom limit on cameras. So I have no reason to go back to another game. I can list a million benefits to watching the game at home on TV anyway. So, fuck off Comerica Park. I won't be wasting my money anymore.

 I had already fought with the Tigers earlier in the week leading up to the game as my father-in-law bought the tickets for me for my birthday in March but never received an email with the actual tickets and did not have the MLB Ball Park app. Customer service said "the tickets show they were never printed and the email was never opened but we cannot resend the email. I can have them at will call for you for $10 a ticket." What the fuck Comerica Park?! How does that work when he purchased their parking pass for $30 on top of the $200 tickets? So much time wasted for no good reason. It was an unbelievable phone conversation that did nothing but piss off myself and my father-in-law.

On game day, I ended up returning my camera to my car and entering the stadium another way. I was able to get the giveaway item but sold it to someone at the game as soon as I could to pay for food while I waited out a 4 hour rain delay. I was told by other fans and multiple Tiger's employees I should have just jumped in another line. Wow. Wonderful. That makes me feel better. Waiting out the rain I watched kids throwing balls to see how fast they threw. Lo and behold a dad pulls out THE SAME DAMN CAMERA I HAVE and starts taking pictures of his kids. I took a pic and blurred his face and tweeted the Tigers that I would not be back. I'm not usually that guy but I was just pissed. Now I see how that guy (angry internet bitcher) is created. After all this BS there is nothing that could rectify the situation anyway so it was a pointless vent. Of course they replied to me that they would have Comerica Park in contact with me which never happened. It wouldn't have made a difference if they had but just another example of the whole company sucking. I know I am one person out of hundreds of thousands that enter the stadium but never thought I would be driven to be the grumpy douchebag who felt deceived and cheated. The Tigers have made me an angry old man well ahead of my time.

Tigerfest 2019

Chilling for 2 Hours

At 8am we planted ourselves in line with about 50 people in front of us for Tigerfest. Early Entry meant we could get in at 10am instead of 11am for the "normies." Despite it being 7 degrees and breezy, we were only 20 feet or so closer to the door than we were last year. The group in front of us brought a wagon with a propane heater (see pic below) that got a lot of attention. They made a lot of friends that day. Once the doors opened though the people in front of us tripled as those in front of us were just placeholders for entire families waiting in nearby cars. My brother and I earned it. I dressed just warm enough knowing how hot it would be in many of the lines inside. I could have dressed in my ice fishing garb but that meant carrying that around all day. My backpack full of scribble-worthy goods was already heavy enough.

*WARNING* "Colorful" vocabulary may find it's way into this post beyond this point.

For those who don't know; Early Entry tickets are like gold for Tiger fans. Only season ticket holders are offered them so you can imagine with the team we spit onto the field those are few and far between. This year I was able to score one for free, though I gave the gentleman $20 to ensure it was a legit deal and I would meet him in line for it. The day before the event I found 4 tickets and 4 early entry tickets for sale on Craigslist under two different posts. One post I asked if they would sell one early entry for $40 and then they could sell the other stuff they had still and make more money. They declined. The other post was even closer to my house and I offered $50 and a Miguel Cabrera auto'd 8x10 that I have had forever that I was never fond of for all 4 tickets and 4 early entry tickets. They took that deal! I then sold the three early entry tickets remaining for $25 a piece and gave away the regular tickets for free and ultimately broke even all together. It felt great to be able to tell the first craigslist seller I found what they were offering for half price.

Since early entry is only for the large and in charge, it is generally thought only the best signers will be there. They set up two lines for separate signers and you have to pick a line to hit first and hope to get into the second before time runs out or the gen-pop get let in. Last year if you recall I ended up with Daniel Norris and my brother got Michael Fulmer. Fulmer; yes an early entry worthy signer. Norris; eff you Tigers. Anyway, this year was close to the same and is making me wonder if it is worth jumping through hoops for early entry. This year my brother and I decided to not split up then one of us wouldn't be jealous of the other. Miguel Cabrera was announced to be coming to the event and this year didn't cancel that we knew of so we had fingers crossed Miggy would be an early entry signer.

