Bob M. from Farmington Hills wants to know if I remember my first Opening Day, so many, many Aprils ago. Of course, I do.
        It was April 6, 1970 in Washington D.C. against the Senators _ my debut as a big league baseball writer.
        Me and Dick Nixon, imagine that.
        Actually, the president, an avid baseball fan, didn’t arrive until the fifth inning that afternoon so his son-in-law, David Eisenhower, threw out the first pitch.
        Here was the Tigers’ starting lineup that historic day:
        Dick McAuliffe, 2B
        Cesar Gutierrez, SS
        Al Kaline, RF
        Norm Cash, 1B
        Willie Horton, LF
        Jim Northrup, CF
        Dalton Jones, 3B
        Bill Freehan, C
        Mickey Lolich, P
        it was typical Lolich.  He yielded seven hits, walked five, threw 175 pitches and still tossed a complete game shutout as the Tiger won, 5-0.
        They don’t make pitchers _ or Opening Days _ like that any more.
        By the way, Denny McLain missed that opener. He remained at his Lakeland, Fla., home, suspended for half-a-season for consorting with bookmakers.
        Denny wore No. 17. This year, based on seniority, I have been assigned Baseball Writers Association of America credential No. 17.
        I guess I’ve come full circle.
        April 6, 1970 was, indeed, a long time ago.