Tarik Skubal says he's glad the keyhole at Comerica Park is gone after Tigers asked for input

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Tigers are wrapping up their first homestand with a subtle change on the field at Comerica Park, putting grass over a strip of dirt that used to be between the pitcher's mound and home plate.

AL Cy Young Award and pitching Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal said he’s glad the team got rid of the keyhole, making the left-hander's sightline the same as it is in every other ballpark in Major League Baseball.

“I might get some heat for this, but they asked what we thought of it, and I said I didn’t really like it,” Skubal said Wednesday morning before a series-ending game against the New York Yankees. "I wasn’t a fan of it.

“Obviously, I understand from a fan perspective. It’s unique and stuff, but just from a visual perspective, it’s so much different.”

Detroit was the last team in the majors to have the throwback feature — which was common in the 1800s and early 1900s — in its ballpark that opened in 2000 after the club left Tiger Stadium. The Arizona Diamondbacks also had a keyhole at Chase Field before removing it in 2019 when they changed their playing surface from grass to synthetic turf.

The Tigers also made major renovations in the seating area behind home plate, removing a tunnel that was mostly used by umpires and installing state-of-the-art chairs that allow fans to heat or cool their seats.

“I'm a fan of having no tunnel,” Skubal said. “I'm glad it's gone. It makes it feel pretty clean back there.”

While Skubal said the front office asked for his input following the 2024 season and he gave his strong opinion, two other pitchers on the staff simply shrugged their shoulders when asked about the new view, and an All-Star outfielder insisted he didn't even realize the keyhole was gone.

“They asked a couple guys, but it didn't bother me,” right-handed reliever Will Vest said. “It just doesn’t really move the needle too much for me.”

When lefty Tyler Holton is on the mound, he said he's locked in on the catcher's target with or without a path of dirt in front of him.

“I think if you’re noticing things like that, you’re probably not focused on what you need to be focused on,” Holton said.

Riley Greene, meanwhile, insisted he didn't know the keyhole was gone until a reporter asked him about it on Wednesday.

“I'm going to be honest, I didn't even notice it,” Greene said. “Somebody told me that it was being taken out and I was like, `Oh, cool. I’m probably not even going to notice it.' And, I haven’t even noticed it.”

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A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" aircraft flyover Comerica Park before a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

The Detroit Tigers play the New York Yankees in the third inning during a baseball game at Comerica Park , Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the New York Yankees in the first inning during a baseball game, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried throws to Detroit Tigers' Zach McKinstry in the third inning during a baseball game at Comerica Park , Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal throws against the New York Yankees in the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

FILE -The Detroit Tigers play the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty throws to New York Yankees' Ben Rice in the third inning during a baseball game at Comerica Park , Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan police officer who killed a man with a shot to the back of the head is testifying in his own defense Friday at his second-degree murder trial.

Christopher Schurr settled into the witness box on the fifth day of trial in Kent County court, telling jurors that it's “important to get my side of the story out.”

There's no dispute about how Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant, was killed in Grand Rapids in 2022. The issue for jurors is whether they believe that Schurr could have reasonably feared that his life was in jeopardy when Lyoya got control of his Taser.

They physically struggled to exhaustion for more than two minutes after a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood. Lyoya, a Black man, was pulled over for driving a car with a different license plate and then failed to produce a driver's license.

He tried to evade Schurr while on foot and the Grand Rapids officer chased and caught up with him. Video shows the confrontation ended when Lyoya was shot in the back of the head while facedown on the ground. Schurr had repeatedly demanded that he stop resisting and give up the Taser.

The trial in Grand Rapids has mostly been a battle of experts.

Use-of-force experts testifying for the prosecutor said deadly force was not necessary to end the conflict. But several senior Grand Rapids officers, summoned by defense lawyers, said Schurr was at great risk when Lyoya got ahold of the Taser, a weapon that fires electrically charged probes to temporarily subdue an aggressor.

Schurr, 34, was fired by city officials at the recommendation of police Chief Eric Winstrom after he was charged in 2022. At the time, Winstrom said his recommendation was based on video of the encounter, the prosecutor’s review of a state police investigation and Schurr’s interview with internal investigators.

The family of Patrick Lyoya and Kent County commissioner Robert Womack, right, arrive outside the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Monday, April 28, 2025. (Chris duMond/Detroit News via AP)

In this image taken from video from WOOD-TV, Kent County Prosecutor shows Aaron Tubergen, a detective sergeant with the Michigan State Police, the Taser of former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr, who is charged in the 2022 killing of a Black motorist, Patrick Lyoya, as he testifies during the first day of Schurr's murder trial at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Monday, April 28, 2025. (WOOD-TV, Pool Photo/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)

Members of the media watch as dash cam footage from former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr patrol vehicle is played for the jury during Schurr's murder trial in the 2022 killing of a Black motorist, Patrick Lyoya, at Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Monday, April 28, 2025. (Joel Bissell/MLive.com/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker shows Bryan Chiles, senior manager of Axon Forensics, the Taser7 used by former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr on Patrick Lyoya during the second day of trial at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (WOOD-TV via AP, Pool)

Body worn camera footage showing former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr with a Taser7 and Patrick Lyoya is shown during the third day at the Kent County Courthouse with his wife Brandey in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Joel Bissell/Kalamazoo Gazette via AP)

Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr sits in court during the second day of his trial at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. (WOOD-TV via AP, Pool)