23 current players expected to participate at TigerFest

01/08/2008 4:40 PM ET
TigerFest, presented by StubHub!, is this Saturday
23 current players expected to participate at Comerica Park



DETROIT -- For the second consecutive year, TigerFest, presented by StubHub!, will be held at Comerica Park, with the 2008 version scheduled for this Saturday, Jan. 12 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Tickets for the 14th annual winter baseball event are sold out.

Based upon the success of hosting the event at Comerica Park in 2007, the event returns to the home of the Tigers for the second straight year. TigerFest allows fans to interact with their favorite Tigers players and coaches through autograph sessions, photo booths and seminars. In addition, fans will have the opportunity to tour many unique areas of the ballpark including the Tigers' Clubhouse, Chevrolet Champions Club, Baseball Operations offices and the Press Box.

Players scheduled to participate in TigerFest this year include Jeremy Bonderman, Tim Byrdak, Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Jacque Jones, Todd Jones, Macay McBride, Zach Miner, Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Rick Porcello, Ryan Raburn, Clay Rapada, Edgar Renteria, Nate Robertson, Ivan Rodriguez, Kenny Rogers, Bobby Seay, Jordan Tata, Marcus Thames, Justin Verlander, Dontrelle Willis and Vance Wilson.

Tigers President, CEO and General Manager David Dombrowski and Vice President, Assistant General Manager, Al Avila, will participate in activities around the park along with manager Jim Leyland and his entire coaching staff. Former Tigers expected to be on hand include Gates Brown, Barbaro Garbey, John Hiller, Mickey Lolich, Dan Petry, Dave Rozema, Jon Warden and Milt Wilcox. Tigers broadcasters Rod Allen, Dan Dickerson and Jim Price will also take part in a day filled with baseball fun.

Fan activities will also include Major League batting cages, a Tigers speed pitch cage and a Tigers historic museum area. Youngsters will be able to hit in a miniature home run derby, swing in the junior T-ball area, play video games, have their face painted and more. A complete location guide and information regarding activity areas will be provided to fans upon entry to the ballpark.

Most access areas within the event will be heated and covered as the Tigers create the ultimate "think summer" experience in the middle of winter. However, the Tigers encourage all fans to dress according to the weather as some passageways may not be protected from seasonal elements.

For further details and the latest updates, please visit www.tigers.com/tigerfest

Quote :

Gates Brown, Barbaro Garbey, John Hiller, Mickey Lolich, Dan Petry, Dave Rozema, Jon Warden and Milt Wilcox

I would love to go just to see these guys.

Quote :

Jeremy Bonderman, Tim Byrdak,
Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, Jacque Jones, Todd Jones, Macay
McBride, Zach Miner, Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Rick Porcello,
Ryan Raburn, Clay Rapada, Edgar Renteria, Nate Robertson, Ivan
Rodriguez, Kenny Rogers, Bobby Seay, Jordan Tata, Marcus Thames, Justin
Verlander, Dontrelle Willis and Vance Wilson.

Not a bad lineup!

01/08/2008 6:58 PM ET
Newest Tigers slated to attend FanFest
Cabrera, Willis and Renteria will join Ordonez at sold-out event


By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- New Tigers Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones, as well as reigning American League batting champion Magglio Ordonez, are among the 23 players scheduled to attend a sold-out TigerFest on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Comerica Park.

The club released on Tuesday the list of players who will take part in its annual offseason celebration, a group that included several of Detroit's expected main contributors. In addition to the newcomers, returning players Jeremy Bonderman, Tim Byrdak, Curtis Granderson, Todd Jones, Zach Miner, Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Ryan Raburn, Nate Robertson, Ivan Rodriguez, Kenny Rogers, Bobby Seay, Jordan Tata, Marcus Thames, Justin Verlander and Vance Wilson are all on the list.

Rick Porcello, Detroit's first-round pick from last summer's First-Year Player Draft, will also attend, as will last year's acquisitions Macay McBride and Clay Rapada.

As in previous TigerFests, players will be interacting with fans during the day with autograph sessions, photo booths and seminars in various areas of the ballpark. Former Tigers will also join in the fun, including Gates Brown, Barbaro Garbey, John Hiller, Mickey Lolich, Dan Petry, Dave Rozema, Jon Warden and Milt Wilcox. Broadcasters Rod Allen, Dan Dickerson and Jim Price will also be part of the events, moderating some of the seminars.

Other fan activities include big league batting cages, a speed pitch cage and a historic museum area. Kids can take their swings in a miniature home-run derby, swing in the junior T-ball area, play video games and have their faces painted.

Most activities will take place either indoors around the park or under heated tents. Nonetheless, with some walkways and other areas still outdoors, the team is encouraging fans to dress warmly for the weather.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tickets are available from Stubhub starting at $40 each and going up to $90 each. Some people are making extra cash!

I sure wish I did not live so far from Det. I would love to go to Tigerfest!

Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones

Curtis Granderson, Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Ivan Rodriguez, Kenny Rogers, Justin Verlander!

Gates Brown, Barbaro Garbey, John Hiller, Mickey Lolich, Dan Petry, Dave Rozema, Jon Warden and Milt Wilcox.

What more could you ask for!

Tigerfest Forecast: Partly Sunny; High 33

I wish it could be that cold Opening Day

With Michigan's wierd weather, you may be able to wear your jacket opening day! I remember snow in June in the 1970's before school got out for summer! Then again I got sunburned at my tigers game on 9/11/07!

MMMMMMMMM I'd love to be there!

In y'all's experience, can you really get close to the guys?

