Detroit — They spanned multiple sections in the Comerica Park outfield and behind the visitor’s dugout. They arrived by the busload, clad in unmistakable bright red T-shirts with No. 9 on the back.
They called themselves the “Crone Zone” — and they were there to see St. Clair’s prodigal son, Jake Cronenworth, who in the last two years has become a two-time All Star at second base for the San Diego Padres.
Cronenworth, 28, played at Comerica Park on Monday night for the first time as a pro. He’d played there before as both a high schooler at St. Clair High and college player at the University of Michigan, but never with this amount of fanfare.
“When you’re playing here in high school it’s just a couple members of your family, and then the same thing with college. But to get the support from my hometown that’s gonna be here will be pretty awesome to see,” Cronenworth said before Monday’s game.
His return home wasn’t what he’d hoped — 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout as the Tigers’ offense exploded in a 12-4 win — but for every other St. Clair native in the stadium, Monday’s series opener was nine innings of pride and aspiration.
The pride mostly stemmed from those who’d known the Cronenworth family for decades. It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child, and that’s no hyperbole in this town.
Cronenworth’s mother, Anne, passed away when he was 4 years old. Both then and now, his father Charlie has a laundry list of people to thank for helping him raise his two sons.
Charlie’s parents were integral in shuttling the boys — Jake has an older brother, also named Charlie — to various hockey and baseball practices growing up, but even when they had to step outside the family for help, somebody was always willing to step up.
“I guess that’s another blessing is the boys being in a town, small town, where…everybody is aware of certain things, and community members rally around things that are unfortunate,” the elder Charlie said. “So (my parents), plus some really, really good neighbors that helped out in times of not having rides or I’m out of town for work and those types of things. So, yeah, it was unfortunate but fortunate for the boys growing up in that environment.”
The aspiration part came from all the young kids in St. Clair Little League jerseys, hoping for a big night from the player that they all wish to someday become.
“He’s just a very humble kid and I just like him,” said 12-year-old Scott Eames, who brought a Cronenworth rookie card to have autographed. “I just want to see him play good and hit a couple home runs.”
Growing up, Cronenworth had to pick between hockey and baseball in 10th grade. His father, brother and grandfather — a draft pick of the New York Rangers — all preferred the ice.
“He said, ‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about this. I think I want to focus on baseball,'” Charlie recalled. “I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack.”
Even as a baseball player, Cronenworth was never a highly touted prospect. He was taken in the seventh round of the 2015 MLB Draft by Tampa Bay — he thought he’d maybe be a pitcher until the Rays called him and told him they had other plans — and later dealt to the Padres in Dec. 2019 as an add-in piece in a trade for Tommy Pham.
A few months later, COVID-19 put the game on pause during the middle of spring training. When things got rolling again, Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer quickly realized they might have something in Cronenworth.
“I don’t really know if (there) was much thought about him making the team,” Hosmer said. “And then we started up summer camp, he took off from there, and the rest is kind of history. … Fast-forward to second and third year in the big leagues and he’s starting to help a lot of young guys come up.”
Charlie credited his son’s improbable rise to “a unique mental skill set” that allows him to remain “so dedicated to his profession.” He is a leader by example. Helping the next generation and being a “role model” is a title that Cronenworth assumes earnestly, said his aunt, Mary Deneweth.
“He’s very serious about what example he sets and…the image that he has,” Deneweth said, adding that Cronenworth’s reception gives her “a very warm, fuzzy feeling, to be corny about it.”
Still, Cronenworth said that it’s difficult to realize the full impact of the name he’s made for himself from across the country, which is why nights like Monday are so special.
“It’s kind of hard to understand it, especially being all the way out in San Diego,” Cronenworth said. “But when I see everybody come out to the game, wearing the red T-shirts with the No. 9 on the back, it’s pretty cool.”
But for many in St. Clair, including town recreation director Trice Hawkins, who coordinated for a pair of buses to make the hour-long trek to Comerica Park, Cronenworth’s continued rise in the baseball world makes him impossible to forget.
“Everyone here, I think, has some kind of connection either to the family or to Jake or the school or the school athletics,” Hawkins said. “It’s a small town. Everyone knows everyone. … And when he is up for bat, we’re gonna cheer for him.”
Cronenworth’s Padres will play in Detroit on Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, it’ll probably be at least a few years before he plays near his hometown again.
It’s funny, though. As he stood by his locker pregame on Monday, Cronenworth said he always thought he’d play in Detroit as a pro — just not with a baseball uniform on.
“I think I wanted to be playing across the street for the Red Wings, but playing here I think is just as cool,” he said. “I think I was probably a little too young when I made that decision (to play baseball).”
Of course, the all-red “Crone Zone” would have been a little tougher to spot in the stands of Little Caesars Arena. But on Monday night at Comerica Park, there was no mistaking who they were there to see.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi