January 31 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Ted Power was only briefly a Tiger.  The Dodgers drafted him out of Kansas State where he lettered in baseball three years.  He made his big league debut in 1981and in his first year got a start against Nolan Ryan in only Ted’s fifth game in the majors.  Nolan, not on his fifth game, threw his fifth no hitter of his career.  Ted took the loss.  Ted went to the Cincinnati Reds in 1983 and in 1984 appeared in a league leading 78 games with a 2.82 ERA as a bull pen pitcher for the Reds.  The following year he became their closer.  The next year he was put in the rotation.  In 1988 Ted went to Kansas City as a part time starter and reliever.  At the end of August of 1988 the Tigers traded Mark Lee and Rey Palacios for Ted.  Three days after the trade Ted made his debut in a Detroit uniform against the Brewers and in 7 innings of relief he allowed only 3 runs.  A few weeks later he got the win in a relief stint against the Orioles when he came in to relief Frank Tanana in Baltimore.  Ted pitched 3.2 innings for the win.  It would be his only win as a Tiger.  In fact, Ted only got in four games as a Tiger going 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA.  In spring of 1989 Ted was released.  However, Ted went on to pitch five more years with the Cardinals, Pirates, Reds, Indians and Mariners.  In 2013 he was pitching coach for the Louisville Bats, the Reds AAA farm team. 

Hank Aguirre started Mexican Industries.

Duke Maas was dad to Yankee Kevin Maas and was a VERY tough autograph.

Pinky Hargrave was brother of Bubbles Hargrave.  Two very manly names.

George Burns was Tiger first baseman in the mid late teens.

Jim Manning was a back up outfielder on the 1887 Detroit Wolverine Championship team but I think was with Kansas City during the World Series with the St. Louis Browns which Detroit won 10 games to 

January 30 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Dave Stegman was drafted several times by many teams but never signed and always opted to continue playing with University of Arizona until he was drafted by the Tigers in 1976.  He signed with the Tiges and went to AA Montgomery.  He worked his way up to the Tiges a late season call up in 1978.  In his first appearance as a major leaguer he started in right field against the Yankees.  His first at bat came in the second inning and Dave hit a double to left off of Paul LIndblad.  Dave would get in 7 more games as a Tiger that season and hit .286 with a .643 slugging percentage.  Dave would get another late season call up in 1979 but the results were not as good.  In 12 games he hit only .194 with a .484 slugging percentage.  In 1980 Dave made the Tigers out of spring training as a back up outfielder to the starting corps of Al Cowens in right, Rick Peters in center and Steve Kemp in left.  Dave had his worst season to date in the majors hitting only .177 with a .262 slugging.  At the end of the season Dave was traded to the Padres for reliever Dennis Kinney.  Dave never played for the Padres but rather was sent to the Yankees and later the White Sox.  For his career Dave hit .206 with a .325 slugging percentage. 

Sandy Amoros ended his career as a Tiger but is probably better known for his series saving play in the 1955 World Series.  The Cuban born Sandy came up to the majors with the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers as late season call up.  He was a speedy left-handed batter and fielder.  He got his first year as a starter in 1954.  But it was in 1955 he made baseball lore when he made a great catch off of Yogi Berra’s bat.  In game 7 with the Dodgers up 2-0 in the sixth, runners were on first nad second with no out.  Sandy had just been brought into play the outfield. Yogi Berra hit a slicing drive to left.   Sandy made a great running catch to his left that Berra even said the only player who could have caught that was Sandy, because of his speed and the fact that he was left handed.  Had he not made the catch the two runners would likely have scored.  But as it was Sandy preserved the 2-0 lead and the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series.  It was the only series they would ever win.  Sandy stayed with the Dodgers and made the move to Los Angeles but was done as a starter in 1957.  In 1960 he was traded to the Tigers for Gail Harris.  Sandy got in 65 games for the Tigers but mainly as a pinch hitter or pinch runner.  He did play the outfield for 10 of those 65 games.  He hit only 10 hits as a Tiger but did get 12 walks.  For his career he was a .255 hitter.

Walt Dropo was a Tiger first baseman in the early 1950’s.  He was Rookie of the Year in 1950 with the Boston Red Sox hitting .322 with 34 homers and a league leading 144 RBI’s.  He dropped drastically in 1951 to .239 with 11 homers and 57 RBI’s.  In 1952 he still was not living up to the promise of his rookie year and was traded in June of 1952 to the Tigers with Fred Hatfield Don Lenhardt, Johnny Pesky and Bill Wight for Hoot Evers, George Kell, Johnny Lipon and Dizzy Trout.  He played first for the Tiges through the 1954 season hitting .266 with 40 homers and 210 RBI’s over the 2 and a half seasons.  At the end of the 1954 season Walt was sent off to the White Sox with Ted Gray and Bob Nieman for Leo Cristante, Ferris Fain and Jack Phillips.  Walt would lose his starting role in 1956.  He stayed in the majors going to the Reds and Orioles until 1961.  He was released by the Orioles in May of 1961, his thirteenth year in the majors, with a career average of .270 with his rookie seasons totals accounting for a fifth of his totals of 152 homers and 704 RBI’s.

Tony Mullane was born in Ireland but made his major league debut with the Detroit Wolverines. The “Count” or “the Apollo of the Box” was a pitcher with the Wolverines in 1881 as an ambidextrous pitcher.  He injured his right arm so he taught himself how to throw leftie.  But his right arm healed and he could and would pitch with either hand in the same game.  He did not have to worry about changing gloves as he did not wear one.  In his debut he beat the Chicago White Stockings 9-1 in a complete game victory.  It was his only victory in Detroit.  He pitched four other complete games for the Wolverines in 1881 losing them all.   He posted a 4.91 ERA.  This was not great considering the team ERA was 2.65 and the majority of the games were pitched by two pitchers, George Derby, who pitched 55 complete games, and Stump Wiedman who pitched 13 complete games.  That is 68 complete games for a season that comprised of only 84 games.  As a batter he hit .263 in those five games and drove in a run.  Not bad at all for team that had a team batting average of .260.   He left Detroit in 1882 and went to the Louisville Eclipse, where he won 30 games.  He would win 30 games or more for his next four seasons as well with the St. Louis Browns, Toledo Blue Stockings, and Cincinnati Red Stockings.   In 1893 the pitchers box was moved 5 feet further away from home plate and Tony was not as successful.  He went on to play with the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Spiders but did not have the same success.  His career over after 1884, with his record at 284 wins against 220 loses over 13 seasons. 

January 29 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Alex Avila

Jair Jurrjens started his major league career as a Tiger starter.  He was born and raised on Curacao which is an island in the Caribbean off the Venezuelan coast that used to be Dutch until 2010.  Jair was signed by the Tigers at age 17 and spent 4 years impressively working his way up the Tiges chain.  By 2006 he was the 4^th top prospect in the farm system.  In 2007 he was 7-5 in Erie with a 3.20 ERA and 94 K’s to only 31 walks as a starter.  In August he got the call up to Detroit.  He debuted against the Indians and went 7 innings as the starter and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits and a pair of walks while K’ing 3.  But the Tiges could only muster 2 runs off Tribe starter Roberto Hernandez and Jair got the loss.  6 days later the two ream paired up again with the same pitchers taking the mound.  Again, the Tiges could only get two runs off of Roberto Hernandez but Jair was fantastic going 6.2 innings and giving up only one hit, a homer to Jhonny Peralta in the 6^th.  Jair got his first win in the majors.  He went on to make 5 more starts for the Tigers and posted a 3-1 record with a 4.70 ERA.  At the end of the 2007 season the Tigers tried to cure their shortstop issue.  While Carlos Guillen was fine at the plate his fielding was terrible and the Tigers needed an answer to their short issue if they were to contend in 2008.  So the Tiges sent Jair to the Atlanta Braves with Gorkys Henandez for shortstop Edgar Renteria.  Unfortunately Edgar did not quite come thru for the Tiges and Jair spent 5 seasons as a Braves starter.  His last year with the Braves, 2012,  was a bit rough with Jair only going 11-10 with a 6.89 ERA.  The rightie had been 50-36 with a 3.58 ERA for the Braves.  The Braves let Jair become a free agent and he signed with Orioles for 2013.  He got in only 2 games for the O's and was released in July.  The Tigers resigned Jair in July of 2013.  He went to Toledo and was 1-4 with a 5.49 ERA in 7 starts.  In November of 2013 Jair was released by the Tigers.   H signed with the Reds in May of 2014 who then traded him to Colorado Rockies about a month and half later.  He was 0-1 with the Rockies in two games with a 10.61 ERA.  While not impressive, he was resigned with the Rockies this past November and should be reporting soon to spring training.

