Let's Take a Day Trip

DETROIT — My 15-year-old son, Gregory, and I don’t spend many evenings sitting on the couch watching baseball games on television. But put us in a ballpark with the smell of hot dogs, the crack of a bat, and thousands of fans cheering around us, and it’s a completely different story.

That’s why we found ourselves boarding an early morning flight from Chicago this past weekend to watch the Seattle Mariners take on the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

The trip marked the first stop in what we hope will be an ambitious summer baseball adventure. Between now and the end of the season, our goal is to visit ballparks in Milwaukee, Cleveland, Seattle, San Diego, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, and New York, where we’d like to see the Mets play at home in Queens.

Detroit was our first test run.

And as it turns out, it taught me a lot.

An Early Start

Our day began long before sunrise.

We departed Chicago at 7:25 a.m. and landed in Detroit shortly after 10 a.m. After arriving, we headed downtown to our hotel, Fort Pontchartrain, a Wyndham Hotel.

Once we landed in Detroit, I called the hotel to confirm we could check in early. That turned out to be one of the smartest decisions of the trip.

Originally, I planned to rent a car. But after looking at the hotel’s location and the ballpark, I realized we wouldn’t need one. Instead, we relied on rideshare services to get between the airport and downtown.

The total transportation cost was about $80 round trip — significantly less than renting a vehicle, paying for parking, and covering fuel costs.

Our hotel stay was the most expensive part of the trip, costing about $220 after taxes. Still, the location made it worthwhile. We were within walking distance of Comerica Park, restaurants, the Detroit Riverwalk, and several downtown attractions.

After checking in, Gregory and I took a short break, charged our phones and headed toward Woodward Avenue to begin our walk to the stadium.

That’s when the real lesson of the day began.

The Sun Was Winning

When I purchased our tickets, I thought I had done pretty well.

Our seats were located in Section 217, offering a panoramic view of the field and the Detroit skyline. From a baseball perspective, they were fantastic.

From a comfort perspective?

Not so much.

The afternoon temperature hovered around 80 degrees with noticeable humidity. The sun was relentless.

Within a short period of time, Gregory and I were sweating, uncomfortable, and spending more energy trying to cool down than actually enjoying the game.

Eventually, we made our way to Guest Services to explore our options.

That’s when we discovered another planning mistake.

Because I had purchased the tickets through a third-party seller rather than directly through the MLB Ballpark app, we couldn’t apply the value of our existing tickets toward a seat upgrade.

Instead, I purchased two entirely new tickets for about $42 each.

Ironically, the replacement seats were in the lower bowl, offered a better overall view, and — most importantly — were in the shade.

The difference was night and day.

Suddenly, we were relaxed and comfortable, able to focus on what we came for: spending time together and enjoying baseball.

The Mariners eventually defeated the Tigers, snapping Detroit’s four-game winning streak, but by then the final score almost felt secondary.

The bigger takeaway was learning how to improve future trips.

What I Learned

One of the biggest lessons was about game times.

I’ve always liked afternoon baseball. There’s something classic about a day game.

But after a 5 a.m. wake-up call and rushing through an airport before sunrise, Gregory and I agreed that afternoon games may not be ideal when flying in from another city.

For future trips, we’ll likely prioritize evening games whenever possible.

That gives us a more reasonable departure time, less rushing, and a more relaxed travel experience.

The second lesson involved seating.

Going forward, I plan to spend much more time researching where the sun will be during a game.

A cheap ticket isn’t necessarily a good value if you’re too uncomfortable to enjoy the experience.

In Detroit, the shaded seats we purchased on game day cost roughly the same amount as the tickets I had bought weeks in advance. In fact, the new seats were closer to the field.

That was eye-opening.

For teams that aren’t consistently selling out, waiting until the day of the game may actually provide better options and greater flexibility.

The third lesson involves hotels.

If you’re attending a day game within a short flight of home — Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee or St. Louis, for example — it may be possible to fly in and out on the same day and save hundreds of dollars on lodging.

However, if you choose evening games, hotel costs become part of the equation.

There’s a trade-off between convenience and cost, and each trip will require a different strategy.

Why These Trips Matter

When I look back on this weekend, I probably won’t remember every pitch.

I won’t remember every inning, either.

What I’ll remember is walking through downtown Detroit with Gregory, discussing baseball, exploring a new city together, and figuring things out as we went.

Travel doesn’t always go perfectly.

Sometimes the seats are too hot.

Sometimes you spend more money than planned.

Sometimes the lessons learned are more valuable than the attraction itself.

That’s exactly why I consider Detroit a success.

The first stop on our summer baseball tour wasn’t perfect.

It was better than perfect.

It was educational.

And thanks to everything we learned at Comerica Park, the next ballpark adventure should be even better.