Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office.

Comerica Park, 48201


Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office. Leave your comments and see you at the park!

Spanish Schedules & Who's Your Tiger? Update

A busy week in the offices! Final preparations for a BIG EVENT (non-baseball) has kept our Park Operations and Corporate Sales departments busy. (We know we're supposed to give you the inside scoop, but we can't say a word about it legally until Monday morning.)

The Marketing staff went to southwest Detroit to distribute Fiesta Tigres! posters and Spanish pocket schedules. (You can click here to download and print the poster at home.) The Spanish schedule is always a popular one with collectors because of it's scarcity (only 30,000 were printed), so if you're trying to collect all seven designs of the 2008 Pocket Schedule, SW Detroit is a good place to start.

We have also been reviewing the early returns on the "Who's Your Tiger?" survey we sent out. You guys have some very interesting responses. Right now it's a 50-50 split between those who want "WYT?" to stay, and those who want a new slogan. We are going to have a very difficult decision to make at the end of the year. We do have to address one comment that came up a few times--as much as we love and cherish the memories of 1984, we can't go back to using "Bless You Boys" as a marketing slogan. It was a fabulous slogan for that particular year, and the best thing about it was that it was not planned. It was just Al Ackerman making a statement, and it took off from there. To try to use it for a team other than the 1984 World Champions would seem....wrong. Keep the comments coming! If the survey is in your inbox, be sure to take a few minutes to complete it.

* Posted on May 15, 2008 at 12:51 PM

Comerica Park, 48201

Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office. Leave your comments and see you at the park!

Tiger Woods, Carlos Guillen & Rainout make-up date

A lot of work to do around the office as the team returns from a rough road trip. The big announcement this morning is the Tiger Woods will be conducting a golf clinic here at Comerica Park! Tickets go on sale tomorrow! Needless to say everyone's pretty fired up to see Tiger taking some swings on the field. (With the possible exception of Heather Nabozny, our groundskeeper. Tiger, be sure to replace your divots!) The cool thing is that each clinic ticket comes with a pass (one-day or three-day) to see the Buick Open.

It's taken a while for the teams to coordinate schedules and travel plans, but we are ready to make an announcement (in the next 24 hours) about the make-up date for the rainout we had on Mother's Day against the Yankees.

The biggest off-the-field events we have this week are Player Appearances. Carlos Guillen will be signing autographs tonight at Meijer on Middlebelt Road in Livonia from 6-7. On Saturday May 24, Ramon Santiago & Ryan Raburn will be signing autographs (at the Southfield ABC Warehouse at 24725 Southfield Road from 12:30-1:30 p.m) in exchange for donations of new or gently used baseball or softball equipment. Clean out your closet or garage and turn your old baseball gear into an autograph! If you don't have any equipment to donate, a monetary donation to benefit "Gloves for Kids" will be accepted. (Click here for more information) Finally, Placido Polanco will be conducting a hitting clinic at Meijer on Ford Road in Canton on Saturday, May 24 at 11AM. If you can't make it to Meijer in the morning, you can come to Comerica Park Saturday evening for the pre-game on-field clinic.

Posted on May 19, 2008 at 2:42 PM

Comerica Park, 48201

Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office. Leave your comments and see you at the park!

Memorial Day Weekend

It's the best kind of holiday weekend around the office--one in which we don't have to work the holiday! Memorial Day is synonymous with baseball and barbecue, but we all should take time this weekend to remember those who have served our country. Tigers pitchers Todd Jones & Zach Miner took some time to visit with local veterans today.

What else is going on here today? The Sales & Marketing departments had their weekly meeting this morning and one topic dominated the conversation: the responses and comments from our Season Ticketholder survey we sent out yesterday. The results are still coming in, but the majority of comments are from fans wishing for more season ticket exchange dates or some type of credit for unused season tickets that can be put toward the purchase of ticket. The topic will be discussed internally and hopefully most season ticketholders will be happier with next year's program.

Our new "Who's Your Tiger?" commercial is going to debut next week! The featured players are going to be Maggs, Renteria & Cabrera. The "Play Baseball Detroit" rallies have been pretty successful--so much so that Marketing and Community Affairs are planning an additional "Play Baseball Detroit" rally just before schools let out.

It's going to be a great weekend in Detroit sports with the Tigers, Pistons & Wings all playing big games. Have a great weekend!

* Posted on May 23, 2008 at 7:11 PM

Comerica Park, 48201

Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office. Leave your comments and see you at the park!

What's going on while the team is out west....