Ray Hayworth was the last player to be able to claim Ty Cobb as a teammate.  Ray started his career with the Tigers in 1926 as a back up catcher playing under player/manager Ty Cobb.  He stayed a back up until 1931 when then manager Bucky Harris put him behind the plate as the starting catcher.  He was the starter for two more seasons hitting .293 in 1932 and .245 in 1933.   Things did not look great when in the off season the Tiges signed new player manager Mickey Cochrane who was also a hall of fame catcher.  Ray was the best defensive and one of the best offensive catchers in the league.  The only catcher clearly better than Ray was Mickey.  But Mickey liked Ray and used him in 54 games behind himself.  Ray always said he was happy with the arraignment as he said he would rather be back up on a championship team than starter for a last place team.  Ray hit .293 again and was solid as a back stop.  The Tiges won pennants in 1934 and 1935 behind Mickey and might have done it again in 1936.  But Mickey was high strung and suffered a nervous breakdown in 1936 so Ray became the starting back stop.  But he hit only .240.  The next season Mickey was back as Tiger player manager when in May he was beaned and fractured his skull.  Mickey never played again and his managing skills were totally different after the beaning.  He was too worried for his players and by not getting out on the field could not get rid of the tension of managing.  In the mean time the Tigers needed a new starting back stop to take the place of now 33 year old Ray.  So the Tigers brought in Rudy York.  Rudy had the power bat the Tiges wanted in catcher.  Ray would be a back up for the rest of his career.  He was traded from the Tigers in 1938 and was a back up with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  The Dodgers wanted Ray because the Dodgers had picked up a former Tiger pitcher named Boots Poffenberger.  Boots was the proverbial million dollar arm with a ten cent head.  But Boots had pitched well when Ray was his backstop.  The Dodgers had Ray room with Boots and tried to turn Boots around.  But it didn't work.  Boots was Boots as they said.  He failed to show up when he was supposed to.  Missed games and when drunk on the mound was finally thrown out of baseball.  So Ray was no longer needed and Ray was sent to the New York Giants and St. Louis Browns before his playing career ended during the war year of 1945 at the age of 41.  Ray lived until 2002 and was one of the last surviving players on the Tiges first World Championship team of 1935 and was the last player to have played with Ty Cobb as teammate.  He was 98 when he died.

Hack Simmons 

January 28 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Rod Lindsey was a speedster who had a cup of coffee with the Tigers.  He was drafted by the Padres out of high school in 1994 and was traded to the Tigers four years later as the player to be named later for Scott Sanders.  He always had great speed but his batting average kept him no higher than A ball after 5 years in the minors.  Finally in 1999 he got to Jacksonville with the Tiges for 7 games where he hit .185.  In 2000 Rod had his year.  He was in AA Jacksonville for the entire season and hit .224 but his 46 stolen bases in 60 attempts tied him for second in the Southern League for stolen bases.  The Tigers called him up after his AA season was over.   His debut came at Comerica Park with the Tigers ahead of the Rangers 4-3 in the bottom of the 8^th.  Billy McMillon had just made a two out pinch hit single to score Jose Macias and make the score 5-3.  Rod was called in to pinch run for Billy.  But Damian Easley flied out to short to end the inning.  Rod was replaced in the field by Rob Fick so his debut was to stand on first for an out.   Rod would get in 10 more games for a total of 11 games.  7 were as a pinch runner.  In his first plate appearance he was hit by a pitch.  In the last game of the season Rod still had not made a hit in the majors.  He was brought in as a pinch runner in the third replacing Juan Encarnacion in a game against the Twins.  He stayed in the game and in the fifth hit a fielders choice sac bunt.  In the sixth he was K’d.  In the 8^th he got a lead off double.  It was his first hit in the majors.  Unfortunately it would also be his last.  Rod played two more years in the Tigers farm system but would never get back to the show.  After one more year in independent ball in 2003 Rod was done in pro baseball.  His final stats as a Tiger were 11 games, 7 as a pinch runner, 2 stolen bases, 6 runs scored and 1 for 3 at the plate. 

Magglio Ordonez

Oscar Henriquez ended his major league career as a Tiger.  He was born in Venezuela and signed by the Astros after completing high school in Venezuela.  He spent a while in the Astros farm system before making his debut in 1997.  The right handed pitcher was 0-1 in 4 games pitches as a late season call up.  The next year he was again in the show but this time with the Florida Marlins where he was in 15 games and posted no record but did have a 8.55 ERA.  He bounced around various farm systems, Mets, Padres, Mets again before he was signed by the Tiges after the 2001 season.  He was the closer in Toledo in 2002 going 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 17 saves.  He was brought up to Detroit and was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 2 saves for a Tiger team that was 55-106.   But after the season Oscar was done in the majors. Despite having a minor league contract through 2003 with the Tiges he never pitched again in their farm system.  Instead he played independent ball and also spent a season in Mexico before his career in pro ball was over.

Jacob Cruz was a teammate of Oscar Henriquez with the 2002 Tigers.  Jacob was a

Kevin Tolar is the epitome of the minor leaguer with a couple of cups of coffee as a Tiger.  He was drafted out of high school as a lefty pitcher by the Chicago White Sox in 1989.  Six years later after sitting out a year in pro ball and now in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, Kevin made AA.   10 years after entering the ranks of pro ball he made AAA for Pittsburgh for one game and then was traded.  He was now 27 and had played one game in AAA and was now in a new organization, the Cincinnati Reds.  He was in the Reds AA and AAA teams until he was given free agency and signed with the Tigers.  It was now 2000 and Kevin was 29.  He was back in AA with Detroit.  He was 2-0 and had a 0.52 ERA.  He was being used entirely as a reliever and not even as a closer.  He got back to AAA in Toledo but still was in the minors.  Finally, at the end of the season he was called up as the minor league seasons ended and the major league rosters expanded Kevin got a call up at the age of 29.  He got the call from the pen in a game against the White Sox and the Tigers trailing 5-3 in the 8^th Kevin got the call from the pen.  He faces Ray Durham with one out and runners on second and third.  He walked Ray on 6 pitches and pulled from the game.   Not exactly and standout performance and not a great amount of work for a debut.  He got in 4 more games and all were about the same.  He ended up with 3 innings pitched in 5 games and no decisions, no saves, but 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 K’s and 1 earned run.  He was up with the Tiges for a total of 19 days.  In 2001 he was in Toledo to start the season and was now 30.  He was 3-4 in Toledo and had a 2.73 ERA with 7 saves when he was called up to Detroit in May.  It was close to the end of May and Kevin would stay up with the Tiges until August 1, over 2 months in the majors.  In those two months he got in 9 games.  He pitched over an inning per game but posted a 6.75 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched.  He had walked 13 and K’d 11 while giving up 7 hits.  That would be the end of his time as Detroit Tiger.  At the end of the season the end of the season at the age of 30 Kevin was a free agent again.  He had pitched 13.2 innings.  That is less than a game and a half.  He had a 5.93 ERA and no decisions.  He would pitch 4 more innings in the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 2003 and still not record a decision.  Kevin pitched in pro ball until 2007.  He was 36.  He had pitched less about a game and half in the majors after 18 years in the minors.  If you are wondering he had been the property of the White Sox, Pirates, Cubs, Mets, Pirates again, Reds, Tigers, Pirates a third time, Red Sox, Twins, Cubs again, Diamondbacks and lastly Blue Jays.  He had also played in the Mexican League and even played independent ball.  He was the pitching version of “Crash” Davis of “Bull Durham” as a pitcher.

