Detroit’s biggest party of the year will be full of the traditional pomp and circumstance.
The Tigers start the 2022 Major League Baseball Season on Friday at Comerica Park, where 12-time Grammy winner and Detroit Cass Tech alum Jack White will perform the national anthem.
White, a big Tigers fan, will do the anthem for the first time at Comerica Park. He is in town playing a pair of shows at Detroit’s Masonic Temple on Friday and Saturday, and Friday is the release date of his new solo album “Fear of the Dawn,” his first of two albums due out this year. (“Entering Heaven Alive” follows in July.)
White’s national-anthem performance will be followed by a flyover of A-10 Thunderbolts from Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
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Throwing out the first pitch will be Amari Bartee, the son of the late Kimera Bartee, who was a Tigers player and coach. Kimera Bartee was the first-base coach last season and was set to return in 2022, before dying suddenly in December of an undiagnosed brain tumor.
Bartee’s family will be in attendance, and the Tigers will be observe a moment of silence.
Also recognized before Friday’s 1 p.m. game against the Chicago White Sox will be the Taylor North Little League World Series championship team. Star player Cam Thorning will deliver the game ball to the mound.
Gates to Comerica Park open early on Opening Day, at 10:30 a.m. The first 10,000 fans will receive a 2022 magnetic schedule, and there will be a happy hour until noon, with beer, sodas and hot dogs for $5. The specials only are available on the Pepsi Porch and at the Chevy Pavilion.
Outside Comerica Park, the Tigers are hosting their first Opening Day Tailgate, from 9 a.m. until first pitch. There will be a band, interactive games, photo stations and 16-ounce beers for $5. The tailgate will take place in the McLaren Garage Place and along Witherell Street.
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tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984