Countdown to Opening Day: 7 days

In honor of one week to Opening Day (and spring break, hooray!), this Tigress will be counting down with some favorite Tiger and baseball memories. 

I've mentioned before that my love of baseball stems from numerous baseball games early on with my Aunt Tigress.  In honor of Aunt Tigress and her great influence on my baseball fascination, I'm doing a top 7, all time Aunt Tigress memory countdown.

#7- Aunt Tigress used to go to baseball games out of town and tell people that she was Travis Fryman's sister.  That's right, we'd be sitting in the upper deck, 15 rows back, and people believed her that she was a sister of a Tiger player.  Really?!  He couldn't spring for better seats for his sister?  Some people are so gullible.

#6- Aunt Tigress used to plop a map down in front of 10 year old Tigress (just like she plopped down a scorecard and expected me to figure it out) in downtown Detroit (somewhere off of Michigan or Trumball, wherever free parking was that day) and tell her to navigate us home.  I can't tell you how many times we got lost.  We ended up in some pretty shotty neighborhoods, but according to Aunt Tigress, this just made us get found faster!  I can say that with GPS, map reading is a lost art form.  Put this Tigress in the middle of any city and give her a map though, and she'd find us the nearest highway. Where is an application for the Amazing Race?

#5- Aunt Tigress and I attended the second to last game at Tiger Stadium.  She also attended the last game with brother and father Tiger, but I somehow got gypped out of this.  However, the second to last game has its benefits.  We happened to be scoping out right behind home plate (because they let you wander around at that park without giving you the third degree) and she happens to look over and see Mickey Lolich.  Now, a normal Tiger fan would know the name (he's a pitcher from the '68 team where he won in game 7 against Bob Gibson and the Cardinals...duh!) but not necessarily know what 60 year old Lolich looks like.  Aunt Tigress is not an average Tiger fan though.  She's THE Tiger fan.  I happened to score a Lolich signature on my "Best Tigers of All Time" poster, which they were giving away that day.  Unfortunately, this artifact is lost to the world...but its memory is with me always.

#4- Aunt Tigress and I (along with some cousins, an uncle, and aunt) attended the All Star Fest of 1997 in Cleveland.  This was my first experience with All Star festivities (I attended the game in Detroit in 2005...wipe that jealous look off your face).  I got a baseball card made (I was a catcher), played some awesome games, and saw some players.  It was awesome.

#3- In 1998, I went with Aunt Tigress (and the same crew of family) to Toronto to see a Blue Jays game and tour SkyDome (now Rogers Field...which is disappointing because SkyDome, all one word, is one of the sweetest names for a sports venue...ever).  This was my first tour of a baseball field and I would definitely do more!  Aunt Tigress also found out what hotel the opposing team was staying at and hung out in the lobby to try and see some players.  I think we also ate in the hotel restaurant for the same reason.  Why sight see in a new city when you can just hang out and hope to see baseball players?!

#2- Aunt Tigress and I toured Wrigley Field.  It was amazing!  We went behind the large, old scoreboard (yes I took the picture below!).  We went on the field.  We sat in the bleachers where many a drunk person has fallen on to the field.  As we stood on the field, Aunt Tigress sat down.  I thought maybe she was tired, or taking in the moment.  No, she was pulling grass and shoving it into her purse.  Like the good Tigress I am, I followed suit.  We would have taken some ivy too, but the tour guide fed us some crap about the ivy having pesticides on it.  For real fans, that doesn't stop us!

And the final Aunt Tigress moment....

#1- Aunt Tigress "met" Cecil Fielder (this is so appropriate for number 1 with the Tigers' recent acquisition).  I didn't meet him, I was just a little tyke of a Tigress, but I saw him!  He was a big guy.  Hell, he IS a big guy.  We were in Chicago (most of the Tiger/Tigress clan was there too) for a baseball card show.  We happen to be in the hotel where the show was being held and saw a very large man with a Detroit Tiger sticker on his suitcase.  Enter Cecil!  Father Tiger and Aunt Tigress ran over to say something prolific, like "good job" or "proud of you."  (You now see where this Tigress got her people skills with baseball players that she used with Zumaya)  At the time, this Tigress wasn't a huge baseball fan yet.  I do believe that it helped to shape my obsession.  Baseball is all about the fans and how accessible it is to just about anyone.  What's not to love?!

So the moral of the story is, thanks Aunt Tigress for fostering a passion for baseball that has only grown.  I hope to one day pass along my various useless baseball knowledge and general wonder for the game to unsuspecting kin.

Tune in this whole week for the count down to Opening Day, Tigress style (which is fashionable of course).