With the team on the west coast, we are busy planning for the next homestand and beyond. The sales & marketing departments met this week to discuss future game sales. We do have tickets available for all upcoming games, and we are facing a challenge with the availability of tickets on StubHub combined with the team's current record. It's a challenge we should be able to overcome with some creative thought, however. The ultimate winner will be the Tigers fan (and the Tigers, we hope!)

An idea to stimulate ticket sales among our Canadian fans was brought up during the meeting--selling tickets for the Tigers/Blue Jays games in August that would come with a special "Canadian Tigers cap"--a Tigers cap with a Maple Leaf embroidered on it. They can show their Tigers and Canadian pride. It's something we believe is worth a try--marketing across the border has been a challenge because even though Windsor is minutes away from home plate, most Canadians can't see our games on TV. 150 of our games are on FSN Detroit, and most Canadian cable & satellite providers don't carry FSN. (Don't worry--we'll be coming up with something for the American fans too!)

The Season Ticketholder Surveys have been rolling in. We scored high marks in all areas, but one negative came up over and over again--The Season Ticket Exchange Program. It is something that we will revamp in the upcoming months. One idea that is being considered is the possibility of giving season ticketholders a monetary credit (less than the original face value) for each unused ticket that can be put toward the purchase of a ticket to a future game. Other ideas are encouraged--just leave a comment below.

The ballpark itself has been busy with the Detroit Public School League & Catholic League Championships. Its always cool to see these kids have the opportunity of a lifetime--to play a game in a Major League stadium.

The promotions department is working on the details for "70's Night" and the 1968 World Series Night. For the 1968 night, we already have RSVP's from over a dozen members of the '68 team so we're very excited. They have also finalized the design of the "retro" t-shirt we're giving away on June 11th. Remember the "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" contest we had on Opening Day? On June 9, the winners of that contest, two little girls named Katerina & Ana will be leading the crowd during the 7th inning stretch.

The Community Affairs Department is planning one additional "Play Baseball Detroit" rally for some lucky kids. We'll be taking Gary Sheffield to a Detroit area school in early June to get kids excited about playing baseball!

* Posted on May 29, 2008 at 2:43 PM

Comerica Park, 48201

Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office. Leave your comments and see you at the park!

The day after...

The front office is a little sleepy this morning--most people stayed up to watch the Red Wings and Tigers games and the outcome wasn't great for either. The Tigers (specifically the starting pitching) has been solid of late, so there is optimism as the month turns to June. The Ticket sales department is brainstorming ways to sell tickets for the August & September games.

The Community Affairs department has a busy slate of appearances coming up--they announced today that will be escorting Curtis Granderson to Spain Middle School as part of the Newspapers in Education program.

The marketing department has been discussing several things:

1) Potential ways to celebrate the 10th season at Comerica Park next year (special logo, jersey patch, commemorative book/DVD)

2) Negro Leagues Weekend & Fiesta Tigres on-field events

3) The creation of the "Tigers Social Club"

Plans for our longest homestand of the year are coming together. June 11th is '70s night--should be a blast! We really want to see fans at the game dressed up in 70's gear, so break out the Mark Fidrych throwback jerseys and bell bottoms! (We are playing the White Sox, but for some strange reason, they won't be wearing the big collared shirts and there will be no Disco Demolition Night.)


June 15, We have confirmed that we will have a special tribute to all dads on Father's Day. If you're a dad or if you're bringing your dad, arrive early on June 15th! What will happen? Here's a hint--we tried it on Mother's Day and thought it would have gone well if not for the rainout.

Finally, a big hand to the St. Paul Saints for their bobble-foot promotion last week. A very clever tongue-in-cheek gag, that could NEVER happen at the major league level, but is extremely funny nonetheless.

Posted on June 3, 2008 at 3:17 PM

Those jerseys were the worst ever [ White Sox]

If they came out in those, I would get up from my seat and go home

Comerica Park, 48201

Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

These are the days when fans wish Comerica Park had a pool like the Arizona Diamondbacks. After a couple of steamy games this weekend, we have another one tonight.

The marketing department is using this homestand to get photos of our fans for upcoming collateral materials, so if you're coming to the game, arrive early and look for our photographer. Promotions is gearing up for 70's night. Everyone in the office wants to chime in with their musical request from the polyester decade, so it's taking a little time to edit the playlist. One element from last year's 70's night might return--the 70's era headshots on the scoreboard. So if you're at the game, be sure to check it out.

