September 20 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Jordan Tata made his major league debut as a Tiger in 2006.  He came into a game against the Rangers with the Tigers up 8-3.  He was spelling Nate Robertson.  Jordan made it a close game giving up three runs on two hits and two walks before Fernando Rodney relieved him in the 9^th.  Jordan would get in 8 games that year and not record a decision.  He posted a 6.14 ERA.  Jordan would spend most of that season in Toledo as a starter.  There he looked good going 10-6 with a 3.84 ERA.  2007 found him splitting time between Toledo and Detroit again.  In Toledo he was 4-5 with a 3.05 ERA.  In Detroit he started three games and went 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA.  His win came against the Oakland A’s on July 30.  He pitched 7 innings and gave up only 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5.  On August 5^th he faced the White Sox and lost giving up 3 runs in 5 innings on 5 hits and 4 walks.  Five days later he faced the Oakland A’s again and got shelled.  He lasted 2 innings giving up 7 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks.  Luckily the Tigers beat up on the A’s pitching as well so Jordan did not get the loss.  However, the Tiers did not get het win either.  They lost the game 16-10.  That would be Jordan’s last appearance in a major league game.

Dennis Ribant was a pitcher on the 1968 Tigers.  He came to the Tigers in a trade with the Pirates that sent Dave Wickersham to Pitt for Deny at the end of the 1967 season.  He was believed to be involved in an ugly incident in Oakland that year.  The Tigers and A’s did not like each other and had a major brawl in 1967.  In 1968 the first time they Tiges made the trip Oakland, Al Kaline was hurt on an inside pitch that fractured his finger.  The next day the A’s Pitcher Jack Aker nailed Jim Northrup in the back of the head.  When Northrup came to he charged Aker and the brawl began.  Eddie Matthews took out Aker with three hits to the head.  Willie Horton had been in the clubhouse whirlpool with an injury came running out on the field half dressed to join the melee.  After 15 minutes, the Tigers and A’s were heading back to their benches when some of the A’s faithful expressed their displeasure with the Tigers.  No one ever admitted who, but a Tiger picked up a ball and fired it into the crowd.  However, instead of hitting those with the mouths, a middle aged lady was struck above the eye and broke open a cut on her head.  She sued the Tigers for $200,000 and the Tigers settled out of court.  Dennis Ribant was quietly traded to the White Sox for Don McMahon.  Some of the Tigers claimed that was the hardest pitch Deny threw all year.  Deny was 2-2 for the Tigers in 1968 with a 2.22 ERA.  For his career Deny was 24-29 with a 3.87 ERA and had 56 saves over six years with the Mets, Pirated, Tigers, White Sox, Cardinals and Reds.

Tom Tresh finished his career as a Tiger in 1969.  He was the son of former White Sox catcher Mike Tresh.  He came out of Allen Park, MI and attended Central Michigan.  He was rookie of the year in 1962while with the Yankees.  He stayed with the Yanks from his first 9 games in 1961 into 1969 when he was traded to the Tigers for Ron Woods.   The Stones  were looking for someone to replace the Mick?  Mick Taylor?  Er, maybe the Yankees wanted to replace the Mick who retired?  Anyway, Tom hit .286 his rookie year and never hit that high again.  He was a career .245 hitter but with a good glove.  He won a Gold Glove in 1965.  He was an all star but was hitting only .182 for the Yankees in 1969 when they traded him.  This after his worst three years in row in 66, 67, and 68, with each year progressively worse.  With the Tigers in 1969 he hit .224 in 94 games and hit 13 homers with 37 RBI’s. 

Chuck Dressen was the manager of the Tigers for four seasons in the 1960’s.  He had been a third baseman for the Reds and Giants in the 1920’s and 1930’s.  He was the manager for the Reds in the mid 1930’s and was made famous as the manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers in Roger Kahn’s book “The Boys of Summer”.  He managed the Senators and Milwaukee Braves before taking over the Tiger reins in 1963, replacing Bob Scheffing.  He managed through 1964.  In 1965 he had a heart attack at spring training but came back to take over the Tiges to end the season.  He started the 1966 season as the manager again but had a second heart attack that would take his life.   He was replaced by Bob Swift who was diagnosed with lung cancer and died that year also.  Frank Skaff would take over and take the team through the end of the season.  Chuck Dressen’s career record with the Tigers was a 211 wins to 189 losses.