Photos by Donna Terek / The Detroit News Willie Horton, left, and Hall of Famer Al Kaline, fixtures at Tiger Stadium for years, have embraced Comerica Park. “They’ll make new traditions here,” Kaline says. “New ways of doing things. It’s the nature of the game.”

A walk through the new ballpark

Kaline, Horton marvel at modern amenities and spacious environs

By George Cantor / The Detroit News

hey were two of the greatest sluggers in the history of the Detroit Tigers, shining names of seasons past.

Al Kaline pumps some iron at the weight room in the Comerica Park clubhouse.

    Now they stood at home plate in the new place, looking out across the playing field that will be the place of business for another generation of Tigers.

    Al Kaline turned to Willie Horton. “It’s big, all right,” he observed.

    Willie nodded in agreement. “How far is it out there to left-center? Looks like a real long way.”

    The two ex-Tigers were taking their first walkthrough at Comerica Park, a few days before the first opener there. And while the changes were at times overwhelming, including the absence of Tiger Stadium’s cozy power alleys, they came away impressed.

    “This is what we used to do whenever we went into a new park,“ Horton said. “Or even before the first series in a stadium we knew. Just take a walk around, see what’s going on, look at the changes.”

    “You really don’t know how a ballpark will play until you play in it,“ Kaline added. “But I see one thing already. When we were standing out in front of the park at street level, we could feel the wind. Look out there. The flags on top of that office building are blowing straight out. But do you feel anything down here on the field? It’s calm. That’s very interesting.

    “But for the first few series this season, it’ll be like the team is on a road trip all the time. They’ve got to settle in. It won’t feel like home right away.”

    While Kaline and Horton remarked on the much-deeper power alleys, a fact that seems to be of deep concern to some of the home-run hitters on this year’s team, they didn’t feel that Comerica’s farther corners were a negative.

    “It’s a long way to left field in Yankee Stadium, too,“ Kaline said, “and I always loved to hit there. I felt like I could use the whole field. You weren’t being tempted to jerk one out every time. A smart hitter can take advantage of a stadium’s dimensions. But you hit one good and it’s caught on the warning track and some hitters let it get into their heads.”

    “Some of these players today are so strong they can take a ball out at any distance,“ Horton said. “The distance shouldn’t be a concern. And I saw a lot of left-hand hitters get all messed up at the old ballpark because they were trying to jack one out in right field all the time.

    “Our pitchers were always complaining about how hard it was to pitch at Tiger Stadium. But I thought it made ‘em tougher mentally. If you could pitch there, you could pitch anywhere. But a bigger ballpark should help some of our pitchers now.”

    The players walked over to the dugout.

    “Hey, Willie, look at this,” Kaline said. “Even Frank Howard could stand up in here.”

    Howard, at 6-foot-7, was constantly banging his head on the roof of the Tiger Stadium dugouts.

    “And they’re so wide,“ Horton said. “In September, when they called up the minor leaguers, we used to have guys sitting out on the grass because there wasn’t enough room for them inside.”

    At Comerica, you could bring up the entire roster of the Toledo Mud Hens and they’d fit in, with room to spare.

    Tiger Stadium was regarded as one of the best hitting backgrounds in the majors because of the enclosed second deck. But Comerica’s open center field didn’t bother Kaline.

    “I never understood why hitters would complain about background,” he said. “When I went up to hit I was focused on such a small area where I expected the ball to be coming that I barely noticed anything else.

    “I don’t know about glare here. That’s one of the things you won’t know until you play. But I can see right away there won’t be a sun field. That was one of the big things you had to learn about right field at Tiger Stadium. At the start of a night game in summer you were looking right into the setting sun. It doesn’t look like a problem here.”

    The players noted the humongous scoreboard, the private club in right, the place where waters will waltz in center.

    “It’s gonna’ be fun to watch a game here,“ Horton said, “and I’m talking as someone who grew up sneaking into Tiger Stadium.”

    “A team always has a surge when it moves into a new stadium,“ Kaline said. “That’s only natural. It’s like having a new baby. You want to do better. And when the TV cameras show off that skyline behind center ... wow! It’ll look better than any of the ballparks I’ve seen.”

    But it wasn’t until they walked into the clubhouse, that the two ex-Tigers were staggered.

    “This is unbelievable,“ Horton said. “Everything was so cramped at Tiger Stadium. I used to go into some of the new ballparks and I was envious because the clubhouses were so nice. I always wondered how all those big guys on the Lions had enough room to dress when they played there.”

    “My first locker at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago was a nail on the back of a door,” Kaline said. “We’ve come a long way since then. When Willie and I were playing we didn’t even have air conditioning at Tiger Stadium. On hot summer days you never stopped sweating. This is another dimension.

    “And look at this weight room. My gosh, if I could have had this,“ said Kaline, who finished his career with 399 home runs, “I for sure would have hit one more out.”

    Regrets? They shook their heads.

    “You either change with the times or you’re lost,” Kaline said. “That old stadium was the only place I ever drew a paycheck in my entire life. But any player has to love this.”

    In the old ballpark, the top player on the Tigers always was assigned the corner locker, a double space that was a sure measure of respect. For almost two decades, it was Kaline’s. No need for a corner locker, though, at Comerica. All the lockers are that wide.

    “They’ll make new traditions here,” Kaline said. “New ways of doing things. It’s the nature of the game.”