Drinks flowed as cornhole bags soared through the air and lines extended from foodtrucks.
The 45-degree air as crisp as the fresh, white, never-before-worn Javier Baez and Spencer Torkelson jerseys that dozens of fans were sporting around downtown Detroit. Cigar smoke the dominant aroma on most corners surrounding Comerica Park, with whiffs of grilled meats, peanuts and beer aplenty.
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Max Manoogian, one of the men responsible for those scents, viewed Friday’s festivities before the Detroit Tigers‘ opener as a rite of passage. Opening Day was the thing for his dad, Carl. But Friday was Max’s time to carry on the legacy.
“Opening Day has always been the most important day in my family, it’s a very sacred holiday,” Manoogian said. “My dad always said he raised us in ‘the Church of Baseball.’ He passed away last year in January, so because of the pandemic last year … this is the first without him.
“I’ve taken (the tailgate) over, we’re eating lambchops, it’s baseball season. It’s the best time of the year.”
On the field
Friday was exactly 1,100 days since the Tigers hosted an Opening Day without capacity limits — the lineup on that 2019 day was nowhere near as tantalizing as the product on display Friday, resulting in a remarkable 5-4 comeback victory.
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It was a team effort on Friday, starting with Jeimer Candelario’s RBI single in the sixth. Friday marked Candelario’s fifth Opening Day with Detroit, now a veteran on a club that has spent the bulk of his tenure rebuilding.
After the game, Candelario, said the difference was evident in spring and that was reflected in the crowd.
“We’ve got the beautiful fans here in Detroit supporting us, it was a great crowd today,” Candelario said. “We expected a lot of fans here … I know the fans expect we’re going to win ball games and we have a great team.
“It felt different…this win is great.”
Face the crowd
The difference was noticeable outside the clubhouse, too — the franchise reported 43,480 tickets were sold, for a sellout and the largest Opening Day crowd since 2017’s game against the Red Sox.
Tony and Pam Rinna said they understand the buzz as well as any followers of the team. Tony said his days of Tiger fandom began as a young boy and blossomed in the days of skipping class at Allen Park High School, busing down with his buddies to “The Corner” — Tiger Stadium at Michigan and Trumbull — on Opening Day.
He has had season tickets since 1996, and has brought Pam to Comerica Park frequently since 2008. The Tigers’ heyday was special, they said, highlighted by 2012′ World Series run. But short of that, there’s not much that stands out above celebrations like Friday.
“The Lord’s day and her birthday,” Tony said of the short list. “Then it’s Opening Day.”
The two woke up at 6 a.m. to make sure they had everything they needed for their outfits. Then, an artist from the makeup company they’ve used for more than a decade drove out to their Southgate house at 7:45 a.m. to get started on their face paint: Apply the orange base layer, add stripes to the faces in black and finish with white accents.
“This is even more special because COVID stopped it two years ago,” Tony said. “Last year, it tried to happen but fans weren’t really allowed; now we can finally be here.”
“We enjoy it so much, getting our pictures taken with everyone and the kids,” Pam added. “It’s always our favorite day.”
Tork’s triumph
For some, this Opening Day wasn’t the renewal of a tradition, but the first in a lifelong goal. That would include the youngest player on the field, Spencer Torkelson.
Torkelson’s debut wasn’t quite what he’d hoped — 0-for-4 with two strikeouts — but he did make a diving play at first, as well as a couple scoops on some short-hops.
“We don’t win that game without his defense,” manager AJ Hinch said after the game.
Torkelson, standing in front of his locker, said there’s nothing more he could have asked for.
“It was so much, the roar of the crowd,” Torkelson said. “The initial introduction before the game started was pretty special, I thought I was going to forget how to jog for a second.”
The sun shone through
The majority of the crowd stayed through the end of the game, even as rain sprinkled down again. The fans wanted to see a win, something that came up often.
Take Manoogian, who sees this year’s team as a metaphor for how he’s treating his life a time to look forward. He’s doing so without his father this year, something he couldn’t quite do last year, when he didn’t muster the energy to throw a tailgate.
“We came last year and did something on the roof of the (Detroit) Opera House. … That was hard, I cried all day,” he said. “This year, it kind of goes along with the same vibe that’s happening with the Tigers — we’re looking toward the future.
“This is the first time I’m doing this and I’m just excited about carry the tradition on and watching the Tigers get back to winning.”
Friday presented a few challenges for the Tigers and for the fans, including an early forecast of rain. It sprinkled at times, but during the middle innings, the sun shone through.
Manoogian said he knew the rain wouldn’t be a problem. He said good things would happen. After all, how could they not, on this day of all days?
“I think most cities have their thing,” he said. “You talk about St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago or Boston, you talk about Mardi Gras (in New Orleans). Every city’s got a day.
“Opening Day is Detroit’s day.”