DETROIT – If you don’t get fired up listening to Southfield native Keegan-Michael Key talk about Opening Day in Detroit before his first pitch, you don’t love baseball!
Key talked to Local 4 before taking the mound on Friday (April 4) as the Detroit Tigers played host to the Chicago White Sox inside Comerica Park.
Before all of the pomp and circumstance, Key said the moment in front of a sell-out crowd said the moment had him feeling like a kid again getting autographs.
“I’ve been saying this to everybody today. It’s like a dream that’s coming true that you never knew you could even have. I didn’t know I’d ever be able to do this, or anybody would ask me to come do this. But it’s because of this city that I am who I am, you know, and so it’s a thrill to be back home.”
Keegan-Michael Key
It was a perfect day for the annual “April in the D” celebration as the sun was shining and the wind held off until midway through the game, in which the Tigers improved to 3-4 on the season after winning 7-4 against the White Sox.
But the Tigers’ momentum was due in somewhat small portion to Keys’ laser of a first pitch off the mound as the actor and comedian best known for “Key & Peele” and “Mad TV” looked like Jack Flaherty crossing the plate for a strike.
“Every city, every town, every municipality, everywhere in the world, they have their traditions, and Detroit’s no different.
We’re another. We’re one of these cities that values. This sport is a historic sport, but this is a big city that adds to that history.
We’re part of the legend of baseball. If you think of the people that came through here, look at the statues in the outfield. This is a baseball city.
You got your Boston (Red Sox) and your New York’s, so that’s great, but yet we cannot forget the storied history of Detroit. So Opening Day, 100%, should be a holiday in Michigan.”
Keegan-Michael Key
Key said he wanted to call Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and pitch his idea of making Opening Day a national holiday.
“Gretch. Let’s make Opening Day, at the very least, a state holiday, and let’s run it up the flagpole and make it a national holiday, right?
That’s my appeal, my political appeal. But I, yeah, I feel like, in the annals of baseball history, think of how many Tigers, not only important in regard to their stats, but how they change the culture of the game. So I am thrilled to be here.”
Keegan-Michael Key
Key said he had been practicing his first pitch before he arrived in the Motor City, as he played a lot of softball.
“I’ve been practicing a lot. I play a lot of softball in the summertime, but you know, it’s different, and it’s a lot different; smaller ball.
So it’s probably been, I don’t know, 15 years. Yeah. I mean, I play a lot of softball, but not an actual hardball like a baseball. So it’s been a while.”
Keegan-Michael Key
Key was playing coy with us, as that pitch was as perfect as Flaherty’s performance as the World Series champion got his first win of the season, allowing one run and three hits while striking out seven in over five and 2/3 innings in his first start on Tigers soil since July 16, 2024.
Flaherty was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 30 before signing as a free agent to a two-year $35M deal.
It’s #OpeningDay for your #DetroitTigers as they're taking on the #ChicagoWhiteSox. Here’s a look at your 2025 team. How are we feeling about the new #ComericaPark sign above the scoreboard? pic.twitter.com/uPqWEtllCi
— Brandon L. Carr (@Carrpediem21) April 4, 2025
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