12. Comerica Park - August 22, 2017

Getting to Comerica Park from Pittsburgh was a trek. Luckily, the distance between my hotel and the ballpark was very short, like 5 minutes. I could have walked but let's just say Detroit has a certain reputation.

As soon as I got to the hotel, again shout out to Comfort Inn, very deceiving, it started downpouring. I thought, "If I had to spend the day in Detroit and not go to a game, I'm going to be pissed." Luckily, it didn't come down to that. It cleared up a couple of hours before the game.

I took about a 10-minute drive to the downtown area and noticed a couple of things. One, they have like a monorail/tram service above the streets outside of the metro area and then is street level once you get downtown. I thought one of the cars was going to tip over.

I found a simple parking lot that cost $10. It wasn't too far away from the stadium. Most of the parking lots had different levels. I guess it's for the time of day. If you're there early it costs more to spend all day in Detroit than if you got there by 6:00 PM, it would only be $5 or $6. Lots closer to the field or Tigers' official lots were closer to $20 for parking.

The view of the field and skyline from my seat.

I had some time to kill, so I decided to walk around. The second thing I noticed about the city was how clean it was. It was modern, too, with the train system and businesses all around. I was expecting something completely different. I actually enjoyed walking around.

There were a lot of places to eat before the game. I was hungry beforehand so I caved and had a slice of pizza. That doesn't mean I skipped out on a hot dog. I couldn't go two games in a row without one.

Ford Field is right next to Comerica Park. That stadium looks huge from the outside. Back to baseball, I entered from center field again. I gotta stop entering from the complete opposite side of where I need to go.

There was a cool car display in center. The backdrop was pretty cool, too. The Detroit skyline was nice. I sat in section 329, off-center. The dirt around home plate was shaped like home plate. Not sure if I've seen that before. Most of the other stadiums have a dirt circle around the plate.

The left field video board wasn't as big as some of the other stadiums I've seen. I appreciate them not wanting to block the backdrop with a huge board but they could have made this one bigger.

The cool thing about this game was that I was seeing my team, the Yankees. I haven't been to a Yankees game in a couple of seasons and this team was fun to watch on TV. The offense was young and exciting and the bullpen was electric, especially after the trade deadline.

The small video board in left field.

This game was over before it even started. The starting pitchers were Matt Boyd (DET) and Masahiro Tanaka (NYY). Boyd lasted just 2.1 innings while Tanaka pitched a full seven innings. The Yankees won 13-4 in three hours and 14 minutes.

The Yankees got on the board early with a two-run home run by Gary Sanchez and then a sacrifice fly from Aaron Hicks in the first inning. They scored four more runs in the third and two more in the fifth. Hicks hit a solo homer in the seventh and Sanchez homered again in the ninth.

The Tigers scored on an RBI double in the third, two-run homer in the seventh by Nick Castellanos and inside-the-park home run from Castellanos two innings later. The Yankees pitchers prevented the Tigers from getting on base and scoring.

The next morning, I took a drive north to 8 Mile Rd. Yes, as cliché as it is, I had to. Now that is the part of Detroit I was expecting. Two completely different parts of the city. I then made my way down south to Cincinnati. Another four-and-a-half-hour drive. Fun.

Overall, it was a great visit. Comerica Park and Detroit as a whole surprised me. It could sneakily move into my top seven parks after I talk about the next two. I liked the stadium. Great views from the top and the seats in the lower deck didn't seem to be obstructed by the overhang. Definitely a park not to wait until the end of your trip to visit.