Roof Shot

I knew that day twenty five years ago now would be a cool one the moment I entered old Tiger Stadium with my sons in tow. I just had a feeling.

April 20, 1997 was a Sunday, two days before my birthday. At nearly the last minute I decided to go to the baseball game as a self indulgent present. When I say last minute I mean it; I made the decision maybe 45 minutes before the first pitch. But when you only live a mile from the stadium it's no big deal.

We drove down and parked right across the street from the bleacher entrance. We bought tickets and went to sit in the upper deck in right center. 

The boys were excited because the in house camera showed them on the center field scoreboard. I was excited because in the second inning Oakland's Mark McGwire cleared the left field roof with a home run. He was the fourth and last player to do that in Tiger Stadium history.

It was the only opposition homer I ever rooted for. Off the bat I could tell McGwire really got hold of the pitch. "That's a roof shot!" I yelled, and then began screaming "Go! Go! Go!" It hit the facing of the roof once, then bounded over and out of the park almost in slow motion.

I know McGwire's career has since been tainted by steroid use. But man, that was one magnificent home run regardless. Majestic. A true thing of beauty for a baseball fan. And me and the boys had catbird seats for it.