September 12 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Masao Kida started his MLB career as a Tiger in 1999.  He actually played major league ball in the Japanese leagues before being signed as a 30 year old Tiger pitcher.  He was mainly a late inning reliever in non save situations.  He appeared in 49 games that year closing 21 but only earning one save.  He posted a 6.26 ERA that year.  In 2000 he appeared in only two games for the Tigers and his ERA was at a 10.13.  He was demoted but jumped back to Japan.  After being cut in Japan he came back to the US and played bits with the Dodgers and Mariners until he was done in the US as well in 2005.

ScottI Madison appeared in 8 games with the Tigers in 1985 and 1986 as a utility player.  He never got a hit for the Tigers in those two years.  I know ScottI best because I wrote to him years ago asking for his autograph on a 3x5 card.  I explained that I was big Tiger fan and was collecting autographs of all Tigers.  The problem was I used a list that had his named spelled ScottY with a “Y”.  ScottI did not sign my card but rather sent a note saying I must not be that big of Tiger fan as I did not know his name was spelled with an “I” not a “Y”.  I sent an apology and also showed him where I found his name had been misspelled AND showed him a copy of the letter I sent to the owner of the list correcting the spelling.  I then asked ScottI for an autograph.  Apparently that was not enough for ScottI and I still do not have a ScottI Madison autograph.  By the way, spell check keeps telling me I have his name misspelled.  Hmmmm.

Mark Thurmond played parts of two years with the Tigers in 1986 and 1987.  He came to Detroit in a trade with the Padres where we sent Dave LaPoint in July of 1986 to San Diego.  He had faced the Tigers in the 1984 World Series.  Mark went 4-1 with the Tigers and posted a 1.92 ERA in 1986.  There was talk he might be in the rotation in 1987 but that did not pan out.  He was in the bull pen instead and made five saves with a 4.23 ERA.  Before the 1988 season we traded Mark to Baltimore for Ray Knight.   Mark pitched two years with the Orioles and one with the Giants before ending his career in 1990 with a 40-46 record with 21 saves and a 3.69 ERA. 

Mickey Lolich was the hero of the 1968 World Series for the Tigers.  He was always second fiddle to Denny McLain.  In 1968 Mickey had a good year going 17-9.  But Denny went 31-6.  However, in the World Series Denny lost the first game to Cardinal Ace Bob Gibson going only five innings.  In game two Mickey went the distance and won 8-1.  Denny lost game four to Bob Gibson again.  Now the Tiges were down 3 games to 1.  Mickey came back and won game five again as a complete game.  McLain finally won a game in game six when he got 13 runs in support.  Mickey pitched game seven on three days rest and beat Bob Gibson in a third complete game victory 4-1.  Mickey was named World Series MVP.  Mickey pitched 13 years for the Tigers and posted a 207-175 record as a Tiger. 

George Freese got his major league start as a Tiger in 1953.  In April of that year he came in as a pinch hitter for pitcher Paul Foytack.  He faced Mel Parnell and hit a grounder to Red Sox second baseman Billy Goodman.  He was sold to the Cubs about two weeks later never having appeared in another game for the Tigers.  He played the 1955 with the Pirates and finally got back to play for Cubs in 1961 after having been traded several times since his purchase from the Tigers. 

Charlie “King Kong” Keller was known as one of the uglier men in baseball when he was with the Tigers in 1950 and 1951.  He got his nickname for both his powerful homers and his appearance.  He had been a  Yankee outfielder for years losing one season to the war.  He was in the outfield of Joe Diamggio, Tommy Henrich and Keller.  He was a good hitter and an average fielder.  Johnny LIndell replaced him as a starter in1947.  The Yanks released him after the 1949 season and the Tigers signed him as a free agent.  He was a back up outfielder for the Tiges hitting .283 with 5 homers and 37 RBI’s.  The Tigers released him after the 1951 season and the Yankees resigned him as a free agent. 

Ole Olsen was a pitcher for the Tigers in 1922 and 1923.  He was 27 years old when he made his major league debut against the Indians.  He pitched two innings and did not get a decision.  He pitched in 37 games that season and did get seven wins after that no decision.  He also posted six loses.  His ERA was a 4.23.  In 1923 he came back to the Tigers and was only in 17 games.  He posted a 1-1 record for that year with a 6.31 ERA.  He never pitched in the majors again after 1923.

Pepper Peploski made his major league debut as Tiger on June 24, 1913.  He played third base for part of a double header against Cleveland Indians.  He got in his next game against the St. Louis Browns two days later.  Between those two games he made four plate appearances and got two hits and scored a run.  He never made another major league appearance. 

Boss Schmidt was the catcher for the Tigers during their pennant winning seasons of 1907, 1908 and 1909.  He made his start with the Tigers in 1906.  His play in the three Tiger World Series losses was a .159 average with 5 RBI’s in 14 games.  He played for the Tigers through 1911 and posted a career .243 average with three homers and 124 RBIS’s.  He was done in the majors after Detroit.  He went on to play in the minors through 1924 and managed until 1927 with such teams as Mobile Sea Gulls, Kalamazoo Celery Pickers, and Springfield Midgets. 

Below is a 1907 Dietsche postcard of Schmidt from my collection.