If you are a true Tigers fan you have to make it to Lakeland to see a spring training game soon. For me spring does not officially start until the Tigers come north in April but when games start in Lakeland then we really can start to feel the anticipation of a new season. Going to spring training has always been extra special for me. You get to talk to the players, visit an awesome park and you get to see the Tigers with a closer vantage point, almost as if they were playing in Toledo or Comstock Park.
This is the 74th season for the Tigers playing in Tigertown. The Detroit Tigers began coming to Lakeland for Spring Training in 1934 and have been coming back each year ever since. The 70 year relationship between the Detroit Tigers and the City of Lakeland is the longest lasting relationship between a Major League baseball team and a Spring Training host city. I have not been to any other spring training facility but when we are in Lakeland it is as if we are at home.
The game we went to was pretty cool becuase it was my favorite Tigers first start of the year. Justin Verlander started right where he left off last year. It was great to see the new youngsters that should help to shape the future of the Tigers in Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore. A lot of the hype was surrounded around new comer Johnny Damon. Even though he is in the spotlight right now in Detroit it really is a good thing becuase it takes a lot of the focus off of the others players yet it is still a lot less publicity then Damon is used to being in both Boston and New York. There has been a lot of changes to the team over the winter but I think 2010 is going to be a great year for the Tigers.
- Michigan Sports Guy
