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What do Detroit Tigers think about clubhouse upgrades? 'Started at the bottom, now we're here'
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- What do Detroit Tigers think about clubhouse upgrades? 'Started at the bottom, now we're here'
Detroit Tigers left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin owns farmland near his family home in the open countryside, lives in a spacious RV at a campsite during the season and prefers to drink coffee from the pot.
He doesn't use the coffee pot at Comerica Park.
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"They got one of them big, fancy touchscreen thingies," Chafin said. "I use the touchscreen."
The Tigers completed a two-phase renovation of the clubhouse at Comerica Park over the past two years, unveiling a new kitchen at the start of the 2023 season and a new weight room at the start of the 2024 season. Other upgrades include new meeting rooms, new custom lockers, new showers and a new entrance.
Door to the Detroit Tigers' clubhouse at Comerica Park, as seen Sunday, April 7, 2024.
Coming soon, the World Series championship trophies from the 1935, 1945, 1968 and 1984 seasons will be on display just inside the clubhouse doors.
Players will walk past the trophies every day.
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For the upgrades, manager A.J. Hinch thanked owner Christopher Ilitch and president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
"It is first class," Hinch said. "As an organization, we've talked a ton about supplying the players and staff with the best-in-class things. It's one thing to talk about it. It's another thing to go do it. ... We want it to matter when you walk in this building, and it certainly does. Big thank you to the organization, to Chris, Scott and everybody that pushed this forward."
Hinch played seven seasons with four teams and is currently managing his 10th season with his third team.
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He has been around the league.
"It's as nice as any place that I've ever been," Hinch said.
Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch talks to pitcher Andrew Chafin during Spring Training at Tigertown in Lakeland, Fla. on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.
Chafin, who always starts his day with coffee, has a unique perspective because he skipped phase one of the clubhouse renovations. The 11-year veteran played for two different teams in 2023 between stints with the Tigers in 2022 and 2024.
The old kitchen was underwhelming, basically minor-league quality with paper plates and only a few tables. The new kitchen is overwhelming, in the best way possible, with the quality of a five-star restaurant.
"It's completely different from what I remember," said Chafin, formerly with the Arizona Diamondbacks , Chicago Cubs , Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers . "Started at the bottom, now we're here. It's just amazing."
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During this past offseason, the Tigers overhauled the weight room for the players. One person in the organization said the weight room looks "as big as a two-story house, at least" after evaluating the completed project.
It's an accurate description.
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The Tigers actually created a two-story weight room by digging into the earth and building down.
There's more space than ever before.
"A lot of space, two levels," outfielder Mark Canha said. "It's pretty sweet. It's nice to have a sanctuary where you can get away and get a workout in. To have space is really nice. It's polished."
Canha, a newcomer to the Tigers in 2024 after an offseason trade, experienced a "wow" reaction when he saw the lockers, kitchen and weight room in the clubhouse for the first time.
The 10-year veteran previously played for the Athletics, Brewers and New York Mets .
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"I've never seen lockers this nice before," Canha said. "It's first-class all the way. The Mets' home side is very nice, too, not as new and shiny when I was there. I think they've fixed stuff every year, but when I was there, it wasn't as new and shiny as this place is. It's impressive."
Detroit Tigers outfielder Mark Canha works out during spring training at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
There's a new team plane, as well.
It picked up the Tigers at the end spring training and brought them to the regular season, already making stops in Chicago, New York and Pittsburgh .
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The Tigers are the only MLB team with a team-owned plane.
"The travel has been upgraded," Hinch said. "Chris has provided us with the best travel in sports. The facilities, both in Lakeland and in Detroit, are really being enhanced to get players better and to get players in a great position to love being a Tiger. The general vibe is skyrocketing through the roof, not only about being a Tiger but about having that accountability to do our part on the field to continue to earn these perks and earn these upgrades that Chris has provided us. The plane is second to none."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' new clubhouse: 'Started from the bottom, now we're here'