Early Entry Line SESSION #1: Jim Leyland

I love Jim Leyland. I have had an 8X10 of a picture I took back in 2006 of Jim, JV, and Magglio shagging fly balls before a game that I have needed Leyland's scribble on for a long time. I had JV sign it at Tigerfest in 2007 and hadn't added any ink to it since. I was so thrilled to add on to what might be the highlight of my entire collection for me!

This is a bad scan, it looks better in person!

Another shitty part of Tigerfest is the handlers for the players. Apparently it is faster for me to hand the precious item I want signed to a 15 year old girl to crinkle and smear around before getting signed. It pisses me off every time!

Early Entry Line SESSION #1 (round 2): Jordan Zimmermann

Jordan Zimmermann is a personal favorite because he just seems like a cool guy. He ice fishes for god's sake. We were able to make it into the other early entry line for Zimm. He has some decent accolades and is 100X better than Daniel Norris, but I still think early entry should be one of your HOFers and your biggest star. A former manager and your #3 starter for your season ticket holders doesn't exactly scream "buy a ticket package." Anyway, I got Zimm last year on a 5X7 and this time around snagged him on this Allen and Ginter RC. It looks sweet! It is always a tough decision on whether to have a RC signed or a Tiger uni card.  

Line 3 SESSION #2: Matt Boyd (Now the lines start)

By this time the "normies" or gen-pop people have started charging their way into the stadium. The early entry lines were about 30 minutes of a wait. This next line took an hour; still shorter than most years. We had to choose between line C or D. We heard whispers that Matt Boyd was in C and Joe Jimenez was in D. Always take a starter over a reliever! Matt Boyd was super nice. He warned me that the sharpie might not work well on the magazine I wanted signed before he did it. I said "it's not crazy glossy or anything, it should work." I should have listened. 

The auto obviously turned out horrible. I still like the piece anyway. Everything goes right into the PC so whatever; you live, you learn. Boyd is a great dude. By this time it was clear the event was going to be an unorganized shit show as usual. Boyd had like 50 people left in line to sign for while Jimenez was done. The same thing had happened with Leyland and Zimmermann but only got worse as the day went on. Mostly due to idiots wanting to get an auto and take pictures even though there is a separate place to take pics with players.

Line 4 SESSION #3: Pizza Pizza

You know you're getting screwed when the box they use for a single piece of pizza and a whole pizza are the same box. I paid $13 for my bro and I to share a "whole" pizza. Even though it is Little Caesars and you would assume for $13 you would get a hot and ready and even then its a shitty deal, we received a square pizza maybe 12"X12" cut into 4. FOR $13. Come on Tigers, Jesus Christ. One single piece was $6 and was almost 9" X 9". Ballpark food prices always suck but the Tigers really milk you for all you got and give you nothing in return. We missed session 3 due to waiting for our tiny microwave pizza and taking a leak. 

Line 5 SESSION #4: Oops, Jordan Zimmermann

When anyone asks about Tigerfest my first and most important tip to them is to stay in one line and keep getting in it. Jumping lines can result in doubling up on signers. We had the grand idea that the line might be shorter the further from the entrance we got. We were so wrong. The next line we went to was cramped and some idiot from the Tigers just kept screaming "tighten up the line!" I was already inside the guy in front of me with someone's breathe melting the back of my hat. It sucked. We were treated worse than cattle and worse yet; there was no signer. For 35 minutes the Tigers or there staff fucked up and didn't have a signer at our spot. We were stuck with no exit in sight with triple the fire marshall's suggested population in that small space being nearly penetrated from the unshowered drunk behind us. Finally, Jordan Zimmermann showed up. DON'T CHANGE LINES. This time I had him sign a ball for me and he did an awesome job. It is one of the sharpest signed balls I have.