Emil Yde ended his major league career as a Tiger.   He started his major league career in Pittsburgh as a fantastic lefty pitcher.  After two years in the minors, his last he was 28-12, he joined the Pirates in 1924 and as a rookie went 16 and 3 with a 2.83 ERA.  The following year, 1925, he was 17-9 with a 4.1 ERA. The Pirates won the NL pennant and Emil started game 4 of the World Series.  He lasted only 2.1 innings and took the loss.  It would be his only World Series.  The Pirates still went on to beat the Washington Senators in a rare series where they were down 3 games to 1 and came back to win.  This feat was accomplished by the 1968 Tigers as well as the 1958 Yankees and a couple of others since.  In 1928 Emil dropped to 8-7. His ERA of 3.65 was third among the starters of the Pirates but he was still in the starting rotation.  But in 1927 the wheels came off the wagon and Emil was 1-3 in only 9 games for the Pirates.  He was out of the rotation and appeared in the postseason that year as the Pirates lost to the great 1927 Yankees that year, as a pinch runner not a pitcher.  1928 found Emil in the minors.  He went 19-12 with Indianapolis.  1929 found Emil back in the majors as a Tiger pitcher.  Somehow they had acquired him for Indy.  He spent the entire 1929 season with the Tigers and went 7-3 with a 5.30 ERA.  He was mainly used in relief but did get 6 starts as a Tiger.  His ERA was higher than any of the starters for the Tiges and therefore Emil was not high on their list of pitchers to bring back in 1930.  Also the Tigers had a young lefty out of the bull pen by the name of “Chief” Hogsett that had an ERA of 2.83.  Chief went on to be an integral part of the 1934 and 1935 Tigers.  Emil was done in the majors.  Emil went out to the Pacific Coast League for the next three years and was adequate but never again regained his form of 1924.  He was done in baseball after 1933.  His final MLB record was 49-25 with a 4.02 ERA.  As a comparison Mark Fidrych was 29-19 with a3.10 ERA in 5 years in the majors.

Jack Coffey was a war time Tiger.  He played baseball and football at Fordham University where he was part of a double play combination with the future Cardinal Spellman.  (That is a Catholic Cardinal not a St. Louis Cardinal.)  After his last season at Fordham he joined the Boston Doves of the National League.  They were called the Doves after their owner, George Dovey.  Later they would be known as the Braves who would move to Atlanta by way of Milwaukee.  He was okay at the plate for a while but then dropped off and hit only .187 and his fielding was below average.  He went back to Fordham to coach the freshman football team and finish his degree.  After that he went to the minors.  It was rumored that he had signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1915.  He used the then operating Federal League to try to earn some more money but the Pirates refused to pay so Jack stayed in the minors.  In 1918 Jack was in the minors in the Western League.  The league shut down in July due to World War I.  The majors were also having issues fielding teams and when the Tigers shortstop “Pep” Young was injured Jack was signed and filled in.  Jack played less than a month as a Tiger.  He played 22 games and hit .209 with what is controversially his only major league homer.  (He was not given official credit for a homer when he was a Boston Dove.  He was credited with a triple and he scored but there was no error on the play.  So how he scored creates a bit of a problem.)  Pep Young eventually rejoined the Tigers and Jack was not long for Detroit.  On a trip to Boston against the Red Sox a deal was made to make Jack a member of the Sox.  He lasted less than a month not due to skill but due to the war.   The leagues cut short their season and started the World Series on September 5.  Jack did not get in the series but did earn a $300 winners share.  He was done in the majors after that and bounced around in the minors coaching such greats as Jim Thorpe before going back to Fordham where he brought them national prominence and where he recruited a young football player by the name of Vince Lombardi and stayed on for decades as their Athletic Director. 

Ducky Holmes was the first right fielder for the American League Detroit Tigers.  He had started his major league career in 1895 with the Louisville Colonels of the National League.  The team was 12^th out of 12 teams in the National League that year but did have three Hall of Famers in third baseman Jimmy Collins, outfielder Fred Clarke and back up first baseman, on the tail end of his career, Dan Brouthers.  They also had standout Jack Glasscock also on the tail end of his career.  (Glasscock gets my vote for next 1800’s player to make the HOF.  Look him up and judge for yourself.)   Ducky stayed in Louisville until 1897 when he was traded to the New York Giants for General Stafford.  It did not last long and ended with an insult that is still remembered today.  Ducky hit only .265 as Giant and at the end of the season was traded to the St. Louis Browns of the National League.  It was a deal that involved two players from each team and a whopping sum of $3,500.  In 1898 the Browns were playing in New York and the following took place.  " 'Oh! Ducky, you're a lobster', someone shouted from the grandstand . . . and . . . a Tammany henchman of Andrew Freedman, the Giants owner, called out 'You are rotten, Ducky - that is what we let you go for!' . . . 'Well, I'm glad I don't have to work for no sheeny anymore', Holmes retorted. . . .Freedman . . . shouted: 'Lynch, I want that man thrown out of these grounds. He's insulted me.' " - an account of the famous Freedman-Holmes incident in the book Where They Ain't: The Fabled Life and Untimely Death of the Original Baltimore Orioles  A racial or religious slur that would get one in as much hot water as it did Ducky.  Ducky was suspended and was traded to the Baltimore Orioles to end the 1898 season.  He was in Baltimore in 1899 and was doing quite well,  but in 1900 he joined the American League (minor league) Detroit Tigers.  He was a starting outfielder for the Tiges and was there when in 1901 the American League gained “major league” status.  Thus he was the first Tiger right fielder in 1901.  He was the third best hitter that year hitting .294 and led the team in homers with 4 and 28 doubles. He also was second on the team with 11 triples and 158 hits.  He was the starting right fielder again in 1902 but at 33 he was aging.  The Tigers were looking for a new right fielder as they had Pete LePine and Sport McAllister also put in time in right.  Before the beginning of the 1903 season Ducky was sold to the Washington Senators.  He did not last the season in Washington and was traded to the Chicago White Sox.  He ended his major league career in Chicago in 1905.  He stayed in baseball and got into managing in the minors.  He was there as late as 1922.  He died, 10 years after his baseball career ended, in 1932.

Dick Lowe is one of those figures I find sad due to my love of history and the lack of knowledge of his personal history.  He was born in Wisconsin and was 6 years old when the Civil War broke out.  At the age of 30 he made his major league debut in 1884 for the Detroit Wolverines of the National League.  The game was the first of four against the Boston Beaneaters in Detroit.  The Wolverines were a poor bunch at 10-34, 23.5 games out of first and it was only June 26.  The Beaneaters were only 1.5 out of first.  Dick was the catcher for the Wolverines.  The Wolverines normally used Charlie Bennett of Bennett Field fame.  (The original name of Tiger Stadium was Bennett Field.) But the Wolverines kept looking for another catcher.  They used 8 that season.  Dick was one of those tries.  He went 1 for 3 at the plate but also K’s in one of the at bats.  But his fielding was atrocious.  He had 8 chances.  These resulted in one assist and seven errors.  This results in a .125 fielding percentage.  I don’t think I have ever seen a worse fielding percentage.  The sad part is that is the end of what is known about Dick except that he died in 1922 back in Wisconsin at the age of 68.  We don’t know if he threw left or right or hit left or right.  His tomb stone in Oak Hill Cemetery in Janesville will not yield any more clues.

January 27 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Rusty Meacham started his major league career as a Tiger.  He was brought up in the Tiger farm system and showed great promise.  He consistently had a K to BB ratio of about 3 or 4 to 1 and ERA’s around 3 or lower.  After only 3 and half years in the minors he got the call up to the show.  He made his debut as a starter for the Tiges against the Indians at Tiger Stadium on June 29, 1991.  He went 7 innings and gave up only 3 runs on 8 hits and won his debut in the majors.  Five days later, on the 4^th of July, he got his second start in the majors against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.  He went 5.1 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits.  He had picked up his second win in his second appearance as a major leaguer.  Rusty got in 8 more games with the Tiges in 1991but only had one more decision against the Kansas City Royals.  He did not pitch well against the Royals and was tagged with the loss.  He went only 2.2 innings and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits.  For the season he only gave up 16 earned runs.  Almost a third were in the Royals game.  The Tigers inexplicably waived him after the season and the Royals picked him up.  Rusty spent the next four years with the Royals and the side armer became a fan favorite in KC.  In the four years he was 19-12 with a 3.79 ERA.  But clearly his best year was the year after he was waived by Detroit when in 1992 he was 10-4 with a 2.74 ERA.  Rusty went on to play for the Mariners, Astros and Devil Rays before ending his major league career in 2001 and his minor league career in 2006.   Rusty stayed in baseball and coached in the Washington Nationals farm system for a couple of years before going to the Golden Baseball League.  The GBL is an independent league that started in 2005.  He was last seen pitching for the Tijuana Cimarrones in 2010.  He pitched one game and took that loss at age 42.  I am not sure where he is today.

