Nevin visits Tiger Stadium
DETROIT -- Padres first baseman Phil Nevin likes the Detroit Tigers' new digs.
But Nevin really loves Tiger Stadium, the Tigers' home until 1999. Nevin, played in parts of three seasons (1995 to 1997) for the Tigers, and all of his home games were at the venerable, old Tiger Stadium.
On Tuesday night, the former Tiger was introduced to Comerica Park.
"It's a nice ballpark, it's a lot like ours," said Nevin, of Comerica Park, comparing it to PETCO. "But Tiger Stadium is very special to me. I drove by Tiger Stadium and I was hoping to walk in."
Although the Tigers moved into the more modern and plush Comerica Park near downtown Detroit, Tiger Stadium still stands.
Nevin gathered a group of his teammates to look at the old ballpark. Often overlooked and unmentioned when baseball historians discuss stadiums, Tiger Stadium hasn't been leveled and made into a parking lot or mall yet. "I hit my first home run there [on Sept. 3, 1995] against Cleveland," Nevin said. Meanwhile, Nevin's love for the uniform overshadows the love that he has Detroit's former home.
"That's a special uniform to put on," Nevin said. "I hope that those young guys over there understand that. It is as traditional as the Yankees and Red Sox uniform. I sure guys like [Tigers manager Alan Trammell] and [bench coach Kirk Gibson] Gibby are instilling that in them, I hope.''
Nevin's three seasons with the Tigers were lean years, as they never were in contention and were generally, done by mid-June.
In limited playing time, he managed to hit eight and nine home runs, respectively, in 1996 and 1997. It was about the learning curve for Nevin, who learned plenty from the Tigers veterans.
"To have played for Sparky [Anderson] and Buddy Bell and to be a teammate of Cecil Fielder and Alan Trammell, it was just great. [Detroit] was where I realized that I could play in the Majors."
Bochy Ball: Padres manager Bruce Bochy knows all about Alan Trammell, the Tigers' third year manager.
Besides having played against the San Diego native in the 1984 World Series, Bochy hired Trammell as a first base coach for three seasons (2000-2002). It led to Trammell's current position with the Tigers, where he played for his entire 19-year Major League career.
"He knows what he's doing," Bochy said, of Trammell. "They've got a good young ballclub and he's got them going in the right direction."
Inclimate weather: It was a rough evening for the grounds crew at Comerica Park.
A warm, muggy evening quickly became wet and rainy, as a sudden downpour interrupted the bottom of the second inning. Though the rain lasted only nine minutes before clear skies returned, it took the grounds crew at Comerica Park longer than expected to cover the area along the third base line. By the time that the sun had peaked through the clouds, the tarp was covered with puddles of water.
Then, the rain started again -- while the evening sun was shining. It left the entire third base side of the field in bad shape, needing excessive bulks of sand to dry the moisture. In all, the rain delay lasted nearly two hours.
Injury update: On Thursday, infielder Mark Loretta will have a surgical pin removed from the thumb on his non-throwing hand.
On May 19, Lorretta strained the ligaments in his left thumb. The injury has caused him to miss 24 games and he is expected to return by the All-Star break, team officials said.
Meanwhile, pitcher Tim Redding has a rehabilitation start scheduled for Triple-A Portland.
On May 9, Redding was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder. He was acquired by the Padres from the Houston Astros for catcher Humberto Quintero in Spring Training.
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
But Nevin really loves Tiger Stadium, the Tigers' home until 1999. Nevin, played in parts of three seasons (1995 to 1997) for the Tigers, and all of his home games were at the venerable, old Tiger Stadium.
On Tuesday night, the former Tiger was introduced to Comerica Park.
"It's a nice ballpark, it's a lot like ours," said Nevin, of Comerica Park, comparing it to PETCO. "But Tiger Stadium is very special to me. I drove by Tiger Stadium and I was hoping to walk in."
Although the Tigers moved into the more modern and plush Comerica Park near downtown Detroit, Tiger Stadium still stands.
Nevin gathered a group of his teammates to look at the old ballpark. Often overlooked and unmentioned when baseball historians discuss stadiums, Tiger Stadium hasn't been leveled and made into a parking lot or mall yet. "I hit my first home run there [on Sept. 3, 1995] against Cleveland," Nevin said. Meanwhile, Nevin's love for the uniform overshadows the love that he has Detroit's former home.
"That's a special uniform to put on," Nevin said. "I hope that those young guys over there understand that. It is as traditional as the Yankees and Red Sox uniform. I sure guys like [Tigers manager Alan Trammell] and [bench coach Kirk Gibson] Gibby are instilling that in them, I hope.''
Nevin's three seasons with the Tigers were lean years, as they never were in contention and were generally, done by mid-June.
In limited playing time, he managed to hit eight and nine home runs, respectively, in 1996 and 1997. It was about the learning curve for Nevin, who learned plenty from the Tigers veterans.
"To have played for Sparky [Anderson] and Buddy Bell and to be a teammate of Cecil Fielder and Alan Trammell, it was just great. [Detroit] was where I realized that I could play in the Majors."
Bochy Ball: Padres manager Bruce Bochy knows all about Alan Trammell, the Tigers' third year manager.
Besides having played against the San Diego native in the 1984 World Series, Bochy hired Trammell as a first base coach for three seasons (2000-2002). It led to Trammell's current position with the Tigers, where he played for his entire 19-year Major League career.
"He knows what he's doing," Bochy said, of Trammell. "They've got a good young ballclub and he's got them going in the right direction."
Inclimate weather: It was a rough evening for the grounds crew at Comerica Park.
A warm, muggy evening quickly became wet and rainy, as a sudden downpour interrupted the bottom of the second inning. Though the rain lasted only nine minutes before clear skies returned, it took the grounds crew at Comerica Park longer than expected to cover the area along the third base line. By the time that the sun had peaked through the clouds, the tarp was covered with puddles of water.
Then, the rain started again -- while the evening sun was shining. It left the entire third base side of the field in bad shape, needing excessive bulks of sand to dry the moisture. In all, the rain delay lasted nearly two hours.
Injury update: On Thursday, infielder Mark Loretta will have a surgical pin removed from the thumb on his non-throwing hand.
On May 19, Lorretta strained the ligaments in his left thumb. The injury has caused him to miss 24 games and he is expected to return by the All-Star break, team officials said.
Meanwhile, pitcher Tim Redding has a rehabilitation start scheduled for Triple-A Portland.
On May 9, Redding was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder. He was acquired by the Padres from the Houston Astros for catcher Humberto Quintero in Spring Training.
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
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