Nobody came to Comerica Park on Monday night expecting a squirrel to steal the show. But nobody told the squirrel that.
An uninvited guest with big ambitions
Black squirrels aren’t entirely unheard of at the Tigers’ home park — one caused a stir last season when it startled a Detroit reliever near the bullpen. But this particular creature had something different in mind. It didn’t want to watch the game. It wanted to be in it.
For nearly a full inning, the squirrel ran its own personal tour of the stadium. It started on the warning track, declined an invitation to exit through an open fence, and made its way into short left field. It inspected the foul lines. It paused for a while next to Baltimore third-base coach Buck Britton, who, showing admirable sportsmanship, tossed a few seeds its way. It even crossed paths with a bird at some point, regarded it briefly, and moved on. Places to be.
The seventh-inning stretch — squirrel edition
The real chaos arrived with the seventh-inning stretch. The entire grounds crew flooded the field — not for a tarp, but for a squirrel — and a full chase sequence ensued, sending the bushy-tailed intruder into the right-field corner.
That’s when things got truly memorable.
In a moment no one saw coming — including him — Orioles outfielder Leody Taveras suddenly found a squirrel in his glove.
“I just was trying to stop it,” Taveras said afterward. “When it got into my glove, I don’t want to squeeze it, so I was just trying to bring it up. I wasn’t trying to do that. But they got it out. I hope it’s good.”
The squirrel, naturally, escaped again.
Moves that impressed everyone
What followed was a sprint along the warning track that left the entire stadium in stitches. Orioles manager Craig Albernaz later said he thought the squirrel looked ready to step into the batter’s box and have a look around.
“The whole squirrel thing was nuts,” Albernaz said. “He had a great view of the game.”
Up in the booth, Tigers play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti had been narrating the whole odyssey with barely contained delight.
“We’re six innings deep, it’s 8-5, this game has been a zoo,” he quipped.
Eventually, one brave member of the grounds crew wrapped the squirrel in a towel and escorted it safely off the field. Home-plate umpire Bill Miller promptly led a round of applause.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, “I’d like to thank the Detroit Tigers grounds crew.”
The fans, however, were not ready to say goodbye
The crowd booed when the squirrel was removed. Tigers mascot PAWS was spotted in the stands holding a handmade sign that read: “Free the squirrel.”
In the visiting clubhouse afterward, the squirrel was practically the only topic of conversation. Outfielder Colton Cowser made sure to point at the TV when the highlights came on so everyone could watch and laugh all over again.
“I’d love to know his step count for the day,” said third baseman Coby Mayo. “I wanted him, personally, to stay on the field. It makes the game more interesting.”
The Tigers lost. The squirrel, at least, got away safely.
In a nutshell — as the announcer might say — everybody won.