Detroit — Opening Day is a time for renewal, but also time for reflection.
The Tigers, before Friday’s home opener, paid tribute to former player and first-base coach Kimera Bartee, who died of a brain tumor in December. He was 49.
Bartee’s son, Amari, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“He will always be with us. His locker is intact. He’s a part of the coaching staff in spirit,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “We miss him.
“I’m proud of the coaching staff we have. I think it’s one of the best I’ve had in my managerial career. But there is a void in our heart.”
More: Tigers notebook: For Torkelson, other first-timers, Opening Day can be a blur
In 2022, on the right sleeve of their jerseys, the Tigers will wear blue circle patches with the initials “KB” in white. The Tigers presented Bartee’s family — including father Jerry, mother Ramona, fiancee Terri Slide, sisters Ramona and Kambell, and brother Khareth — with a hat as well as the first base used during the final home game of 2021. They also showed a tribute on the videoboard, and held a moment of silence.
Bartee played six seasons in the major leagues, including his first four, 1996-99, with the Tigers. He joined Hinch’s coaching staff last season, and headlined the Tigers’ Negro Leagues panel discussion last summer.
On that panel, he told a story of growing up in an avid baseball house in Nebraska, his dad, a former head coach of Creighton, often reminding Kimera, “If you don’t play baseball, you get out of the house.”
The Tigers also continue to remember Mr. Tiger, Al Kaline, who died April 6, 2020, at 85. A fixture in the Comerica Park home clubhouse, his corner locker also remains intact.
Player introductions
The best part of Opening Day is the pageantry, including the introductions of the players and coaches before first pitch. You only see that on Opening Day, at the All-Star Game and in playoffs.
Several Tigers heard loud roars during their introductions, even though the sellout crowd was something late-arriving, as it often is on Opening Day (when the bars are bumping).
The biggest ovation, by far, went to the longest-tenured Tiger, Miguel Cabrera, who started the 2022 season as the DH. He’s now 12 hits away from 3,000 after his two-run tying single in the eighth inning of Detroit’s thrilling 5-4 walk-off win Friday.
The next-loudest went to the newest Tiger, 2020 No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson, who made his major-league debut.
From there, at least according to these admittedly fault ears, it went like this: Javy Baez, Casey Mize, Akil Baddoo, Eduardo Rodriguez, Austin Meadows, Michael Fulmer, Eric Haase and Jeimer Candelario. Those are the player rankings. Hinch got a loud ovation.
Cabrera (two-run tying single), Haase (tying homer in the ninth) and Baez (winning single in the ninth), of course, got their bigger ovations later in the day.
Notable firsts
Some notable firsts on Opening Day:
►First pitch: 1:12 (and 45 degrees), two minutes late. We can blame that on the pregame flyover, which was a tad tardy — the one time we can’t blame construction.
►First boos: Those were directed at plate umpire Marvin Hudson, who called a 2-2 pitch a ball on White Sox leadoff man AJ Pollock. The second boos came on the next pitch, also deemed a ball. Tigers starter Rodriguez finally got the K call on the 3-2 pitch.
►First oohs: Those went to Baez, the Tigers electric shortstop signed over the winter to a six-year, $140 million deal, on his first swing in a Detroit uniform — when he swung for the DAC (and missed). He then missed two more times, for his first K as a Tiger.
►First oohs, part deux: You’re going to see a whole lot of K’s from Baez (we saw one his second at-bat, too). But you’re also going to see plenty of dazzling plays, like his first defensive gem as a Tiger. In the second inning, Andrew Vaughn hit a roller into the hole, where Baez ranged far to his right, scooped and fired a seed to Torkelson at first for the out. (Interestingly, two other Tigers web gems came from Torkelson, including a fine scoop and a range-and-dive for a guy who’s still learning the position.)
►First big cheers: To tell you how stagnant the Tigers offense was, at least early, those came at 1:56, when the sun finally came out. At 2:07, the rain started, and fans went for cover. At 2:14, the rain and the sun came out together, cuz, why the heck not. Then, at 3:15, the grounds screw started scrambling for the first time in 2022, but, fortunately, the tarp wasn’t needed until just after Baez won it with his single off the wall in the ninth. Odd, this bad weather, in early April, in Michigan.
Unique anthem
Detroit rocker Jack White performed a unique and impressive version of the national anthem, vocal-less with his slide guitar.
Interestingly, it’s the first time White, a big Tigers fan and a good friend of ex-Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler, has performed the anthem at Comerica Park.
White then made an appearance at Bally Sports Detroit during the game, talking about his love of the Tigers growing up, particularly Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker.
He also spoke of Detroit.
“On the (Detroit) flag, it says in Latin, ‘We hope to rise from the ashes,'” said White, 46. “I can’t think of a better slogan to have for this city. It’s the Renaissance city. We’re always about to come right back. The sports teams have that vibe, too. We always feel like a perpetual underdog. We have that right now with this team.
“People are underestimating this time, and I think they’re incorrect.”
So far, so good, Mr. White.
Sellout crowd
For the first time since 2019, Opening Day felt like Opening Day in Detroit.
There were fan restrictions in 2020 and at least early in the 2021 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but the reins are completely off for 2022.
And Tigers fans flocked to downtown and Comerica Park accordingly, with an announced attendance of 43,480 (a sellout, of course; they’ve sold out every opener at Comerica Park, which opened in 2000). It was Detroit’s largest home crowd since Opening Day 2017, when 45,013 attended the April 7 opener against the Boston Red Sox.
“Oh, it was awesome,” said Meadows, who just became a Tiger after years with the Rays, who’ve rarely had a regular-season crowd like what he saw Friday. In his Detroit debut, had added to the excitement with three walks and a ninth-inning triple, coming right before Baez’s walk-off single.
“We couldn’t ask for more. To be a part of a sellout crowd and see what Detroit Tigers baseball is all about, that was something special to be a part of.”
Humble Dickerson
Hard to believe this is the 20th Opening Day for Dan Dickerson as the voice of the Tigers on radio. “I say, ‘My 20th year since Ernie retired,'” Dickerson recently told Hour Detroit.
Humble as always, Mr. Dickerson. That’s a big reason why Tigers fans love him.
Ernie Harwell retired at the end of the 2022 season. I’ll forever believe if Ernie wasn’t such a legend of the game, Dickerson would be mentioned among the game’s best broadcasters. As it stands, he’s got a low profile, which, I suspect, is what he prefers.
Speaking of the radio, longtime analyst Jim Price, 80, is expected to do home games only in 2022. Bally Sports Detroit’s Dan Petry will do much the fill-in work on the road.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984