Joe Maddon has to admit. The first time he came to Comerica Park, as a coach with the Angels in 2000, he wasn't so sure about the place.
"I didn’t really get this ballpark when I first saw it," the three-time Manager of the Year said Thursday morning before the Angels completed a three-game series in Detroit. "But now when we walk in, I really think they did a wonderful job. At first I thought the seats were too spread out. For whatever reason, it’s grown on me and I think it creates a wonderful atmosphere."
The atmosphere was electric Wednesday night. Maddon enjoyed every moment of it from the Angels' dugout. A big crowd came to see Miguel Cabrera make history, and basked in a historic performance by Shohei Ohtani instead. When the AL MVP -- and AL Cy Young?? -- frontrunner mashed a moonshot to right field in the eighth inning, oohs and ahhs morphed into chants of "MVP!!" Some of these fans were dressed in red, here to watch their favorite team. Not all of them. Maddon said he's heard opposing cheers for Ohtani everywhere this season, but none like those Wednesday in Detroit.
"There was an appreciation for his performance, and I think the audience was primed based on their expectations for Miggy, so they were just looking for something to explode with. Fortunately Shohei provided it last night," Maddon said. "I think it was just ripe for that. And Detroit is a great baseball city, tremendous tradition. As a kid growing up I knew everything about them."
Now 67, Maddon was 14 years old when the Tigers won the 1968 World Series. He was a minor league manager when they won again in 1984. He said he's "gotten to know Willie Horton, I knew Al Kaline. All these guys, my God. Alan Trammell, (Lou) Whitaker. Really outstanding. This city has had a wonderful tradition of baseball."
For this reason, Maddon wasn't surprised by the reaction to Ohtani on Wednesday. He noted the cheers didn't come from a "throng" of Angels fans.
"Those were Detroit Tigers fans for the last 100 years screaming for him."
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"I think they appreciate it," Maddon said. "They understand what he’s doing. What they saw him do last night is highly unusual, and they might not see again it for a long, long time. So not surprising that the people here would do that. They were raised by Ernie Harwell, another wonderful man that I got to know here."
When Maddon came to Detroit during Harwell's broadcasting days, well before Maddon was a household name in baseball, he said Harwell "used to sit with me in the dugout."
"He treated you like you were something special. The little old bench coach just trying to fight my way through everything, and he’d sit there and engage you in conversations sincerely and make you feel like you’re a big deal on this team," Maddon said. "He had a gift. It’s not unlike (former Dodgers broadcaster) Vin Scully. I’ve had a chance to know Vin, too. They really bring something out of you or make you feel possibly more important than you actually are."
After the excitement Wednesday night, Thursday brought somber news for the Tigers. Legendary catcher Bill Freehan, a crucial member of the '68 world championship club who spent the duration of his 15-year career in Detroit, passed away after a battle with Alzheimer's. Freehan's longtime friend and teammate Willie Horton called the 11-time All-Star "one of the greatest men I’ve ever played alongside."
Maddon called him a "great, great catcher," noting Freehan was "on the Tigers team that beat the Cardinals in the World Series." That got Maddon reminiscing about old Tiger Stadium and the bleachers that loomed over right field.
"I was trying to describe it to some of the players that had never been there, the overhang in right field and how spacious it was in center and then you could hit the ball on the roof in left, right down to the most awful visiting clubhouse I’ve ever seen in my life," Maddon cracked. "All this stuff with Tigers Baseball. Norm Cash was another big name when I was growing up, Mickey Stanley going from center field to shortstop, Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain, of course. It goes on and on. Sparky Anderson was a friend. It’s really a wonderful baseball city."
It was a quiet one the last few years, as the Tigers plowed through a rebuild and attendance plummeted. But the club's making noise again and so are the fans in Comerica Park, a stadium that Maddon said "represents the city well."
"Detroit gets a lot of things right," he said. "I’m glad to see that there’s a lot of progress being made in the city itself, but when it comes to Tiger baseball, it’s as rich as any."