Tonight's game will have a couple of special guests--Ana & Katerina Bosnjakouski--winners of the "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" contest we conducted in April.

Some positive things to think about..

On June 6, 2005, Houston was 15 games out of first place and 13 games under .500. They went to the World Series that year.

On June 6, 2006, Minnesota was 11.5 games out of first place and they won the division.

On June 6, 2007, Colorado was 7.5 games out of first place and they went to the World Series.

* Posted on June 9, 2008 at 4:41 PM

Comerica Park, 48201

Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office.

70's Night

For those who asked, here is the playlist from '70s Night:

Guess Who - American Woman
Edwin Starr - War
Jackson 5 - ABC
Free - All Right Now
Black Sabbath - Iron Man
Three Dog Night - Joy to the World
The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar
Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft
Ike & Tina Turner - Proud Mary
Van Morrison - Wild Night
Dawn - Knock Three Times
Don McLean - American Pie
Alice Cooper - School's Out
Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now
Jim Croce - Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
Stevie Wonder - Superstition
Alice Cooper - No More Mr. Nice Guy
Allman Brothers - Ramblin' Man
Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Steve Miller Band - The Joker
Elton John - Bennie and the Jets
Barry White - Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe
Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting
Harry Chapin - Cat's in the Cradle
The Doobie Brothers - China Grove
Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama
Captain & Tennille - Love Will Keep us Together
The Doobie Brothers - Black Water
KC & The Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight
KC & The Sunshine Band - That's the Way (I Like It)
Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
Four Seasons - December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)
Wild Cherry - Play That Funky Music
Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster
Bee Gees - You Should be Dancing
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night
KC & The Sunshine Band - Shake Your Booty
Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back in Town
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird
Boston - More Than a Feeling
Abba - Fernando
Abba - Dancing Queen
Eagles - Hotel California
Star Wars theme song
Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way
Rose Royce - Car Wash
Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever
The Commodores - Brick House
Queen - We Are the Champions
Steve Miller Band - Jet Airliner
Bee Gees - Night Fever
Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - You're the One that I Want
A Taste of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie
The Village People - YMCA
Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
Lynyrd Skynyrd - What's Your Name
The Knack - My Sharona
Chic - Le Freak
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til you get Enough
Eagles - Heartache Tonight
Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
Billy Joel - Big Shot
Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring me Down
The Police - Roxanne
Peaches & Herb - Shake Your Groove Thing
Sister Sledge - We Are Family
Rod Stewart - Maggie May
Elton John - Bennie and The Jets

• Posted on June 13, 2008 at 5:02 PM
  

No CCR

bobrob2004 wrote:

No CCR

I KNOW, I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT.

NO STYX EITHER

No James Taylor!

And, I hate to be persnickety, but Michael Jackson's Don't Stop Til You Get Enough was 1980 or 1981.

Comerica Park, 48201

Official MLBlog of the Detroit Tigers front office.

Pleased to meet you...


Yesterday was a big day of meetings from just about every department in the office. The meetings concerned two large events, Cornerstone Schools fundraising event and the 1968 World Series 40th Anniversary celebration.

Cornerstone Schools has their annual fundraising event on September 8th this year. You've probably seen their commercials during the FSN telecasts this season. In the coming weeks, they will change the commercial's ending to include information on their fundraising efforts. Last year there was a virtual "sea of orange" in the stadium due to the large number of Cornerstone Schools' "Be A Tiger For Kids" t-shirts.

The second event that's being planned is next Tuesday's "1968 World Series Night". We have invited members of the 1968 team to return to Detroit for the celebration. Sixteen former players, one coach, and the team trainer, have all agreed to participate. Exclusively on the Tigers Front Office Blog, here's the list of players participating (in alphabetical order):

Gates Brown, Wayne Comer, Bill Freehan, John Hiller, Willie Horton, Al Kaline, Mickey Lolich, Tom Matchick, Dick McAuliffe, Denny McLain, Daryl Patterson, Jim Price, Mickey Stanley, Dick Tracewski, Jon Warden, Don Wert. Additionally, Coach Hal Naragon & trainer Bill Behm will also be present. The disclaimer must be said: "players subject to change without notice."

Select members of the 1968 team will be signing autographs from 5:00-6 p.m. prior to the game at four locations--three are on the lower level, and one on the upper level of the ballpark. There will be an on-field salute to the team beginning at approximately 6:35 p.m. Fans should get here early to get a free replica throwback road jersey. The first 10,000 through the gates receive one, and by the way, they look pretty cool.

• Posted on June 19, 2008 at 9:17 AM