Line 6 SESSION #4: WTF Tigers! Almost Greiner, Niko, Ross

We decided to hit a different line again just so we weren't trapped in a claustrophobic nightmare. This time we thought we had lucked into a 3 signer table as Grayson Greiner, Tyson Ross, and Niko Goodrum were sat down! We were 5 people away from hitting a triple when they brought in about a dozen handicapped fans. It is another part of Tigerfest that hasn't been figured out how to handle correctly. I do think handicapped fans should not miss out on any part of the event. I think the Tigers should do something better than have them jump the 200 person line after we have been waiting over an hour. All the blame goes on the Tigers. Anyway, as we are 5 people, and now 12 more away from my first 3 person table since T'Fest 2006 a couple handlers show up and realized they fucked up again and took Greiner and Ross away! They were supposed to be somewhere else. So not only were 200 fans in another line pissed they had no signer for 30 minutes again, 200 of us had to see the first 50 plus the 12 handicap line cutters get 3 signers and then we get just Niko Goodrum. A better organized event with employees who do their jobs correctly would piss off a lot less fans. But, its the same every year. 

We got Niko's beautiful full name auto. Me on my Independence Day card and my brother who had dragged two bats along this whole time and had yet to see one actual batter who could sign them had his chance to get a bat signed. 

I hope the day never comes that Niko changes his awesome signature to something shorter and faster. This card is perfect. Niko was super funny. The guy behind me was asked by the handler if he wanted to sweet spot signed and he said no. Niko looked up at me wide eyed and said "You don't want me on your sweet spot?!" I laughed so hard. I said "you'd be on my sweet spot all day but I handed you a card not a ball."

Line 7 SESSION #5: Buck Farmer and Spencer Turnbull

We stayed in that line for the next session and got Buck Farmer and Spencer Turnbull. We got Farmer last year and I have gotten Turnbull through TTM but its always nice to get a double signing table no matter who it is. I really enjoyed watching Turnbull make his debut last year. Even gave me chills a few times. So exciting when they get that first chance. 

Line 8 SESSION #5: It Happened: Triple Signer Table!

We were able to get through fast enough to hit session 5 in another line. This time we had two firsts: 3 signers at one table and one was a Tiger alumni. The signers just kept coming to the table. Tiger Alum and all around great guy Andy Dirks, new pick up Reed Garrett, and young middle infielder Willi Castro made up our 8th table visited. There must have been at least 10,000 less people this year since lines were moving so fast and you could walk around. Typically, there is barely room to move anywhere in the stadium. 

I mistakenly had him sign a card I already have signed from him. So if anyone has a Dirks card signed they want to trade for this one let me know.

Line 8 SESSION #6: The Dud

I hate to call any auto session a dud but this one was unknown Jose Fernandez and relief pitcher Daniel Stumpf who we saw last year. Not super pumped for this one but always good to get more signatures. Stumpf is on the ball above with Willi Castro, Fernandez is on the back of the same ball in the pic below. I have them use sharpies on these cheap Tiger logo balls because pen doesn't work on them.

Line 9 SESSION #7: I Want Candy!

Leading up to the last signer for the final session I was saying how the last signer we get historically is always the weakest. In walks Jeimer Candelario! So awesome. I hope he really matures and becomes a superstar with the Tigers. My brother was super pumped to get him on his other bat and I got him on a ball I snagged during BP. Definitely the best final signer we have ever gotten.

We got through the line pretty quick and had to decide whether to run to another tent and hope there was enough tickets left for JaCoby Jones and Mikie Mahtook or get back in this line which looked like the usher had just enough tickets for us to get Candelario again. You don't leave fish to find fish so we jumped back in line for Candy knowing the chances were better because we could see the stack of tickets in the guy's hand. 

Line 10 SESSION #7: I Want More Candy!

It was unbelievable being able to double up on sessions let alone get through 10 lines! Even back in the mid 2000's when I would walk away with 12-15 autos after the event because it was run better I was never able to double up on sessions. A mix of it being frigid and the outlook on this year's squad being even colder I think made a lot of people stay home. I was one of the last in line for Jeimer's signature this time so I got a quick version but it still looks sweet on the gold card. 

