Former Detroit Tigers fan favourite Brandon Inge returned to acquainted territory on Saturday night time, however this was removed from a standard baseball sport.
Inge made a shock look at Comerica Park, stepping to the plate for the Occasion Animals through the Savannah Bananas’ Banana Ball weekend in Detroit. The 49-year-old obtained a loud welcome from a crowd of greater than 40,000 as he returned to the ballpark the place he spent the majority of his MLB profession.
The longtime Tiger entered the sport because the Occasion Animals’ “Golden Batter,” a Banana Ball rule that permits a workforce to pick out any hitter to bat as soon as per sport no matter the place the membership is in its regular batting order.
Inge made the a lot of the theatrical introduction. He got here onto the sphere sporting a hooded gown earlier than revealing a black-and-pink No. 15 Occasion Animals jersey and golden batting helmet.
The end result wasn’t fairly as dramatic as the doorway, as Inge grounded out to shortstop. Nonetheless, the second gave Tigers followers one other alternative to welcome again one of many franchise’s most recognizable gamers from the 2000s.
Inge Returns to the Comerica Park Batter’s Field
Saturday marked Inge’s first plate look at Comerica Park in additional than a decade.
Inge performed for the Tigers from 2001 via 2012, spending components of 12 seasons in Detroit earlier than ending his MLB profession with the Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates. His earlier at-bat at Comerica Park got here in 2013 whereas enjoying for Pittsburgh, throughout what in the end grew to become his last major-league season.
Whereas Inge was by no means the most important offensive star on Detroit’s roster, his longevity and flexibility made him a fixture throughout an vital interval in franchise historical past. He was there because the Tigers went from considered one of baseball’s worst groups to an American League contender, together with Detroit’s run to the 2006 World Sequence.
His connection to Michigan additionally continued after his enjoying profession ended. Inge nonetheless lives within the space and operates a baseball and softball coaching facility in Brighton, known as Inge Efficiency Lab.
Former Tigers Pitcher Shane Greene Additionally Joins the Occasion
Former Detroit reliever Shane Greene additionally suited up for the Occasion Animals, pitching a scoreless inning in his Banana Ball debut. Greene confronted 4 batters, didn’t give up a success and issued one stroll.
In fact, a stroll works a bit in another way in Banana Ball. As a substitute of merely taking first base, the hitter can dash across the bases whereas the protection makes an attempt to get the ball to each place participant, including one other layer of chaos to the game’s unconventional guidelines.
Greene pitched for the Tigers from 2015 till 2019 and was an All-Star throughout his last season with Detroit. His most up-to-date MLB look got here with the Chicago Cubs in 2023.
The Comerica Park look wasn’t Greene’s first expertise with an alternate model of baseball, both. He beforehand participated in a Cosmic Baseball occasion at LMCU Ballpark in Michigan in August.
Banana Ball Attracts Large Curiosity in Detroit
The Occasion Animals and Firefighters performed Friday and Saturday in Detroit, with the official Banana Ball schedule itemizing a 5-4 Firefighters win on September 18 and a 3-2 Firefighters victory on September 19.
Curiosity within the occasion went nicely past the followers who in the end made it via the gates.
Greater than 200,000 individuals entered the ticket lottery for the 2 Detroit video games, based on The Detroit Information, with each video games promoting out.
Banana Ball has grown right into a touring baseball spectacle combining official competitors with choreographed celebrations, trick performs, music and a group of guidelines designed to maintain the sport transferring.
The Savannah Bananas and the broader Banana Ball group have more and more taken the present into main skilled venues, with the 2026 schedule that includes stops at stadiums together with Busch Stadium, Gillette Stadium, Globe Life Discipline and Progressive Discipline.
Whether or not Comerica Park will probably be included once more stays to be seen. The group’s 2027 world tour schedule is anticipated to be revealed on October 15.
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