Steve Demeter helped make the Tigers the World Champs of 1968.  He spent six years working his way up the Tigers farm system ladder until 1959 when he was called up and made his major league debut.  He was called in to pinch hit for shortstop Coot Veal in the 6^th with runners on first and third and one out of a game against the Orioles.   Steve faced Jerry Walker and hit a double to left center to score the runner on third.  That made the score Orioles 5, Detroit 1.  In the 9^th there were again runners on first and third with one out and Steve was up having stayed in the game at third as the Tigers juggled the infield.  He faced Milt Pappas and this time grounded into a double play to end the game.   On September 26 Steve got his first start as a major leaguer in a game against the White Sox.  Steve went 0 for 4.  ON the White Sox that day was young first baseman who replaced Ted Kluszewski in the 2^nd inning.  His name was Norm Cash.  Norm also did not get a hit that day.  The next day Steve made his second start in the majors again at third.  In the third Steve got a single to short to lead off the inning.  It was the second hit of his career.  He later scored on a Tom Morgan single to make the score White Sox 5, Tigers 1.  Steve never got another hit, run or RBI in his time in the majors.  A week before the 1960 season started the Tigers made a trade with the Cleveland Indians.   Steve went to the Indians for a recently acquired first baseman named Norm Cash.  Steve got in four game for the Indians but did not get on base.  He never played again in the majors.  His career totals were 2 hits and one run over 15 games.  Over the next 15 years Norm Cash went on to become an all star first baseman for the Tigers and was a major reason for the 1968 World Series championship.

Elijah Jones spent his entire time in the majors with the Tigers.  He was born in Oxford, Michigan in 1882.  His first known appearance in pro ball was 1906 with the Springfield Senators. In August of 1906 he was purchased by the Tigers but would not play until the next season.  In 1907 he made his major league debut pitching against the Indians in the second game of the season.  The Tigers lost.  Elijah would get in 3 more games with the Tigers that season and post a record of 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA.  The next season Elijah was with the Montreal Royals of the Eastern League and he had his best season of his career going 19-14 with the Royals.  With that record he was back with the Tigers in 1909.  In 1909 Elijah started a game early in the season and got his first major league win.  About a week later on April 24, he started his second game of the season and lost to the White Sox, 3-1.  Elijah never played another major league game.  He continued to play in the minors through 1912 before his career was over.  He died in Pontiac, MI in 1943 and is buried in the Oxford Cemetery.

Bill Burns ended his major league career with the Tigers in 1912 but ended several other careers seven years later.  His nickname came from his apparent lack of intensity on the mound.  He started his major league career in 1908 with the Washington Senators.  He was 6-11.  The Senators traded him at the beginning of the 1909 season to the White Sox for Nick Altrock, Gavvy Cravath and Jiggs Donahue.  The White Sox later sold him to the Cincinnati Reds for $4,000 in 1910.  The Reds traded him to the Phillies in 1911.  In April 1912 the Tigers purchased Bill from the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.  Bill got into 6 games for the Tigers and posted a 1-4 record with a 5.35 ERA.  In May he was sold back to the Millers.  His major league career was over with record of 30-52 and a 2.72 ERA.  However, in 1919 Bill was again involved in major league baseball.  He approached several members of the Chicago White Sox and started negotiations to get the White Sox to throw the World Series.  He was witness for the prosecution in the trial of the White Sox turned Black whose careers were ended by the scandal. 

January 26 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Andres Torres proved himself a clutch player after he was a Tiger.  He started his major league career with the Tigers after four years in the Tigers farm system.  He never hit .300 in the minors and always struck out more than walked, the classic signs of a power hitter.  However, the most homers he ever hit in a season in the Tigers farm system was 11 in 535 at bats in 2000 when he spent most of the season in Lakeland and a bit in AA Jacksonville.  No, power was not his specialty, speed was.  He made his major league debut in 2002 a week into the season when he made a start as the starting centerfielder in a game against the Cleveland Indians.  He got his first hit in the bottom of the eighth with the Tigers trailing 4-1 to the Indians and CC Sabathia.  He tripled and drove in the Tigers only run of the game.   Andres stayed around for 19 games but only hit .200 in 2002.  In 2003 he had more time with the Tiges but in 59 games only managed to hit .220.  He made a token appearance in 3 games in 2004 as a defensive replacement and a pinch runner, never getting to the plate.  He did manage to steal a base in those three appearences in the beginning of April 2004.  But that was not enough.  He was released before the end of April.  He bounced around from farm system to farm system with the White Sox, Rangers, Twins, Tigers again, and Cubs with only a short 8 game appearance back in the majors with the Rangers in 2005.  But in 2009 he finally became a Giant and made it stick in the big leagues for a bit.  He played with the Giants as a starting centerfielder.    In 2010 the Giants won the World Series and Andres hit .318 with four doubles and a homer and a stolen base for good measure.  He was traded to the Mets for 2012 and then was back in San Fran in 2013.  He was released at the end of the season and signed with the Red Sox but was in the minors until being released in June of 2014.  He is an unsigned free agent for 2015.

Tim Pugh ended his 6 season career as a Tiger.  He had started his career with the Reds in 1992 and as a right handed starter and went 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA as a late season call up.  He then had his career year in 1993 when he went 10-15 with the Reds.  He stayed with the Reds until May 10, 1996.  Then he started earning frequent flyer miles when he was waived by the Reds and picked up by the Royals.  On July 8, the Royals waived him and he was picked up again by the Reds.  Four days later he was waived by the Reds and the Royals picked him up a second time.  About a month later the Royals waived him and the most shocking thing happened.  The Reds claimed him for his third stint with the Reds in the same season.  At the end of the season the Reds granted him free agency and he sighed with the Tigers.  In his first game as a Tiger he faced his old team the Royals and went 8 innings giving up just 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks to get a win for the Tiges.  Seven days later he got the start against the Rangers.  However, this time the results were not as good.  He lasted one inning and gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks and was tagged with the loss.  He would never play in the majors again. 

Rick Schu played part of one of his 9 seasons with the Tigers.  He was a right handed hitting third baseman and first baseman playing his first four years with the Phillies starting in 1884.  He was the starting third baseman in 1985 when Mike Schmidt moved to first for the season.  But Schmidt moved back to third in 1986 and Rick was back as a back up.  After four years as a Phllie and a .250 batting average he was traded to the Orioles and hit .256 for the 1988 season.  In 1989 he played one game for the Orioles before he was purchased by the Tigers in May.  He became the Tigers starting third baseman but hit .214.  On December 5, 1989 the Tigers signed free agent Tony Phillips.  Three days later Rick was released by the Tigers.  Rick signed with the Angels in 1990 and finished his career with a brief return to the Phils in 1991 and finally a game in 1996 with the Expos.  Today Rick is a minor league coach.

Cesar Gutierrez was a Tiger when he set a major league record.  He started his career as a Giant in 1967 as a typical light hitting shortstop.  In 18 games hit .142.  He did not appear in the majors again until 1969 when he got in 15 games for the Giants before coming to the Tigers to complete the earlier trade of Don McMahon for a player to named later.  Cesar was the starting shortstop for the Tigers in 1970 when the Indians came to town and played a double header in Detroit.  Cesar did not play the first game but did play the second and hit second.  In the first inning he got a single to right field.  He scored on a Jim Northrup ground out.  1 for 1 with a run scored.  In the third he singled to left field and scored when Al Kaline hit a homer.  2 for 2 with 2 runs scored.  He came up again in the fifth and hit a single to short to lead off the inning but did not score.  3 for 3 with 2 runs scored.   In the seventh he led off with a double to left and scored on a Jim Northrup homer.   4 for 4 with 3 runs scored.  He came up in the next inning and hit a single to right scoring Gates Brown.   5 for 5 with 3 runs scored.  The game went into extra innings tied 8-8 and in the tenth, Cesar singled to short but did not score.  6 for 6 with 3 runs scored.  In the twelfth he singled to center but did not score.   The Tiges did score on a Mickey Stanley homer that inning to win the game.  Cesar’s final line in the box score, a major league record 7 for 7 with 3 runs scored and an RBI.  For the season Cesar hit .243.  He was back with the Tigers in 1971 but only played 38 games as the Tigers had a new shortstop in Eddie Brinkman.  The Tigers sold Cesar to the Expos before the 1972 season but Cesar never did play again in the majors. 