My brother had his best Tigerfest ever for sure. We had a ton of fun. The funny thing is; almost all the people I either gave free tickets to or sold early entry to got Miguel Cabrera's signature somehow. Lucky bastards. 

The outlook on the Tigers is bleak. I enjoy seeing prospects rise, short lines at events and cheap secondhand tickets  but it gets scary when you step back and really see the big picture. $ makes the world go round and the Tigers aren't using it wisely right now. Especially when the GM comes out and says they are going cheap until 2021. I know that knocked a lot of fans off the bandwagon. Between the prices they demand for parking-ticket-food, the weak roster, and the change in TV commentators; this is going to be a rough year. I'll hang in there and enjoy what I can. I always do. 

Here's a peak at some of the event:

I haven't seen the field dressed in white very often. I tried to blow it up so you can see the temp climbed to 11 degrees by 11 am.

A peak at the binder I take and my cheat sheet to know what I brought.

The two most annoying things at this event: douchebag selfie takers making the line take forever and this ignorant handler in the hoodie who thinks she is making things faster but IS NOT!

The line at 8am. Two hours until open. Seven degrees Fahrenheit. This line tripled when they unlocked the doors. 

I Am NOT A Set Builder, Opening Day, New Stuff From Different Sources

1987 Topps

When the Tiger's opener was rained out the first day I decided to sit down and build a set. This is my first time ever really trying to put together a set by hand. Back in 2006 I collected a lot of Topps in order to make a set but never did. I AM NOT A SET BUILDER. I do not have the stamina for it, physically or mentally. I texted Papa Jack to show him I was building a set like he used to. Ten minutes later I texted him that my back and arms were killing me and he texted back "Wussy."
I still haven't completed the build and even though I have thousands of these cards I am still missing random singles here and there. Something to look forward to hunting down and card shows I guess. I don't see myself ever hand collating another set. Ever.

I posted on Twitter but will reiterate here: Has anyone ever tried, or heard of anyone who has tried putting together an all gum stain set? I have lots I can help out with if someone is brave or bored enough!

 

 

Opening Day

I took Nolan to his first opening day. It was cold. I had the best seats I have ever had for an opener right behind the left field pole. It was still a little far for a 3 year old to appreciate the game. He had a blast on the carousel and the fireworks and fly over for the national anthem was his favorite part. First pitch was 1:10pm, we were home by 2:10pm. Still was a great day. The game itself went extras and the Tigers finally coughed it up. Gardy got thrown out arguing, no doubt trying to win over some fans since they won't win games. MLB came out and said the overturned call via replay that cost the Tigers the game was overturned in error. I don't know why they would admit that let alone announce it. How does that happen after watching a play over and over for ten minutes?! Then you overturn it?! Such an error at most jobs I know of would cost the person their employment. I hope heads rolled for this but I doubt it since it wasn't a Yankees game.
Some new things at Comerica Park I noticed:
1. Shot Clock - They ran a 25 second clock for pitches but I don't think any umpire or anyone else ever looked at it. It didn't even start/end at the correct times.
2. MVR- Mound visits remaining. I had no idea what it was on the pitching stats board. I thought it was some kind of movement measurement for pitch break. I was like "that curveball registered a MVR of 6?"
3. Screens!- Good lord the game has been ruined. Guys all wearing helmets from midieval times is one thing but the screens have to go. You can't get signatures before games other than a 10 foot space at the beginning of the dug out by the backstop that you know was smothered with fat ass "rackers" who won't let anybody else in. The worst part is I usually buy really good tickets for one game a season to take pictures. The netting ruins that. They should have just made a no kids section and had people sign an "I won't be an idiot on my phone / sit here at own risk" wavers for those sections. The netting sucks so bad I don't know if I will attend another game. I might as well watch from home instead of through nylon.

Repping the Tigs for Easter!

'Twas cold!

Our view.

Trying to keep him awake on the ride home. He probably walked 30 miles in 3 year old steps.

