Kirk Gibson Foundation hosts ‘Gibby Day’ at Detroit Tigers game to raise Parkinson’s awareness

Gibby Day is slated for April 23, 2025

Kirk Gibson reacts after throwing a ceremonial pitch before an opening day baseball game between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers, Friday, April 8, 2016, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) (Paul Sancya, Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

DETROIT – The Kirk Gibson Foundation hosts “Gibby Day” at Comerica Park to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease.

The Detroit Tigers will support the foundation during Parkinson’s Awareness Month, which takes place each April.

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The Tigers game vs. the San Diego Padres on Wednesday (April 23) will be Gibby’s Day and has been selected in honor of Gibson’s jersey No. 23 as a benefit game for the foundation.

Those interested in attending the game can purchase tickets at www.KirkGibsonFoundation.org.

A portion of proceeds from tickets purchased through the website will benefit the foundation.

The game at Comerica Park starts at 1:10 p.m. against the Padres.

Various activities will be held throughout the game with the Tigers from the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s and additional ways to support the cause further.

Information is also available on the website for those unable to attend the game that day but still interested in helping the foundation or learning more about ways to support further.

The Kirk Gibson Foundation hosts “Gibby Day” at Comerica Park to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease. (Kirk Gibson Foundation)

The foundation was formed by Gibson, a former professional baseball player and manager, after his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease in 2015.

Gibson spent most of his career with the Tigers and played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 1988, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 in the first game of the World Series, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The last go-round for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully begins on Monday night, Sept. 19, 2016. The 88-year-old Scully has narrated some of the most memorable moments in baseball history since he began his career calling Brooklyn Dodgers games in 1950. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File) (AP1988)

He supports his mission and vision of spreading awareness for Parkinson’s and providing inspiration and hope to others living with Parkinson’s.

The mission of the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s is to improve the quality of life of those living with Parkinson’s by developing and delivering activity-based programs.

Over the years and through fundraising events like this, the foundation has aimed to open a center focused on that mission.

This mission has become a reality, and the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness will open later this year. It will be the first of its kind in Michigan, located at 31440 Northwestern Highway in Farmington Hills.

The wellness center will be a world-class facility where those impacted by Parkinson’s can access a range of activity-based programs free of charge without requiring insurance.

The center will provide a series of free programs, many of which were developed by InMotion, a Cleveland-based leader who provides evidence-based programs tailored for people with Parkinson’s disease.

Movement matters in the fight against Parkinson’s, and through leveraging the InMotion ApproachTM, the Kirk Gibson Center will provide an integrated, holistic system of wellness programs designed to counteract the symptoms of the disease and to improve the quality of life of those people living with Parkinson’s disease here in Michigan.

Offering approximately 70 hours of weekly programming with initial capacity to provide 60,000 visitor hours per year, the center will ultimately serve as a model for collaborative coalitions supporting people living with Parkinson’s.

Participating in “Gibby’s Day” on April 23 at Comerica Park or donating to the foundation will further this mission to help those in Michigan living with Parkinson’s.

Double home run hitter Kirk Gibson pours champagne over teammates, including catcher Lance Parrish, right, in the dressing room after the Detroit Tigers beat San Diego, 8-4, to win the World Series in Detroit, Oct. 14, 1984. (AP Photo/Richard Sheinwald) (Associated Press)

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