Windsor native makes Comerica Park debut with Detroit Tigers

Windsor, Ont. -

Windsorite and outfielder Jacob Robson will take the field at Comerica Park Friday — a dream he’s had since childhood.

The Detroit Tigers locked in Robson who made his Major League Baseball debut as a pinch-hitter in Baltimore.

“Grew up a huge Tigers fan and fantasized playing at Comerica Park and wearing the old English D. I’m really happy,” Robson says.

The 26-year-old is expected to be a starter in the left field when the Tigers open a six-game home stand Friday against Cleveland.

“Today is just special,” Robson’s mother Jill says. “It’s Comerica Park. We live five minutes away yet we can’t get there in five minutes.”

With COVID-19 restrictions in place the family spent much of Thursday scrambling to figure out how they would get to the game.

A helicopter service was the best solution.

The helicopter ride is an eight-minute flight from Windsor to Detroit Metro Airport where the group will be met by a limo service from the Windsor-side of the border who had originally offered to pick them up and bring them to Comerica Park, but due to restrictions that was not an option.

“This is making it, I guess, even more memorable and special,” Jill says.

Jacob will have a surprise waiting for him as well, his best friend from Massey High School, Sean Locke is going to be there.

“Chatting with his parents we made it happen where I can come down and probably be a little bit of a surprise for him when he sees me in the stands,” Locke says.

The Tigers selected Robson in the eighth round of the 2016 draft, but never called him up. He spent the last five years in the minors with Tigers affiliate teams including the Triple A Toledo Mud Hens.

Robson’s group would also witness Tigers history at Friday’s game with Miguel Cabrera chasing its 500th major league home run. 

“Hopefully it’ll just be a piece of the journey and there will be more to come,” Robson’s father Chuck says. “This will be the first but hopefully not the last.”