 New Stuff

I finally received a trade offer on The Trading Card Database. It was nothing big but I needed to get one under my belt to figure out how it works. Luckily, Akenyon1 is a veteran of trading on the site and we swapped some junk. I got his cards today PWE and I sent mine bubble mailer just because I added a little extra to the package and wouldn't you know its stuck in USPS land and his came right to me. Well, thank goodness I stepped up the shipping so we can at least watch it bounce around via tracking. Here are the two cards I got from him today:

I thought this Thames card looked sweet.

Best provision card ever.

Here are some other recent pick ups:

/49

/25

/199

/10000 Been wanting this one for a loooonnnnnggggg time!

/30 I've never seen another one of these.

Who? I got this card through a case break my brother and I went halfsies on for 2018 Gypsy Queen buying the Tigers. For one case we ended up with 5 full team sets, a few extras, and a Jordan Zimmermann no team variation card. The breaker Jaggbreaks threw in this McVaney card luckily so we could flip a coin for who got what hit.

This is not a mistake double pic. I hopped into another Hobby Legends 2 case 2018 Donruss player break and only bought JJ. It netted me one card that I had already bought secondhand.Still looking for the numbered version.

Randomly on facebook some chick who lives by me posted two uncut sheets of cards for $15. I jumped on it and brought these babies home. Tramm and Ryno looking good on the first sheet.

Tony Gwynn hanging out on the second sheet. I haven't opened them up fully yet.

Tiger Porn : 2018 Tigerfest Redemption

Tigerfest Redeems Itself

First off, I am curious to see what happens to my page visit count when throwing the word "Porn" into it. Probably nothing but its in Goolge's hands now.

Pics are at the end if you don't want to read the story.

Tigerfest 2018 was terrific for me. It wasn't improved from last year, probably got worse as less people attended but that made no difference in line waits and mass bad attitudes from staff and attendees. Don't get me wrong, the event is still the most unorganized scary mess you will ever see that pisses off at least 75% of its attenders. This year however, luck was on my side and having gone to so many I take it all in stride and leave it all to chance.
The Early Entry passes I scored made the difference. We got in line at 7:30am for the 10am open and had 150 people in front of us. So much for the idea of less people attending this year. One cool thing that happened was Ron Gardenhire, our new manager, showed up in the line and sat down and played cards with some fans and took pics and signed a little. Justin Verlander kind of started that last year and I think it was a nice touch for the new manager to do that for the fans. I found out in line (in Detroit Tigers form) Alan Trammell would not be signing at all at the event. Rumor has it his contract with DC Sports a memorabilia shop around my area wouldn't let him. So the list of guys not attending/not signing not claimed another signature I needed. I can't believe the Tigers would let this happen but nothing should surprise me with this organization anymore. I thought Tram would have to be one of the early entry signers because there were no other big names there. In line my brother and I got the low down on early entry from veterans of the early pass. As you enter you have a choice of left or right. Green ticket or Red ticket. It is very Matrix-y. My brother and I decided we would split up and then get back in line based on who was signing. The guys outside said every year they are able to get back in line and get both signers. They were wrong this year, which sucked for me. My brother chose correctly and got Michael Fulmer for Auto Session 'A' and I got Daniel Norris who is no slouch but I already got his auto this past summer and who's track record did not seem to me to be one of an early entry signer.

