October 28 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Jeremy Bonderman started his career as a Tiger in 2003. He had come to Detroit in a steal of a deal. In a three way deal we sent Jeff Weaver off and welcomed Carlos Pena, Franklyn German and Jeremy. He was a starting pitcher from the get go. In 2003 he was 6-19 with a 5.56 ERA on a very bad Tiger team that was 43-119. Jeremy was the number three starter behind Mike Maroth and Nate Cornejo. Maroth would earn the dubious distinction of losing 21 games. Jeremy came close. Neither deserved that distinction as both had more K’sthan walks and showed control and ability but had little run support and defensively the team allowed extra runs per game that would be charged to their ERA. In 2004 he was the number four starter in a rotation of Maroth, Jason Johnson, Nate Robertson and Jeremy. In 2006 Jeremy had a solid year to help the Tiges to the pennant. Kenny Rogers and Jeremy started more games than any other pitchers in the league. Jeremy had his best year at 14-8 with a 4.08 ERA and a solid post season with a stellar clinching game against the Yankees that will be remembered by any fan who was there. Jeremy pitched 8.1 innings and gave up only two runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out four and the biggest celebration I have witnessed in Detroit ensued. I took my son to the game and after the celebration on the field the players went into the dugout and we headed out thinking it was over. No one was on the concourse and we heard a roar from the crowd. We went back in and saw that the Tiger players had come back out on the field with champagne and were spraying the fans and bringing the fans into the celebration! Jeremy was never able to repeat his 2006 performance and after 2010 he was released. He was out of baseball for 2 years.  No, he was not in the minors, he was out.  But in 2013 he made a comeback.  He signed with the Seattle Mariners and was 1-3 with a 4.93 ERA and the Mariners released him in July.  The Tiges signed him and he got another chance with the Tiges.  In 2013 he was 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA in 11 games in relief and was released at the end of the season.  But I will forever remember Jeremy Bonderman for that game against the Yankees.

Bob Melvin got his start in the major leagues with the Tigers.  He started in the Tigers farm system as a 19 year old in 1981.  By 1985 he was hitting .271 in Nashville and was brought up to Detroit and split the role of back up catcher to Lance Parrish with Marty Castillo.  Melvin was strong defensive catcher but hit only .220 without a lot of power in 41 games.  Marty was even weaker at the plate with a .119 average and was even weaker for power.  So neither was really a suitable back up.  At the end of the season the Tigers got their back up.   They traded Bob, and Juan Berenguer for Matt Nokes and Eric King, and Dave LaPoint.  Matt became the solid back up that would replace Lance and Bob became the Giants back up.  In 1988 he found he was the starter only to be traded to the Orioles where again he was the back up but this time to Mickey Tettleton.  Bob bounced around with the Royals, Red Sox, Yankees and White Sox but was never the starting catcher.  He was done as a player in the majors in 1994 and in the minors in 1995.  He became a manager in the majors and actually made his managerial debut at a Tiger skipper when Phil Garner was suspended in 2000.  He moved on to Seattle and may have earned the fastest ejection from a game when he was ejected while exchanging the line up cards.  He started arguing with umpire crew chief Joe West about a call from the night before and was tossed before the game started.  He moved on to the NL and won manager of the year honors with the Diamondbacks.  As it happens with all managers he was fired a couple years later.  This year he was named interim manager for the Athletics.  I have not heard if interim has been removed from the title or not.


Liz Funk was the starting center-fielder for the Tigers in 1930.  He had been in the minors for four years before he got into one game for the Yankees in 1929.  He did not make a plate appearance.  He was the starting center-fielder for the Tigers the very next season.  He hit .275 and was solid defensive outfielder.  Despite his play in 1930 he was in the minors in 1931 with the Louisville Colonels.  He made it back to the majors in 1932 and 1933 with the White Sox.  He hit .258 for the Sox.  He bounced around and dropped in and out of baseball until 1941 when he was finally out of baseball altogether.  If you are wondering, his given name was Elias Calvin Funk.


Johnny Nuen turned the only unassisted triple play in the history of the Tigers.  He started his pro baseball career in 1920 and worked his way up the minors until he was called to start the season with h Tigers in 1915.  He was a back up first baseman behind Lu Blue and the switch hitting Johnny hit .265.  Johnny was again the back first sacker in 1926 and 1927 behind Blue.  But on May 30^th, 1927 Jimmy Cooney Jr. turned an unassisted triple play for the Chicago Cubs against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It was only the 6^th time it had been done in major league history.  The very next day Johnny was playing first.  With the Tigers holding a very thin lead of 1-0 in the 9^th.  Glenn Myatt led off the inning as a pinch hitter and drew a walk.   Charlie Jamieson then got on base so the Indians had runners on first and second with no outs.   Homer Summa then came to the plate.  He hit a line shot to Johnny at first.  He then tagged Jamieson who was leading off first and the Johnny headed to second base as Glenn Myatt was already rounding third.  Johnny was heard all over the ball park yelling out “unassisted triple play!  unassisted triple play!”  It took the fans a moment to realize that Johnny had just saved the game in one play.  When the did they started cheering.  An unassisted  triple play has only been turned 8 times since Johnny and Jimmy did it on back to back days.  Johnny went on to make another unusual record about a month later when in New York he had five hits and five stolen bases in one game.   Johnny continued to be the back up first baseman for the Tiges through 1928.  In his time in Detroit he .288 with no homers and only 51 RBI’s.  After Detroit, Johnny went to the Boston Braves in the rule 5 draft.  He had similar results at the plate with the Braves but did not turn a triple play.  After his time in the majors as a player Johnny went to the minors as a player manager.  He lead the Norfolk Tars and then the famed Newark Bears to the league titles.  He then was a coach for the New York Yankees before managing the Yanks in 1946 and then the Cincinnati Reds in 1947 and 1948.  After that he went on to scout in the majors for 40 years.  In 1986 he finally had a conversation with Jimmy Cooney when Sports Illustrated set up a conference call between the two.  He died four years later short of his 90^th birthday.