Bob Nieman made the news in his major league debut but not as a Tiger.   He debuted as a St. Louis Brown in 1951 and against the Red Sox.  In his first at bat in the second inning against future Tiger Mickey McDermott he homered.  He next came up in the third and facing Mickey again homered becoming the first major leaguer to homer in his first two at bats.  Bob drove in a run in the fifth and hit single in the ninth.  His final line was 3 for 5 with 4 RBI’s and scoring 3 runs.  Unfortunately the rest of the Browns did not do as well and the Browns lost 9-6.  Bob was the Browns left fielder in 1952 but after the season he was traded to the Tigers with Owen Friend and J. W. Porter for Johnny Groth, Virgil Trucks and Hal White.  Bob was the Tiges starting left fielder in 1953 and hit .281 and was second on the team with 15 homers and third on the team with 69 RBI’s.  In 1954 Bill Tuttle was the Tigers starting centerfielder. This moved center fielder Jimmy Delsing to left and Bob to the bench.  At the end of the season Bob was traded with Walt Dropo and Ted Gray to the White Sox for Leo Cristante, Ferris Fain and Jack Phillips.  Bob would continue to play in the majors   through 1962 with the White Sox, Orioles, Cardinals, Indians and Giants.  His career stats were a .295 batting average with 125 homers and 544 RBI’s over 12 seasons.

Charlie Gelbert played part of one season with the Tigers.  He started his major league career in 1929 as the St. Louis Cardinals starting shortstop after they sold Rabbit Maranville to the Boston Braves.  Charlie stepped in and played the next four years as the Cards starting shortstop.  He missed the next two season and almost the rest of his career after he severely hurt his ankle in a hunting accident after the 1932 season.  He did come back and played two more seasons with the Cards I 1935 and 1936 before being sold to the Reds in 1937.  He only played 43 games with the Reds before being waived and then picked up by the Tigers in July of 1937.  Charlie got in 20 games with the Tigers as a back up shortstop to Billy Rogell but got only 4 hits in 47 at bats.  He spent 1938 with Toledo hitting .284 before making it back to the majors in 1939 with the Washington Senators as a back up.  He split the 1940 season between the Senators and the Boston Red Sox again as a back up.  After the 1940 season he was done in the majors with final stats of a .267 average with 17 homers and 350 walks.

Tubby Spencer ended his career as a Tiger back up catcher.  He began his major league career in 1905 with the St. Louis Browns in 1905 after playing in Waco Texas with the Waco Tigers.  But the bigger story behind Tubby appears to be that he was the ne’er do well for his father who kept trying to get him out of baseball.  He was reported to have graduated from Princeton.  But he apparently turned to baseball with his brother Charley who was a pitcher.  By 1907 he was the Browns starting back stop.  His nickname of “Tubby” came about due to his weight.  When he debuted he weighed 215 and apparently grew from there.   He also had the disease of alcohol and was drinking too much as was common among major leaguers at the time.  He admitted to being an alcoholic and soon dropped out of the majors after 1911.  His dad offered him money to retire from baseball and he did.  He was to be married but that failed in the end as he was arrested a few times breaking into saloons and the like.  He figuratively and literally rode the rails as a hobo.  His Dad bailed him out after he was arrested again in Indianapolis and  his dad got him a job in a logging camp.  But in 1914 his father died and Tubby inherited millions of dollars when millions of dollars was a lot of money.  He then reappeared in the majors in 1916 when the Tiges gave him a second chance.   He then became part of the revolving door that was the Tiger catcher situation in the late teens.  He lasted three years as a Tiger and hit a respectable .249.  He defeated his alcoholism by 1922 and he continued to play in the minors and ended his career in 1925.  However, he appeared to never get the baseball bug out of his system.  He continued to appear in “Old Timers” games.  He died in 1945 at the age of 61. 

Bob Casey played his entire time in the majors with the Detroit Wolverines.  He was a store clerk in Syracuse, New York when he started playing for the independent Syracuse Stars.  He was good enough he the Detroit Wolverines picked him up in July of 1882.  Morgan Earp, brother of Wyatt Earp was killed as was Jesse James and the first pancake was made in a department store all in the months shortly before Bob joined the Wolverines.  About a week after he joined the Wolverines he had his biggest day.  He hit his one and only major league home run.  It won the game for the Wolverines against Buffalo.  But a couple of days after that he returned to Detroit for a series against Chicago.  He made an error that allowed Chicago to score 4 runs and beat the Wolverines 6-3.  And then went 0-9 in the next two games against Chicago.  The Wolverines left town for an east coast trip without Bob.  He never made the majors again.  Later he claimed he was the inspiration of the poem “Casey at the Bat”.  While Ernest Thayer, the author himself, and others have denied this, there may be something to this as he K’d 15 times in his 39 at bats.  There is a short but nice bio about Bob in “The Rank and File of 19^th Century Major League Baseball”.   I pulled much of my information from that article.

January 25 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Jose Macias started his major league career as a Tiger.  It was after several years in the minors where he played every position including pitcher that he made his major league debut as a Tiger in 1999 with a cup of coffee consisting of 5 games.  In his second game as a major leaguer he came in as a pinch hitter in the 9^th inning against the Indians.  With the Tigers trailing Jose hit a line drive shot to deep right field for a homer.  It was his first hit a major leaguer and it would have been a much more exciting had the Tigers not been trailing 12-5.   That was his only hit in his first year in 4 at bats.  In 2000 he was back with the Tigers and as a back up second baseman, third baseman he hit .254 with 2 homers and 24 RBI’s.  In 2001 he finally made it.  He was the Tigers starting third baseman hitting .268 with 8 homers and 51 RBI’s all career highs for him.  In 2002 he was back as the starting third baseman and was hitting .234 when in May the Tigers and Expos traded third basemen.  Jose went to Montreal and Chris Truby came to Detroit.  Jose stayed in Montreal until he was traded to the Cubs before the 2004 season.   He was done in the majors after 2005.  His career stats were a .256 batting average with 26 homers and 173 RBI’s.  Jose played in Japan in 2006 before coming back to the States and played in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system in 2007 before heading to Mexico to play through 2010.

Richie Lewis pitched for one season for the Tigers as part of a seven season career.  Richie was a short 5 feet 6 inches tall.  Very short for a major league pitcher.  Despite his short mound stature, Richie started pitching in Baltimore in 1992 before going to Florida in 1993.  He had the best year of his career going 6-3 with a 3.26 ERA as a middle reliever.  He stayed in Florida through 1995.  Before the 1996 season he signed as a free agent with the Padres.  But before he ever played a game with the Padres, Randy Smith made a surprising trade with the Padres that involved a catcher.   Catcher Raul Casanova, Melvin Nieves and Richie came to Detroit for Cade Gaspar, Sean Bergman and Todd Steverson.  For Detroit Richie went 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA as a right handed reliever.  He also recorded the only two saves of his career.  The Tigers released Richie at the end of the season.  He was signed by the Oakland Athletics for 1997 and I recall seeing him on the mound while my cousin and I were sitting by the Athletics bullpen at Tiger Stadium.  I swear I saw Richie telegraphing his pitches as sometimes he would hit his glove on his thigh during his wind up and other times he would not.  Richie struggled at Oakland going 2-0 with a 9.64 ERA and was released in June.  Richie went on to Cincy and finally back to Baltimore in 1998 before his major league career was over.  He continued to play professionally in the minors through 2003 and in Korea and Mexico.  He was coaching in the minors in 2006.