We rushed to get back in line and both went left to try to get another Fulmer but by then the "Normies" had been given entry and we got the next batch of signers. On the left was Craig Monroe and Daniel Stumpf. I need C-Mo for my next card project but Stumpf doesn't even have a MLB card out that I can find. Luckily, I had a card of his from the kids day giveaway at the ballpark last year. I told my brother I was going to trade somebody to get into the right line. Jordan Zimmermann was signing on that side. I really wanted Zimm's scribble so I waited for my chance. We got to the very end of the line and I spotted a drunk guy (10am) looking my direction. I worked out a trade with him and got into the Zimm line! My brother wasn't real happy and said I broke etiquette but you have to do what you have to do. The drunk guy got two autos instead of one and as we found out later when he spotted us leaving he met Jordan Zimmermann three other times that day. It all worked out for Auto Session 'B'.
Next, we scrambled to find the downstairs to get into that autograph line because the veterans in the morning line said downstairs always got the bigger names and the line seemed shorter. Well, this year there was no downstairs line. They were wrong, again. The time we wasted moving cost us Auto Session 'C'.
We found a line for Auto Session 'D' upstairs somewhere and got really lucky. Behind the press boxes we got JaCoby Jones! A PC guy! Brandon Inge was in attendance but I wouldn't get to see him. JJ is the next best thing. With Fulmer, Zimm, and Jones my brother and I both agreed our day was made and everything else was icing on the cake.

We found a shorter line on the concourse hoping for Session 'E' after asking 3 unhelpful employees upstairs how to get downstairs with the other hundred or so people frantically stuck out on the overhang with all obvious exits blocked off. We got in line and found out it was Daniel Stumpf and Johnny Barbato and Auto Session 'D' was still going on. Having already gotten Stumpf and having nothing for Barbato to sign we rolled the dice and walked to the back of the line for Auto Session 'E'. While in line Nicholas Castellanos was lead by his handler in error to our auto area. Pitcher Chad Bell was the lone signer for 'E' and had the unfortunate luck of having to sign for reluctant fans. Of course everybody started cheering and chanting and then the young woman found out she brought him to the wrong place so she took him away and everybody booed at being teased with a decent signer. My brother and I got Chad Bell who I jokingly chanted "Chad, Chad, Chad" for as he signed and he laughed and said that wasn't the first time Nick had been brought to one of his tables in error and that happened. He was cool.
We had time for one more auto so we jumped back in the same line for Auto Session 'F'. A security guard who had been monitoring that line all day said Nick Castellanos had not been to that table yet all day. Another person in line said he had only been in that line all day and rattled off all the minor leaguers he had gotten lone autos from and the only session he missed was the only mutli-player table with Brandon Inge, Todd Jones, and Spencer Turnbull. He had still done better than I did the year before but he was having a rough day. We expected the last signer to be someone decent. It was overdue. For some reason there was an hour between Bell leaving and the next signer showing up. People were getting a little rowdy for the unnecessary wait. Some of the Tiger cheer leaders or whatever they are came in and gave away three $10 gas cards. I had never seen giveaways for people in line before. I don't know why they don't do that more to keep spirits up, it cost them $30 to take our attention away from our throbbing knees and hips for 10 minutes. My brother actually won one.

This was the longest line we stood in. The line turns and heads up a three turn ramp just before the little bit of open light you see at the farthest point of the picture. We got free BitBits in line (Miguel Cabrera's candy). I ate them because I was starving, reluctantly. I would have rather seen one media post from him saying "Sorry I couldn't be there" instead of some candy samples.

Finally, the doors open and Nick Castellanos comes through with his entourage holding his son's hand. I knew he was never going to sign for an hour with his kid and family with him. Of course, the idiots in line started cheering and chanting as he walked past the table and booed as he went out the door and got in a car. I was actually surprised he stayed as long as he did. Fulmer was posting thanks for Tigerfest around noon and it was now 3:30. Drew VerHagen came in as the lone last signer. Most people bailed and left. We got Drew and then headed for home as the last lines were shut down early like they always are.

5X7

5X7

In sharpie because I used a Retail Logo ball instead of OMLB

Overall, our haul was good and we had a good time like always. I get a kick out of all the negative feedback this event gets but it really is just terribly planned. I really don't know why the Tigers even bother at this point with so many upset people every year. I am glad they put it on but if you're a Tiger fan be warned. You are better off paying for private signings than trying to get something signed at the ballpark at this event or a game.

MY PREVIOUS POST HAS A CONTEST THAT IS STILL GOING ON UNTIL NEXT SATURDAY. GET IN ON IT!