By Staff
DETROIT -- Fans throughout Michigan, Ohio and Ontario will have the opportunity to meet some of their favorite Detroit Tigers players as the annual winter caravan hits the road beginning Monday.
The Tigers Winter Caravan is presented by Fox Sports Net Detroit, Ticketmaster and Pepsi.
Traditionally and historically an event staged for media outlets throughout the state, the Tigers refocused the caravan to become more of an interaction with fans throughout Michigan, Ohio and Canada.
To that end, this year's caravan has expanded and will include four buses that will carry more than 20 players and coaches along with Tigers front office staff over the course of the two-day fan tour.
Former Tigers World Series hero and current Tigers manager Alan Trammell will headline the group heading to the west side of Michigan with stops in Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor and Grand Rapids. The west bus will also feature Tigers reliever Jamie Walker, play-by-play voice Dan Dickerson and hitting coach Bruce Fields.
Another bus will travel north and be led by Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski. The bus will also feature former Tigers World Series hero and current bench coach Kirk Gibson along with Tigers catcher Brandon Inge. The north bus will be making stops in Traverse City, Cadillac, Mt. Pleasant and Midland before returning to Detroit.
The urban bus will be led by 2003 Tigers All Star outfielder Dmitri Young and will also feature Tigers coaches Bob Cluck, Mick Kelleher and Juan Samuel. The urban bus is scheduled to make stops in Southfield, Detroit and Windsor.
The new bus for the 2004 caravan is the metro bus, which will be led by former Tigers World Series hero and current bullpen coach Lance Parrish along with Tigers Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, Jim Stapleton and Tigers starting pitcher Mike Maroth. The metro bus will canvas Macomb, Oakland and Wayne County and include stops in Pontiac, Sterling Heights, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Taylor and Toledo, Ohio.
The Caravan will follow the annual TigerFest, scheduled for Saturday at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The TigerFest event will include autograph sessions with players and staff, instructional clinics and much more.
The schedule for the 2004 Tigers Winter Caravan West Tour follows.
Scheduled to attend:
Dan Dickerson, Preston Larrison, Rick Thompson (staff), Bruce Fields, Ryan Raburn, Celia Bobrowsky (staff), Alan Trammell, Jamie Walker, Jill Chamberlain (staff), Franklyn German, Gary Knotts, Duane McLean (staff) and Rob Henkel
Monday, Jan. 26
Kalamazoo
11:30 a.m.-1:10 p.m.
Q&A and school assembly
Maple Street Magnet School for the Arts 922 W. Maple Street
2:30-3:45 p.m.
Meet &Greet
Portage Senior Center
320 Library Lane
Benton Harbor
5:00-5:30 p.m.
Media Session
BoBo Brazil Center
200 E. Wall Street
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Panel Discussion and Q&A at BoBo Brazil Center
Tuesday, January 27
Grand Rapids
11:00-11:45 a.m.
Media Q&A session
Thousand Oaks Country Club
4100 Thousand Oaks Drive
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Business Lunch at Thousand Oaks Country Club
2:00-3:00 p.m.
Group splits into three for afternoon visits:
DeVos Children's Hospital, 330 Barclay NE
Aberdeen Elementary School, 928 Aberdeen St. NE
Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, 3000 Monroe NW
3:30-4:30 p.m.
Autograph Signing
Celebration Cinema-Knapp's Corner
2121 Celebration Way
6:30-10:00 p.m.
West Michigan Whitecaps 2004 Winter Banquet
Pinnacle Center
3330 Highland Drive