Vern Ruhle was born and raised in Coleman Michigan before being drafted by the Tigers.  He made his debut as a Tiger in 1974 as a late season call up.  He got the call to relieve Lerrin LaGrow who had been shelled by the Cleveland Indians.  The score was 6-0 with two outs in the third when Vern came in.  He pitched the next 5.1 innings allowing only 2 hits but getting a no decision.  Vern won two games in 1974, both against the Red Sox.  His first win was a game he pitched against Luis Tiant where Vern went 7 innings and only gave up two hits, a home run and a single to a young Red Sox late season call up, Fred Lynn.    His second win was a complete game victory over Roger Moret.   Vern won 7-4 and Fred Lynn did not get a hit, going 0-4 with a K.  In 1975 Vern was the number three starter for the Tigers behind Mickey Lolich and Joe Coleman.  Vern was 11-12 with a 4.03 ERA in 1975.  He earned his degree from Olivet College in 1975 and was given his diploma at a ceremony at Tiger Stadium that year.  Vern Returned to the rotation in 1976 and again was the third starter behind Dave Roberts and a young Mark Fidrych.  Vern was 9-12 with a 3.92 ERA in 1976. He had a bad season in 1977 going 3-5 and his ERA jumped to 5.70.  In spring training in 1978 the Tigers released him.  The Houston Astros then signed him and with Houston he regained control of his ERA and brought it back down to 2.12 in 1978.  He had some good years with the Astros getting into a strong rotation of Joe Niekro, Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard, Ken Forsch and Vern.   Vern’s best year was 1980 with the Astros when he was 12-4 with a 2.37 ERA.  He finished his playing days with Cleveland in 1985 and California in 1986 before getting into coaching.  It was while he was a coach for the Reds in the spring of 2006 that he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  He died in January of 2007, five days short of his 56^th birthday.

Carl McNabb was a member of the 1945 World Champion Tigers.  He had been a minor leaguer starting in 1936 and worked his way up to Class B ball as a second baseman before World War II broke out.  He went into the military before coming back to baseball in 1944 in the Tigers farm system.  He made his major league debut with the Tigers in April of 1945 in the Tiger home opener against Steve Gromek and the Cleveland Indians.  He was brought in as a pinch hitter with two out in the ninth with the Tigers trailing 4-1.  Unfortunately Carl struck out.  The game was over as was Carl’s major league experience.  He was back in the minors for the rest of the season and his career.  He was a career .280 hitter in the minors in 13 seasons mainly in Class C ball and never making it to AAA level.   

January 24 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Andy Dirks has played his entire time in the Tigers organization.  He came out of Wichita State University.  He had also played junior college ball.  He made his pro debut with the West Michigan White Caps in 2008but was sidelined with a broken hand.  He returned to the Lakeland Tigers to end the season.  He continued his trek to the majors and made it to Toledo in 2010 where he hit .375 and drove in 17 runs in 22 games.  In 2011 he split time between Toledo and Detroit.  In Toledo the left handed outfielder hit .325.  In Detroit he hit .251 with 11 walks for an on base percentage of .296 all in 78 games for the Tiges.  Prior to the 2012 season Andy continued to do what he has done in the off season, play ball in the Dominican.  He became a celebrity when he drove in the winning run in the ninth and final game of the Dominican League Championship series.  Then helped them win the Caribbean Series title driving in extra inning run to win one game and making what was called a “spectacular” catch to save a 1-0 win in one of the other games.  He then joined the Tiges in 2012 and helped them to the World Series by hitting .322 with a .370 OBP while becoming the Tiges starting left fielder.   His postseason was not as spectacular as he was a .294 hitter vs. Oakland, .222 vs. New York and .111 vs. San Fran.  He was in left again for 2013 with Austin Jackson in center and Torri Hunter in right.  He hit .256 as a leftie.  He should be in left again in 2014.

Jay Sborz did not buy a vowel with the Tigers.  Maybe he should have.  He worked his way up in the minors from the Lakeland Tigers in 2003 to the Toledo Mud Hens in 2010.  He had started out as a starter but was moved to a reliever as he worked his way up the chain.  He was called up to the Tiges in 2010 and made his debut as a Tiger on June 22, 2010.  He relieved Justin Verlander who had gotten shelled by the Mets giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in only two innings.  Jay came in and also gave up 5 runs.  However, he did it on 3 hits and 2 hit batters in only two thirds of an inning pitched.  He was sent back to the Mud Hens after the debut and never returned.  In fact, he was done in baseball after 2010.  At the age of 25 his major league career was over at 1 game, .2 innings pitched, 5 runs off of 3 hits and the two hit by pitch and an ERA of 67.50.  I am either sad for him that he took it so hard or happy for him that he called it quits and did not linger in the minors for 10 more years and rather got on with his life.

Rufus Smith came out of Guilford College in North Carolina before joining the Tigers.  Rufus played there in 1924 thru 1926 and was teammates with Hall of Famer Rick Ferrell while at Guilford.   Rufus was signed by the Tiges and went to the minors in 1927 and in October was called up for a look see.  On the last game of the season Rufus got the call to start the game and make his major league debut.   He faced the Indians and almost went the distance.  He lasted 8 innings giving up 4 runs (only 3 were earned) on 8 hit and 3 walks.  He was taken out of the game in the ninth with the Tigers trailing 4-3.  Ownie Carroll got the side out without allowing a run.  The Tigers then scored two in the bottom of the ninth to give Ownie Carroll the win.  Rufus was credited with a no decision.  He never got to the majors again.  His teammate, Rick Farrell made his debut in 1929, when Rufus was back in the minors and had only two years left in pro ball.

Joe Cobb made his major debut as Tiger when Ty Cobb was also on the team.  Joe and Ty were of no relation.  Joe had played in the minors only one season when he made his debut in the fourth game of the young 1918 season.   In a game against Cleveland he came in and made his debut as a batter.  He walked.  He did not get to second and never played in a major league game again.  He went to the minors and had a career that lasted until 1931.  He was a good catcher in the minors and was on the starting catcher for the Baltimore Orioles when in 1924 they went 117-48 to become one of the greatest all time minor league teams.  He was a player manager his last year of 1931 with the Harrisburg Senators.

January 23 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Juan Rincon pitched briefly with the Tigers during his ten year career.  He started his time in the majors with the Minnesota Twins in 2001.  He had his best years in 2004 and 2005.  In 2004 he was 11-6 with a 2.63 ERA.  In 2005 he dropped his ERA to 2.45.  The right hander had a fastball in the low 90’s and a slider in the low 80’s.  In 2005 he was suspended 10 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.   Angels manager Mike Scioscia was not happy that the suspension was only ten games.  He stated "If Juan Rincon comes back and pitches 11 days from now, are the effects of steroids going to deteriorate to where his talent is back to his God-given level? No. He'll have the benefit of whatever steroids he took. I guarantee you, in 10 days, Juan Rincon does not become a mere mortal. I think he'll still be throwing the ball pretty good with the enhanced chemicals."   Juan’s ERA climbed every year after 2005 while with the Twins and in 2008 the Twins after refusing a minor league assignment, Juan was granted free agency.  He signed with the Indians for the rest of the 2008 season.  In 2009 the Tigers signed him to a minor league contract but he made the major league roster.  In May the Tigers needed to make room on the roster for Dontrelle Willis who was now healthy and ready to pitch.  So the Tigers assigned Juan to Toledo.  However, Juan refused the assignment and became a free agent.  In the short time Juan was with the Tiges he pitched 10.1 innings over 7 games and had a 5.23 ERA.  He did manage one win in a game that he replaced Justin Verlander in the sixth.  Justin had given up 7 runs in 5 innings.  The score was 7-5 for Mike Scioscia’s Angels.  Juan came in and pitched the bottom of the sixth and gave up run on a MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL RULE DOUBLE AS THE BALL BOUNDED OVER THE WALL.  However, the Tiges came back in the next inning and took a 11-8 lead.  Juan was taken out but ended up with the win.  Juan left Detroit for Colorado and last played in the majors for the Rockies in 2010.  In 2012 he was in the Atlantic League pitching for the Bridgeport Bluefish which is independent ball but finished the season with the Angels AAA farm team in Salt Lake City where he was 0-1 with a 3.12 ERA.  He was granted free agency by the Angels and in 2013 he was back in the Atlantic League pitching for York and going 1-8 with a 3.26 ERA.  2014 found him again in the Independent Atlantic League but playing for the Somerset Patriots where he was 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA.

