I’m a Motowner by birth.

A Little Leaguer in my youth. Playing baseball was what we did.

My dad was such a fan, he was the Commissioner of the my Little League.

Though I have seen but a smattering of big league games through the decades, a mere handful of Tigers’ games, I was at Michigan & Trumball while on a visit back for the home opener of the ’56 season, watching Al Kaline, youngest AL batting champ ever, hit against the Indians’ Mike Garcia.

I also saw former ace Jack Morris shut down the the pin stripes in Yankee Stadium years later.

Anyhow, it had been awhile since I’d been up to Cincy for a game, a good while frankly, so I checked the Reds schedule before the season to discover my team would be playing there this past weekend.

I commandeered my pals SABR Dude and Smarts for the road trip.

So there we were in the ballpark. Primo seats between home and 1st, under cover on a hot sun-soaked breezeless Sunday afternoon.

Detroit had taken the first two in the three game set.

What made it special was Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, best pitcher in MLB for the last year — you can look it up, I don’t understand all those new analytics — was on the mound for Detroit.

Masterful he was.

7 innings. Gave up three hits. Walked 0. Struck out 13, including every Cincy player he faced at least once. One wafer thin run surrendered.

The Tigers normally wobbly bullpen came through. Will Vest and Alex Faedo shut the door.

5-1 was the final.

Get out your brooms.

But my point I guess is — as Smarts so perceptively said when we talked about it all afterward — there’s just something sweet and different about going to a baseball game.

It is simply relaxing. A pastime indeed.

I got to know the couple sitting next to me, huge Reds fans who come to ten or so games a year from their home 60 miles west.

SABR Dude chatted up the young woman next to him. Turned out she’s the bride of former Red/ former Bat Nick Christiani, who now works in the Reds organization.

There was a tall guy sitting in front of me. Which reminded of an observation the first time I was in the Great American Ballpark. The architects should have designed more sloping of the seats at field level.

But he was in Tiger gear, and I just tilted my head to see around him. We both stood when Zach McKinistry made up for his fielding gaffe in the 7th, by hitting a two run tater in the top of the 8th.

The stands were littered with Tiger fans. Loved the guy in a Miggy jersey.

Ate popcorn. Fell prey to the Graeters ice cream stand. Tried to walk by, honest. But this voice kept yelling at me, “I know you don’t eat a lot of sweets. But you’re at a ballgame, for heaven’s sake. Go for it.”

X 2. Scoop of Dutch Chocolate. Scoop of Cookies & Cream.

Thankfully my scale was merciful this afternoon.

Easy drive up. No egress problems from our parking spot a short walk across the bridge from Covington. Easy drive back.

So, yeah, it was just a lovely damn day.

The only glitch: How to get the parking lot’s app to work so we wouldn’t get towed. So yeah we had that shared senior moment.

On Graham Ashcraft bobblehead day, we were tres bobbleheads in the ballyard.

Nothing major to report. Pretty mundane all in all. You may be yawning by now if you’ve read this far.

Bottom Line: A perfect way to spend a summer’s day.

–c d kaplan