Tigers fan Bill Birkle, 89, watches the Tigers game on his phone vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, July 21, 2025, while recovering from pneumonia at the hospital.© Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free ...

When my nearly 90-year-old grandpa, Bill Birkle, was forced to the hospital for pneumonia, it was the Detroit Tigers that kept his mind off things.

I sometimes feel guilty even telling people my grandpa, Bill Birkle, known affectionately by almost everyone as just "Pops," is in the hospital. He's 89 after all – these things happen. So many ...

When my nearly 90-year-old grandpa, Bill Birkle, was forced to the hospital for pneumonia, it was the Detroit Tigers that kept his mind off things.