And so another season ends

Today completed the 2010 baseball season for the Detroit Tigers. They finished at an even .500 record, which is more than mildly disappointing after the amazing first half of the season. Unfortunately, after sporatic injuries for the team---Guillen, Inge, Zumaya, Ordonez, and others---and quite the hitting slump for many (Boesch, what happened?), the team fell apart.

This last weekend of games was in Baltimore, so I was able to attend the final four games of the season. The Tigers dropped the first three but were able to take a victory in the final game. I sat watching my favorite player, Brandon Inge, play what might be his final game as a Tiger. What I didn't know until afterward is that Dombrowski had offered Inge a 2 year contract before the final game! So that was awesome.

But let's back up to before the final game because that's where my pretty-close-to-perfect day began. I made a sign that said, "Inge: Always a Tiger." See, that has been a slogan for the team for a couple years now (nevermind my picture of Granderson with the always a tiger slogan). I wanted Inge to know where his fans wanted him (well, this fan anyway), despite what the organization might do.

During warmups, I made my way to the edge of the field with my sign. After Inge was done warming up, he threw me a ball! This was the first time I'd ever gotten a ball from a player, and it was from my fav. Woo hoo! During the warmups, I also got a picture with Max St. Pierre, the Tigers' catcher who was called up this season after spending 14 years in the minors.
During the game, Inge hit a 2-run homerun to tie the game (Tigers won 4-2), and had a great grab for the final out.

Thanks to my friend, Jay, who bought me the sweet seats behind the Tigers' dugout for my birthday.

After the game, my friend Maegan and I headed to the Home Plate entrance (outside the stadium) where we waited for players. I said a loud good-bye to Jhonny Peralta, who laughed and waved. I then got my picture with both Valverde and Figaro.

What a fun day. The only thing that would've made the day better would be if Jay had actually been at the game having this much fun with me. Maybe next time!