Charlie Spikes played briefly with the Tigers during his 9 seasons in the majors.  He started with the Yankees in 1972 as a late season outfield call up.  He was traded to the Indians at the end of the season in the deal that sent Graig Nettles to the Yankees.  Charlie became a starter for the Indians.  He was a power hitting outfielder hitting 23 and 22 homers his first two years with the tribe.  Over four years as a starter he hit an about .250 but had an on base percentage of over .300.  He was traded to the Tiges after the 1977 season for Tom Veryzer.  That season he played 16 games in Evansville hitting .320 with 2 homers.  He also got up to Detroit where he got in 10 games and hit .250 with no homers.  He was released with a week to go in the season.   He then signed with the Atlanta Braves before heading to Japan for one final professional year in 1981.

Billy Mullen had one of his several cups of coffee with the Tigers.  In 1920 he made his major league debut with the St. Louis Browns on the last day of the season.  In the first game of a double header he was called in to pinch hit for the pitcher in the bottom of the eighth with the White Sox leading 10-4.  He did not get on base.  In the second game he came in to finish the game playing second.  He did not get a hit.  In 1921 Billy was again a late season call up and again did not get a hit.  Towards the end of the 1922 season the Brooklyn Robins (todays Dodgers) purchased Billy from the Mobile Bears.  Billy got in 4 games as a late season call up for the Robins in 1923 and got three hits for Brooklyn.  One of the hits was off of Hall of Famer, Jessie Haines.  In 1926 Billy showed a little more staying power in his time as a major leaguer.  He played 11 games for the Tiges as a new 30 year old third baseman.  His production however, still was not there.  He was 1 for 13 as a Tiger but did draw 5 walks for a .333 on base percentage.   Before the 1927 season Billy was traded to the St. Louis Browns with Otis Miller, Frank O’Rourke and Lefty Stewart for Pinky Hargrave, Bobby LaMotte and Marty McManus.   In 1928 Billy would get in 15 more games for the Browns and picked up his highest total of 7 hits and posted a .389 batting average.  With his 3 walks he posted a .476 on base percentage at the age of 32.  Billy never got to the majors again.  He continued to play in the minors until he was 43.  He even played in the Tigers farm system but never again in the majors.  

Red Donahue ended his career as a Tiger and just a tad too soon.  He started his career as a student at Villanova.  While playing for Villanova he started his pro career as well playing for the 1893 New York Giants and also the 1895 St. Louis Browns of the National League (not a typo, they did not become the Cardinals until 1900) and stayed in St. Louis through the 1897 season.  It was in 1897 that he had arguably his worst season as he went 10-35 with a 6.13 ERA yet Red accounted for over a third of the Browns wins as they went an atrocious 29-102.  After the 1897 season Red was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies where he threw no hitter in 1898 and stayed through 1901.  He won 20 or more games twice in Philly put up a 3.26 ERA in those 4 years.  In 1902 he jumped leagues yet went back to an old team, kinda.  He went to the St. Louis Browns but this was a different franchise than the Browns he played with in the past.  This Browns team had moved there from Milwaukee where they had been the Brewers in 1901.  Red was 22-11 with the new Browns and posted a 2.76 ERA, lowest on the team.  In 1903 he was traded to the Cleveland Naps and stayed there through 1905.  While in Cleveland he won 32 games including 19 in 1904 alone.  At the end of 1905 Red was traded to the Tigers by the Naps for Happy Townsend.  In 1906 with the Tigers Red was the number 2 starter behind George Mullin.  Red went 13-14 at the age of 33 and had an ERA of 2.73.  He was not a power pitcher but rather a crafty pitcher.  He was done playing after 1906, just before the Tigers went on to win three pennants in a row.  He died in 1913 at the age of 40 of tuberculosis.

January 22 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Leon Roberts started his career as a “local boy done good” as a Tiger.  He was born in Vicksburg, MI and attended U of M although he does not appear to have played on the team.  The Tigers drafted him and he rapidly worked his way up the Tigers farm system making AAA Evansville in only his third season and hitting .285 was second on the team in homers, RBI’s and stolen bases.  It was 1974 and the Tigers called him up as the rosters expanded.  He went 0-5 in his debut as a right fielder but quickly showed that he was major league caliber as he hit .270 with three doubles and two triples in only 17 games.  This had to please the Tiges as the Tigers intended to use Leon in right for 1975.  They had sent Jim Northrup to Montreal in August, just before calling up Leon and in November traded Dick Sharon and as pitchers and catchers reported in 1975 they released Jim Nettles.  No one was higher in the depth charts for right field for the Tigers than Leon.  Leon did start for the Tigers in 1975 and hit .257 with 10 homers and 3 stolen bases.  But that would be all for Leon as a Tiger.  He was traded after the season with Terry Humphrey, Mark Lemongello and Gene Pentz to the Houston Astros for an unrelated Dave Roberts, Milt May and Jim Crawford.  Leon went on to play 9 more seasons in the majors and hit .267.  Leon was also a great athlete.  In fact, while in Houston he tried out for the Houston Oilers of the NFL.  He made the team as an end and punter and intended to play only on Sundays until the season ended.  But the Houston Astros found out his plans and paid him to NOT play football.  Leon is still in baseball today and was in the Astros organization as coach for their AAA team, the Oklahoma City Redhawks.

Johnny Bucha

Prince Oana is a 1945 Tiger.  The 1945 Tigers won the last of the World War II World Series.  Prince was born Henry Kawaihoa Oana in Hawaii.  He was the fourth major leaguer and second Tiger Johnnie Williams from 1914 Tigers) to be born in Hawaii.  However, he liked to go by Hank, not Prince.  It is not known how he became a pro ball player.  There is a story that Ty Cobb got him his first gig while seeing him play in 1928.  There is a story that he got his first pro gig by joining that San Francisco Seals in the PCL  due to articles of his playing in a Hawaiian newspaper.  Regardless of how he was signed he was playing pro ball in 1929 in the minors and played part of the season with San Fran.   The rightie thrower played both outfield and pitched.  He had some trouble in 1932 which he blamed on an early season illness and vision problems. Others attribute it to drinking.  Still others attribute it to a growth in his nose that came about from an injury from his high school football days.  Regardless, he was replaced in the San Fran outfield by Vince DiMaggio, brother of Joe and Dom.  In fact, it was Prince and pal Augie Galan who left the Seals to go barnstorming that year close to the end of the season in Hawaii that allowed the 17 year old Joe D. to make his pro debut at shortstop, replacing Augie.  He made the majors in 1934 with the Philadelphia Phillies who hoped the young Hank or Prince would replace Hall of Famer Chuck Klein who had been traded to the Cubs.  But after only 6 games he was sent back to the minors.  He would continue to bounce around the minors always known as someone with great talent but also a playboy.  He was the property of the Red Sox, Dodgers and Yankees without ever making it back to the majors until finally World War II came along.  The Texas League (where Prince was playing) suspended operations in 1943 due to a lack of players as they were all off to war.  He joined Bill Veeck’s Milwaukee Brewers but Bill tried to pull some fast ones and not pay Fort Worth the price agreed for Prince.  So the Tigers signed him.  He played about a month and half and pitched out of the bull pen and went 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA.  At the plate he hit .385 playing 10 games in the outfield.  But then it was decided he should go back to Milwaukee.  So Hank or Prince left the Tigers.  He was sold by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Buffalo Bisons and was picked up again by the Tigers in August of 1945 when they were in the midst of the pennant race.  He pitched in only three games that pennant season and had the game of his career when on September 12, he faced the Philadelphia Athletics and in the 9^th was pitching a 1 hitter.  However, the Tiger bats were quiet that day and in the 9^th he had two outs with Hal Peck on first after a walk when he gave up only the second hit of the game, a double to tie the game at 1.  He gave up the third hit of the game in the 11^th with two out and was pulled.  The Tiges lost the game in the 16^th and his brilliant start was lost.  Prince did not get a decision on the mound for the Tigers that day and never played the outfield that season.  Instead he returned to the minors never to return to the majors.  He went back to the Texas League and won pitcher of the year in 1946.  He was done in baseball after 1951 at the age of 41. 

