Detroit — Growing up in the area a big Tigers fan, it seems a bit surprising Eric Haase never once attended an Opening Day game in Detroit. He always was in school, and never could get out of it.
So, to that point, he also didn’t really have a favorite Tigers Opening Day memory.
Well, he does now.
With one out in the ninth inning and the Tigers down a run, Haase battled one of the premier relievers in baseball until he sent the eighth pitch from the Chicago White Sox flame-thrower Liam Hendriks deep into the stands in left field. That tied the game, and three batters later, Javier Báez’s single off the wall in right won it, 5-4, before a delirious crowd of 43,480 — at least, what was left of it — at Comerica Park on Friday afternoon.
“Anytime I can just give my team a chance to go ahead or keep us in the fight, I’m very happy,” Haase told a swarm of reporters following the opening win.
“It obviously hits home for me. It’s very special.”
The Tigers came back twice on a chilly and rainy day at the ballpark, once from down 3-0, and then after they tied it at 3 on Miguel Cabrera’s two-run single in the eighth, the White Sox went ahead in the top of the ninth.
That just set the Tigers up for some more Opening Day heroics. They’ve become quite accustomed to them in recent years, winning nine of their last 11 home openers, and often in dramatic style.
Haase, with the absolute moon shot off Hendirks, was right in the thick of the latest comeback, which, combined with the raucous and roaring crowd, reminded him of the really good Tigers teams he grew up watching in the early 2010s.
He sprinted around the bases, nearly missing first base.
“I really don’t know how fast I was going,” he said with a laugh. “I almost lost my helmet, I probably shot my bow, I was definitely excited.
“It was awesome.”
Haase never attended Opening Day growing up, and never had been part of an Opening Day in the big leagues, either — until Friday, the start of his fifth year in the majors.
The Dearborn Divine Child product got to experience, for the first time, all the hoopla that is Opening Day in Detroit, including the opening player introductions.
He received one of the top five or six ovations from the crowd, a hat tip to the local guy. The introductions and the flyover, it was all surreal.
“The first two innings, I didn’t even sit down,” Haase said.
Haase had a breakthrough season in the majors last year, with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs with Detroit, where he finally found a home — interestingly, back home.
But he conceded Friday that perhaps, he didn’t enjoy last season as much as he should’ve, because he always was worried about staying in the big leagues.
This year, he knows his role. AJ Hinch has been very straightforward with him, and he appreciates that. He’s a bench guy, but a big one. He can catch or play the outfield.
Haase didn’t start the season opener, but pinch-hit for Tucker Barnhart in the eighth inning, That was the pivotal at-bat, Haase thought. He struck out.
But thanks to another Tigers rally, he got another shot — and on that eighth pitch, after fouling off a pair of 3-2 pitches, he delivered for his team, and perhaps gave a whole bunch of young fans in the crowd Friday afternoon a lasting memory that he never had.
“That’s why I love playing this game,” said Haase, a seventh-round pick in 2011 out of high school by the now-Cleveland Guardians. The Tigers signed him in January 2020. “That’s why I still live her in the offseason, train here.
“I never take for granted getting to put this uniform on.”
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984