Red Smith said don't write your lead on the way to the ballpark, but the Tigers and the Detroit Three automakers should have a good year.
As the 2012 major league baseball season begins, Chevrolet is using Justin Verlander and Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers in 15-second spots that are a remake of the now classic 1974 “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet” TV ad.
Two of three 15-second ads are scheduled to debut Wednesday on ESPN during the Opening Night game at Miami against World Series winner St. Louis, with presumably Verlander’s being held if possible for opening day in Detroit tomorrow when the Tigers with Verlander on the mound take on the no-longer-Babe-Ruth-trade-cursed Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately, the ESPN broadcast is blacked out in Michigan for the Tigers opener.
Detroit Tigers pitcher and 2011 American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander and first baseman Prince Fielder, son of former tiger slugger Cecil who was signed as a free agent by Detroit from Milwaukee in the off-season, attempt to sing in the ads.
Don’t quit your day (and night) baseball jobs, guys…
Chevrolet has been the “Official Vehicle of Major League Baseball” since 2005, and, with its dealers, has helped sponsor youth baseball at the grassroots level since 2006 through the Chevrolet Youth Baseball program, and community baseball field makeovers through the Diamonds & Dreams program since 2010.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Tigers won opener against the Red Sox 3-2 on a walk-off single by Austin Jackson in the bottom of the ninth. It was Jackson’s first walk-off hit. Justin Verlander pitched eight scoreless innings before a hometown crowd of 45,027 — the largest Opening Day attendance in the of Comerica Park’s 13 year existence. Normally unbeatable Jose Valverde blew the save in the top of the ninth, but ended up with the win anyway.