Detroit Tigers News MCB Sunday Notes: Opening Day draws closer

A cold, potentially wet Friday afternoon will not keep Detroit Tigers fans away as Opening Day is sold out, a huge blow in the outfield & more.

Welcome to week 4 of the Sunday “MCB Notes” a recap of all things Detroit Tigers & MLB and anything else that catches our eye. This week’s recap includes how the Tigers are going to address the loss of Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson makes the team, Derek Hill & Andrew Chafin and how a Tigers trade comes full circle.

Opening Day 2022 things you will need to know

For Friday’s home opener, there are limited tickets available. You can find tickets at tigers.com/tickets. For anyone who is heading down to Comerica Park and wants to hang out with other fellow fans, the Tigers are hosting the Miller Lite Opening Day Tailgate in the McLaren Garage Plaza and along Witherell Street.

All the tickets are now digital and the Tigers wanted to remind fans to download tickets to their digital wallets before heading down. From my personal experience, phone networks slow down when there are many people on them, so take advantage of your Wi-Fi at home and just download the tickets at home versus 20 minutes before you head in.

From the Woodward Sports to Dave & Chuck the Freak, there will be lots of various media outlets hosting a tailgate or party. It might sound cliche but it’s true, Detroit Tigers Opening Day is a holiday, even if it’s not a legal one.

There will be a giveaway as fans will receive a 2022 Season Magnet Schedule as Opening Day is presented by Rocket Mortgage. Here are the rest of the events going on at Comerica Park throughout the season. Detroit is 68-52-1 all time on Opening Day. Lifetime against the White Sox on Opening Day, they have a record of 11-8. The one tie was on April 22nd, 1904 against the St. Louis Browns, in case you were curious.

Detroit Tigers Theme Nights & Giveaways for 2022

Chris Brown and I checked out the “What’s New” at Comerica Park event in which we sampled the newest foods and what special events & giveaways will happen this season.

As far as the theme nights and special events go, here is how they lineup this season per Tigers.com

-Pink Out the Park Presented by McLaren Health Care: Friday, May 13 vs. Baltimore Orioles
-Star Wars Night: Saturday, May 14 vs. Baltimore Orioles
-Summer Bash Weekend Presented by Miller Lite and Bally Sports Detroit: June 10-12 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
-20th annual Negro Leagues Weekend Presented by Comerica Bank: June 17-19 vs. Texas Rangers
-Independence Day Weekend Presented by Miller Lite: July 1-4 vs. Kansas City Royals/Cleveland Guardians
-¡Fiesta Tigres! Presented by Miller Lite–Friday, August 19 vs. Los Angeles Angels
-Fan Appreciation Weekend: September 30-October 2 vs. Minnesota Twins (Saturday, October 1 Presented by Visit Central Florida)

The giveaway items line up as follows:

-Pink Out the Park Light Weight Hoodie: Friday, May 13 vs. Baltimore Orioles (Pink Out the Park Presented by McLaren Health Care)
-Floppy Hat, Presented by National Coney Island: Saturday, May 28 vs. Cleveland Guardians
-Miguel Cabrera 500 Home Runs-Themed Figurine, Presented by DTE Energy: Friday, June 10 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
-“Detroit’s Biggest Summer Baseball Bash” T-Shirt, Presented by Bally Sports Detroit: Saturday, June 11 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
-Negro Leagues Replica Jersey, Presented by Comerica Bank: Saturday, June 18 vs. Texas Rangers
Patriotic Print All Over Shirt (ages 21+), Presented by Miller Lite: Friday, July 1 vs. Kansas City Royals
-¡Fiesta Tigres! Hat (ages 21+), Presented by Miller Lite: Friday, August 19 vs. Los Angeles Angels

Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens, kicks off the season on Tuesday

The Triple-A season kicks off on Tuesday as the Toledo Mud Hens host the Rochester Red Wings at home, starting at 4:05. Ryan Kreidler, who has had a fantastic spring training down in Lakeland, will be one of the key bats in Toledo’s offense. We will have a Toledo Mud Hens preview for you tomorrow in additon to all the rest of the minor league affilates the rest of the week.

Similar to the Detroit Tigers, both the Erie SeaWolves and Lakeland Flying Tigers will start their seasons on Friday at home. The SeaWolves, the Tigers Double-A affiliate, will host the Akron Rubberducks, the Guardians Double-A team and Lakeland will host the Tampa Tarpons, the Yankees Low-A ball club. The Tarpons will have Rachel Balkovec at the helm. She is the first full-time female manager in the history of affiliated baseball at any level in the minors or the majors.

High-A West Michigan Whitecaps will start their season on the road over in Midland against the Great Lakes Loons, starting at 6:05. You can catch that game on WBBL 107.3 or on the Whitecaps Radio Network with Dan Hasty and Nate Wangler on the call.

Speaking of radio, here is where you can find the rest of the affiliates.

Toledo: Jim Weber and Matt Melzak

Erie: Greg Gania

Parker Meadows continues a good spring.

Thanks to Detroit Tigers Minor League Tracker, we got some clips of Parker Meadows still continuing to swing a hot stick.

Because of injuries last season, we didn’t get a chance to see a lot of outfielder Bryant Packard, but he looked healthy and ready to go on this hit.

The moment of Zen.

Completely non-baseball related as these moments can be anything going on in pop culture, I would like to present without commentary, the Final Four highlight clip between North Carolina and Duke. However you feel about these schools against what have done against Michigan or Michigan State, it was a classic game to watch.