Thursday afternoon concluded a quick baseball trip with my dad, and we did not leave unhappy, to say the least.
We watched a trio of minor league clubs, starting with my hometown Lansing Lugnuts on Sunday before traveling to see the Columbus Clippers Tuesday and the Indianapolis Indians Wednesday.
Although the trip was a blast already, we had a stroke of luck as the Detroit Tigers postponed their game Wednesday and moved it to a doubleheader Thursday, which we planned on going to the 1 p.m. game anyway. I guess that’s another way to say the phrase “bonus baseball.”
The sudden change of plans also bumped up a start on the mound from Friday to Thursday by none other than two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani — and he lived up to the hype.
Before the game, my dad and I wanted to watch Ohtani warm up in the bullpen, which is close to the stands for a good view. We got into Comerica Park as the gates opened an hour prior from first pitch, only to find five rows of seats already filled with fans with the same idea. We still had a good view of the show, or, at least a taste of what he would do that doubleheader.
Nine innings later, Ohtani put on his best pitching performance of his career , tossing a complete game shutout with one hit allowed and eight strikeouts. We stood on the concourse behind home plate to get the best view possible of Ohtani carving up my beloved Tigers before my ver eyes.
Approximately an hour after Game 1, Ohtani drilled an opposite-field missile to left field for a home run in Game 2. An hour after that, he hit another one to one of the deepest parts of the park in right-center field over the big wall.
Checking Twitter throughout the game, I read that his complete-game shutout and the two-home run game in the same day was the first time since Sonny Siebert did it in 1971 for Boston.
I think Ohtani is one of the best things baseball could ask for. Just his presence brings fans to the ballpark, eyes on the TV, and excitement to the game. I’ve been going to Tigers games since 2008, and there hasn’t been an opposing player that had drawn that type of crowd following his every move.
Even though Detroit failed to play good baseball for 18 innings and got swept, I was glad to witness the player who could end up being the best baseball player in Major League Baseball history.
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