In case you don’t already know this about me, I’m a big Detroit Tigers fan. Like, huge. Borderline creepy. In fact, my wedding RECEPTION was at Comerica Park. I’m that big a fan.
The words “Tigers Game” have been written on our calendar for July 16 for a few months now. It was when the Boy Scouts would go to Comerica Park and be honored on the field. The closer it got, the more convinced I was that I’d be too sick to go. I wouldn’t see my son on the field. I wouldn’t sit next to him and cheer on our team. I’d be lying in bed, shivering, crying, and missing the whole thing.
But, miracles do happen. I know because July 11, FIVE DAYS before the game, I had my gallbladder removed. It wasn’t even a firm decision by any doctor--it was kind of a “well, it could help, and it probably won’t hurt,” sort of thing. It was literally a game changer.
On Sunday morning, I was up at 5:00. I put on my grandmother’s Inge #15 jersey, ate a low-fat, gluten-free breakfast, and packed up the van. Eric, Ben, and I picked up my father-in-law and my nephew, and we drove to Detroit.
On the trip down, we stopped for gas in a downpour. Eric kept checking the weather report. “If it gets rained out, we have to come back on a different day. What if school’s already started?” Eric worried the whole rest of the trip about the weather and a rain delay, if not a RAINOUT.
But miracles do happen. I know because, as we pulled onto Madison Avenue, the sun came out. It was kind of humid, warm, but not raining. But, what if it got ungodly hot? What if our seats burned our behinds? What if we got horrific sunburn?
Miracles do happen. I know because our seats were high enough up that we were covered the entire time. So, not only did we stay dry, we weren’t sunburned or scorched or sweating to death. And we could see EVERYTHING. We were in the balcony, the 300s, and they were probably the best seats for viewing the game in which I’ve ever sat.
Ben’s favorite players are Miguel Cabrera, James McCann, and Mikie Mahtook. Recently, McCann hasn’t been batting well, so Alex Avila’s been our catcher. We knew going in that Ben probably wouldn’t get to see McCann or Matook--a newbie, utility player who’s competing with a few other guys for our center field spot. It was okay.
But, miracles do happen. I know because James McCann caught that game. The Blue Jays scored a few on Alexis Sanchez, but then we came back and tied it up. Ben and I cheered and high-fived and clapped until our hands grew sore. We sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and tried to get caught on the kiss cam. We danced and hugged and sat on the edge of our seats...and I’ve never felt better.
At the bottom of the ninth, we were tied up, and Miguel Cabrera came to the plate. Would it be another miracle? Would Ben’s favorite player hit a walk-off home run? No. He struck out. But, miracles do happen. I know because that meant extra innings, so Pinch Runner Mikie Mahtook came into the game! Ben fell to his knees and screeched like a limb had been severed. “Sorry,” I told the concerned fans around us, “That’s his favorite player. We didn’t think we’d get to see him today.”
At the bottom of the 11th, Ben prayed we’d win, and I told him God had too many gallbladders to be watching, He didn’t have time to worry about an old baseball game. But, miracles do happen. I know because Avila walked, Castellanos reached on an error, Upton walked, and Miguel Cabrera came back to the plate. Two outs. I held the back of Ben’s t-shirt squeezed in my right hand. With each pitch, I swung him around a little and we screamed, “C’mon, Miggy!!” FULL COUNT. If Miggy didn’t hear us, God did. It was a walk-off WALK. Ben cried tears of joy, I held my stitches in and jumped in the air. Miracles do happen. You just have to trust and be patient, like Miguel Cabrera in the 11th inning.
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