Former Detroit Tiger Brandon Inge opens new training facility
Opening Day is usually reserved for the spring, but on Saturday, former Tiger Brandon Inge celebrated his own Opening Day for Inge Performance Lab, a new baseball training facility in Brighton.
"It's been about six months that we've been tearing this place apart, trying to put it back together, put all the good technology in, the weight room," said Inge, who spent 12 seasons with the Tigers from 2001 to 2012. "The funny thing is, when I finished baseball, I had no intention of coaching. I just wanted to sit back and watch my kids play. Then you watch some of the coaches; the way they're coaching kids, they're yelling and screaming at them, so I said I have to join in and make our game better, so that's where it all started."
Inge grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, but he has made Michigan home after enjoying his time in Detroit as a player.
"It feels like home to me, always has been, always will," Inge said. "I'll be a Tiger until the day I die, and I'm so happy that our first [Inge Performance Lab] is right here."
"He's an adopted Detroiter," said Inge Performance Lab partner Michael Foguth. "I've said that to him. His family has been here; he stayed here. He gives back to the community more than anyone I've ever met."
Inge Performance Lab has a full-size Little League diamond, six batting cages with HitTrax technology and a world-class workout facility.
"My 8-year-old son is here today checking it out with his team," said Tim Day from Brighton. "Just to have the space with the batting cages and HitTrax and the infield they can work on, it's fantastic."
Inge hopes to see some future major leaguers come through his training facility. He met with fans and signed autographs on Opening Day for his new training facility. Inge is still beloved by Tigers fans, and he remains a big fan of the organization that drafted him.
"I follow the guys, and I want them to do well," said Inge. "I don't get involved in the changes they make at this point, but I always want them to win. That's my family. Detroit Tigers is family for life for me."