November 28 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Nook Logan played one and a half seasons with the Tigers.  In 2004 he debuted with Detroit and got in 47 games mainly as a center fielder.  He was fast and stole 8 bases in 10 attempts.  He hit .278 and had 13 walks as well to bring his on base percentage to .346.  But he also struck out 24 times in 133 at bats.  In 2005 he was the Tiges starting centerfielder.  While he was fast and able to cover a lot of ground, he did not have a great glove and committed 6 errors.  His batting average dropped to .258 and spent 2006 in the Erie and Toledo while under contract to the Tiges. In September he was sent off to Washington.  He played there for 27 games and hit .300 but struck out 20 times in 90 at bats.  In 2007 he was again with Washington and his average dropped to .265 with 86 K’s in 325 at bats.  He was done in the majors after that and was done in pro ball after 2010.

Adam Bernero was a right handed starting pitcher for the Tigers.  He started his major league career in 2000 with the Tiges and went 0-1 in 12 games with 4 starts with a 4.19 ERA. His one loss was to Tim Hudson and the Oakland A’s.   In 2001 after going 6-11 in Toledo with a 5.13 ERA he was back in Detroit for another look see but in only five games and he did not get a start.  In 12.1 innings he was 0-0 with a 7.30 ERA.  In 2002 he was given a longer look see and was 4-7 with a 6.20 ERA with 11 starts on a very desperate Tiger team.   2003 found him again up with Detroit and as a starter.  But he was 1-12 with a 6.08 ERA.  The Tigers were done with Adam and sent him to Colorado for Ben Patrick.  Adam went on to play with the Braves, Phillies and Royals before his major league career was over after 2006.  He was done in baseball after 2008.

Jeff Datz played seven games for the Tigers in September of 1989.  He was a back up catcher and did not make an error behind the plate.  With a bat in his hands he made 12 plate appearances with one walk off of Bud Black in a game against Cleveland and one hit by pitch went 2 for 10 with singles off of Gregg Olson of the Orioles, and a single off of Lee Guetterman of the Yankees in his last at bat as a major leaguer.   He never did get beyond first base in career.  After his playing days were over he tried his hand at managing in the minors for the Cleveland Indians and led Cleveland’s A team, the Columbus Red Stixx to the South Atlantic League regular season title in 1995 and Cleveland’s AAA team, the Buffalo Bisons, to the North Division title in the International League in 1998.

Fritz Fisher attended the University of Michigan from 1961 thru 1963 when he signed with the Tigers.  He was 10-6 with a 2.97 ERA with the Knoxville Smokies in 1963 and in 1964 was brought up to start the season with the Tigers.  He came in to a game in the top of the 9^th against the Twins with the Tigers trailing 8-3.  He struck out Harmon Killebrew for his first batter faced.  It was all downhill from there.  He then walked Zoilo Versailes and Bernie Allen before giving up a single to Jerry Zimmerman and then a double to Camilo Pascual.  His final line score was four runs on two hits and two walks all in 1/3 of an inning pitched.  He never pitched in the majors again.   Today Fritz is known for being a very tough autographer.

Purnal Goldy attended Temple University from 1957 thru 1959 before joining the Tigers.  He was a .300 hitting minor leaguer for Tigers before getting the call in mid June 1962.  He made his debut as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz in the 9^th with the Tiges down 2-0 against the Yanks.  He was promptly erased off the base paths by a rare Dick McAuliffe double play ball. He went on to get into 19 more games and had 70 at bats.  He got 16 hits including 3 homers, 1 triple and a double for a .229 average.  The next season he was again up with the Tigers but for only 9 games.  He got 8 at bats in those 9 games and only 2 hits.  That was the end of his major league career. 

Frank O’Rourke was the starting second baseman for the Tigers until he got the measles.  He started his career with the Boston Braves in 1912 and moved on to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1917 and 1918.  In 1920 and 1921 he played with the Senators in Washington before heading to the Red Sox in 1922.  He was a decent second baseman for the Tigers from 1924 into 1926 when he got the measles.  The Tigers decided to give a hot rookie by the name of Charlie Gerhinger a chance at second.  Frank never played again for the Tigers and was sent to the St. Louis Browns at the end of the season.  Frank continued to play for the Browns until 1931.  At that point he took up managing in the minors and went on manage thru 1942.