01/11/2008 1:48 PM ET Hot Stove talk takes main stage at TigerFest Fans can ask questions and watch live broadcast on 97.1 FM -- \"The Ticket\"; Ballpark tours will visit executive offices in 2008

DETROIT -- Tigers fans will have an opportunity to be part of the "Hot Stove" talk on Saturday, and participate in a "Fan Conference" at TigerFest.

Set up on the Upper Level above the Big Cat Court, just inside Gate A at Comerica Park, will be an indoor Main Stage area, which will feature five different discussions with Tigers personalities from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The first two hours of the Main Stage activities, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., will be broadcast live on 97.1 FM - The Ticket, which is the radio home of the Detroit Tigers. Oakland Press columnist and host of the 97.1 FM show "The Book on Sports," Pat Caputo, will open the live broadcast at 11 before turning the stage over to Tigers broadcaster Dan Dickerson. The first segment will be a look at the 2008 Tigers with Dickerson and Tigers President, CEO and General Manager David Dombrowski.

Following is the complete lineup for Main Stage events at TigerFest:

11 a.m.-12 noon - 2008 Tigers Outlook
Dan Dickerson will talk with Tigers President, CEO and General Manager David Dombrowski to preview the upcoming season.

12 noon-1 p.m. - Tigertown Show
Dan Dickerson and Pat Caputo will feature interviews with Tigers players and coaches.

1-2 p.m. - Baseball Trades - From the Inside
Rod Allen gives fans an inside look at the unique steps involved in executing a Major League trade when he talks with Tigers Vice President and Assistant General Manager Al Avila.

2-4 p.m. - Tigers "Fan" Conference
Over this two-hour window, numerous Tigers players will visit the Main Stage and take questions from the fans. Former Tiger Dan Petry will moderate the session.

4-5 p.m. - 1968 World Champions Discussion
Current Tigers broadcaster and member of the 1968 World Champions, Jim Price, will host a session with three other members of that club, including Gates Brown, John Hiller and Mickey Lolich.

SEE WHERE THEY WORK: As part of the ballpark Tours at TigerFest, fans will have an opportunity to actually look into the working spaces of three Tigers executives. Views into the offices of Owner Michael Ilitch, President, CEO and General Manager David Dombrowski and Vice President and Assistant General Manager Al Avila will be a new feature of the guided Tours in 2008.

Sign up for Tours will be available at the Montcalm Ramp at Section 124. Tour guides will also show guests the press box, suites, the Fly Ball Ferris Wheel in The Brushfire Grill, the decade monuments on the main concourse, the Chevrolet Champions and discuss many other points of interest in Comerica Park.

SOMEBODY PLEASE TAKE PICS and POST 'EM!!

TIGERFEST
Players and coaches meet their fans

January 12, 2008

By CARLOS MONARREZ

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Kasy Fackler stood pressed up against the main gate at Comerica Park Saturday morning with her family huddled around her. The Facklers woke up at 7 a.m. and drove from Peck, a tiny town in the Thumb 75 miles from Detroit, in order to be the first ones through the gate for TigerFest, the team’s annual fan celebration.

The Facklers were at the front of the line nearly two hours before they were let into the stadium. When the gates finally opened, the Facklers and hundreds of fans flooded the concourse in a scene reminiscent of a theme-park opening or Black Friday shopping sales.

“We want to just be here for the ambience,” Fackler explained. “We like the atmosphere of baseball.”

Suddenly, 12-year-old Austin Fackler piped up.

“Verlander and Maggs,” he said matter-of-factly of his reasons for braving the morning chill.

If the lines were any indications, the star attraction of the event was the players, two dozen of whom were scheduled to appear at autograph sessions and drew throngs of fans.

Shayann Thomas and Jamie Edwards, 23-year-old season-ticket holders from Ann Arbor, queued up in a serpentine line of about 100 fans to get autographs on the upper level of the Big Cat Court. They weren’t even sure which player was holding the pen.

“We’re going to get as many as we can, but we’re looking for Kenny Rogers and Placido” Polanco, Thomas said. “We’re on the prowl for those two. We came with a plan.”

The two women had already spent 20 minutes in another line but didn’t mind the wait.

“It’s fun,” Edwards said. “It’s just hanging out with a lot of people who love the Tigers.”

Fifteen minutes later, the pair left Big Cat Court slightly disappointed. It was only Justin Verlander, whose no-hitter June 12 was commemorated in an ice sculpture.

“We got him last year at spring training,” Edwards said with a dismissive wave and a smile.

Another popular feature was the guided tour of the stadium’s press box, a suite, the Champions Club and administrative offices. As an usher discussed the perks of the private suites that range from $100,000-$170,000 per season, one tourist said, “Do you get free parking?”

With the face-painting, batting cages, vending booths, videogame stations and several other fan-attractions, Comerica Park resembled a carnival.

“It’s a happening all of the sudden,” manager Jim Leyland said. “It’s more than a game now, it’s a happening. It’s the place to be, I think, and it will be as long as we perform for them. If we don’t perform, they’ll spend their money somewhere else.”

On Saturday, they were content to spend it on anything related to the Tigers. Fire sales included items like $20 game-used balls, $40 lineup cards and a $225 Jair Jurrgens game-worn jersey.

Left-hander Nate Robertson contemplated the buzzing madness all around him.

“I think the biggest thing is the team’s been around here for over 100 years,” he said. “So traditions were started long ago with grandpa and grandson coming to ballgames. You come and talk to some of the people here at TigerFest and they’ll tell you about stories back in 1940. There’s just connections there and it’s a connection that’s been in this city for a long, long time; longer than any other thing that’s been around really.”

What?? No Grilli?????

LOL

Must be nice to be able to have a 175, 000 a year suite at Comerica!

With plenty of beer!

And friends to share it with!

Yeah!

seems like beer & friends cannot be separated!! Besides, who wants to drink alone....