PHOTOS BY JIM GROSSMAN

U

Barb Goode takes her
passion for the game to
Tiger Fantasy Camp.

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

Left:
A major-league swing for Barb Goode.

Below:
Barb Goode on the field with camp owner Jerry Lewis
and former players Bill Freehan and Joe Ginsberg.

ollowing advice from a suggestion list, Barb
Goode went to Tiger Fantasy Camp last week
in Lakeland, Fla., with a baseball mitt, rub-
ber spikes and two sweatshirts in Tiger blue.
She did skip a few items on the list, in-
cluding the jock strap and protective cup.
Ms. Goode, a Bloomfield Hills mother of
two, was the only female participant. The trip
was a 40th birthday present from her hus-
band Dave, who kept the gift a secret for sev-
eral months until her Jan. 4 birthday.
"Baseball is a way of life as opposed to a
hobby," said Ms. Goode, who began following
the Tigers when she was 11. "From April to
October, I almost never miss watching or lis-
tening to a game. Obviously my family comes
first, but I don't miss one if I don't have to."
Last week, Ms. Goode was one of 80 fan-
tasy-camp participants who swung bats and
rubbed elbows with former Tigers for eight
days. The group spent most of the week per-
fecting hitting, catching and throwing skills.
The group also incorporated plenty of innings
of baseball.
Ms. Goode may be the only Jewish woman
to participate in Tiger Fantasy Camp since
its inception 15 years ago.
"When I -Walked into the hotel room, my
(Tiger) uniform was laid out on the bed with
my name and the number 11 facing up," Ms.
Goode said. "It was really cool. One of the most

sensational things was on the first night when
the players came out to talk to us. Bill Free-
han walked out and I thought, 'God, here I
am, in my adult life, meeting my first major

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crush.' It brought back some of my childhood
memories."
Fantasy Camp sponsor Jerry Lewis, of the
Southfield-based Sports Fantasies Inc., guess-
es 20 women have participated in the camp
over the years. Five have returned for a sec-
ond time.
"Women fit in perfectly because the level
of play at the camp doesn't draw the high-cal-
iber players," Mr. Lewis said. "The brochure
says 'no skill required' and most of the par-

