Craig Monroe races to get his Opening Day coat — and, wow, it doesn't disappoint

Detroit — For Craig Monroe, every day's an excuse to dress up.

Then there's Opening Day. That's on a whole other level — as displayed by Monroe, the former Tigers outfielder and current Bally Sports Detroit analyst, who busted out the flashiest of sports coats for Friday's game at Comerica Park.

Monroe wore a tailor-made suit coat covered with thousands of shiny orange sequins, and maybe hundreds of blue sequins sprinkled throughout, including for the Olde English D underneath the left breast pocket. The attention to detail even carried over to the inside, which featured a navy-blue lining with a big, white Olde English D.

"Just gotta have fun," Monroe said as he arrived in the press box, before heading to do the Bally's pregame show.

The Opening Day coat was made by his go-to tailor, a woman named Peggy, who used to live locally but now lives in South Carolina. That made for some tense moments Thursday, where the Tigers played a makeup doubleheader against the Mets, and early Friday, as Monroe waited anxiously for the coat to arrive in time for the game.

Monroe picked it up at the post office around 9 a.m. Friday, about four hours before first pitch.

"They actually took it off the truck," Monroe said.

Monroe's wild sports coats have become his signature since joining the Tigers' TV crew in 2012, first as a studio analyst, then a regular game analyst. Monroe, 47, said he tries to never wear one of his coats twice, meaning he goes through dozens a year, and he likes to auction them, as he will with his 2024 Opening Day masterpiece.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984