Ivey Shiver

Ira Thomas

January 21 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Wil Ledezma

Jeff McCurry

Tom Urbani played briefly with the Tigers.  Shortly after his playing days ended the Tigers retired his number.  He was drafted four times starting after high school before he finally signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1990.   The first three times he was drafted he chose to stay in college.  He started his professional career in Johnson City with the rookie level Cardinals in 1990 and by 1992 was in AAA at Louisville.   In 1993 he split time between the Louisville Redbirds and the St. Louis Cards.  In Louisville he was 9-5 with a 2.47 ERA as a starter.  In St. Louis he was 1-3 with a 4.65 ERA splitting time between the bull pen and the starting rotation.  That is how his career went.  He would be a starter in the minors and split time in the majors.  His ERA tended to be higher in the majors and he never quite caught on.  In June of 1996 the Cards finally dealt him and minor leaguer Miguel Inzunza to the Tigers for Micah Franklin and Brian Maxcy.    Tom went 2-2 with a 8.37 ERA in Detroit.  Early in August Tom found himself in Toledo where he was 0-3 with a 6.43 ERA.  The Tigers granted him free agency at the end of the season.  Tom bounced around the minors a few more years before going to Italy to play in 1999 with Semenzato Casa d’Aste Rimini.  Ah yes, the Fightin’ Rimini’s or whatever their nickname is.  He led the league with 12 wins and a 1.35 ERA.  He also pitched a perfect game.  Italy went on to win a silver medal in the 1999 European Championships.  As for the Tigers retiring Tom’s number.  Tom wore number 42 for the Tiges in 1996.  In 1997 MLB retired the number 42 in all of MLB.  However, that does not mean Tom was the last Tiger to wear the number.  Anyone who had been wearing it was grandfathered and could continue to wear the number.  So Fernando Hernandez wore it for the Tigers in 1997 and Jose Lima wore it in 2001 and 2002.

Bob Reynolds was briefly a Tiger as he was with most of the other teams he played for.  He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1966.  He showed good promise in the low minors for the Giants going 8-1 with a 2.41 ERA in rookie ball and when he moved up to A ball he was 2-0 with a  0.32 ERA having given up only 1 run in 28 innings!  He had made it up to AA ball in 1968 when he was drafted by the Montreal Expos in their expansion draft.  He made it up to AAA with the Vancouver Mounties in 1969 where he was 5-3 with a 3.09 ERA being used mainly in relief.  At the end of the season he was given a call up to the Expos as the roster expanded.  In his debut he faced the Philadelphia Phillies as the starter.  He gave up a single to future Tiger Tony Taylor as the first batter he faced. He then threw a wild pitch that moved Taylor to third before he gave up a sac fly to Cookie Rojas to score Taylor.  He then walked Johnny Callison before calming down and striking out Dick Allen and Deron Johnson.  He came back out in the second and things got worse.  He gave up a walk then a foul fly ball for his first and last out of the inning.  He then gave up a single, then an error loaded the bases before Bob walked Tony Taylor to being in a run and another single.  At that point he was pulled.  In 1.1 innings pitched he had given up 6 runs, 3 earned, on 3 hits and 3 walks for a 20.25 ERA.  Bob never pitched again for the Expos.  He was in their minors in 1970 and 1971 with AAA Winnipeg Whips where I may have seen him play.  In 1971 he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.  He got in four games for the Cards and was 0-0 with a 10.29 ERA.  The Cards kept him for two weeks before trading him to the Milwaukee Brewers. In three games as a Brewer he was 0-1 and in spring training the following year was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.  In Baltimore Bob had his greatest success and spent the most amount of time.  In 1973 he was a solid bullpen pitcher getting in 42 games and going 7-5 with a 1.95 ERA.  He followed that up with another 7-5 season and a 2.73 ERA in 54 games.  But in 1975 he was in only 7 games and was 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA.  At this point the Orioles off loaded Bob to the Tigers for Fred Holdsworth.  Bob did get his ERA down to a 4.67 in Detroit.  But he was 0-2 for the Tiges and less than three months after the Tigers picked him up they waived Bob.  He was claimed by the Cleveland Indians and after appearing in only 5 games with the Indians was done in the majors.  His final career totals were 14 wins (all in Baltimore) and 16 loses and a 3.15 ERA.  I have looked and can not find a photo of Bob in a Tiger uniform.  

Bill Graham

Willie Ludolph was also known as Wee Willie while a Tiger.  He was anything but “Wee” as he stood 6’ 1” while at St. Mary’s College in California on what must have been one heck of a major team.  With him were several other future major leaguers in Bill Doran, Frank Mack, Karl Schnell, Pete Scott, Kettle Wirts  and Lew Fonseca.  Lew was born exactly 1 year before Willie and shared the same birth date.  Willie left college and went to the minors as a right handed pitcher.  In 1923 his minor league path took him to Bay City of the Michigan-Ontario League where he was 9-1 with a 2.09 ERA.  The following year he was in the Pacific Coast League with the Vernon Tigers when he got a call to join the Tigers in Detroit.  On May 28, the Tigers were playing a double header against the St. Louis Browns in Detroit.  The Tiges took the first game 4-3.  In the second game the Tigers trailed 7-0 after 7 innings.  Starting pitcher Ken Holloway was pulled from the game at that point and Willie made his major league debut.  He pitched the last two innings of the game and allowed only 1 hit.  The Tigers did not score so Willie got a “no-decision”.    About a week later the Tigers were playing the Washington Senators in Detroit.  The great Walter Johnson was pitching a 4 hit shut out against the Tiges.  Starting pitcher Earl Whitehill was pulled after giving up 5 runs in 8 innings.  Willie got the call and pitched the last inning and again allowed only 1 hit and no runs.  Two weeks later Willie got the call again when the Tiges trailed 9-6 to the Indians.  Willie came in and pitched the last 2.2 innings.  This time he gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks.  The Tiges lost the game 11-9 and Willie never got into another major league game.  Willie went into the minors and pitched for another 13 seasons mainly with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.  His minor league record was 226-163 while he had no decisions in the majors in his three games as a Tiger. 
 

John Mohardt is an interesting Detroit Tiger.  He came out of the University of Notre Dame where he played football.  He joined the Tigers in 1922 and played one week for them.  In his first game he made one plate appearance and drew a walk and scored a run.  He made two more appearances as a pinch runner before getting called in to pinch hit again and this time he got a hit.  In his last game he was called in to pinch run for Ty Cobb of all people.  He ended up scoring a run.  That was the end of his major league career.  He batted 1.000 and replaced Ty Cobb on the base paths.  That same year he was in Chicago playing for the NFL Chicago Cardinals who today are the Arizona Cardinals by way of St. Louis.  His NFL career lasted through 1925 when in his last year he was with the Chicago Bears where he was in the back field with Red Grange.   In between the Cardinals and the Bears he played for Racine against the Packers.  When this was found out he was declared ineligible for playing for Notre Dame.   He served as a doctor during World War II and retired from the Army as a Lt. Colonel. 

Bernie Boland

Arch McCarthy

January 20 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Franklyn German spent most of his major league career as a Tiger.  He signed with the Oakland Athletics out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 16.  He was a minor league right handed reliever for Oakland with lots of K’s.  But Franklyn never got to the majors for Oakland.  In 2002 he was part of the three way deal between the Yankees Tigers and Athletics.  The Tigers sent away Jeff Weaver and in return the Tiges got Carlos Pena, Jeremy Bonderman and Franklyn.   He went to Toledo and looked fantastic with 13 saves and a 1.59 ERA along with 21 K’s and only 7 BB’s.  About two months after the deal he was called up to the Tigers and made his major league debut at the age of 22.  It was against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium.  The score was 1-1 in the bottom of the 6^th.  With runners on first and second and two outs Franklyn faced Juan Rivera.  He got him to ground out to second base and end the inning.  He pitched the 7^th and gave up a lead off single to Alfonso Soriano who was then erased on an attempted steal.    He got Derek Jeter to ground out to second and then, after hitting Jason Gaimbi he  K’d Bernie Williams to end the 7^th.  The Tigers scored a run in the 8^th to make the game a 2-1 game and Franklyn was pulled.  The score stayed 2-1 and Franklyn got his first major league win in his debut.  He pitched 6.2 innings that September and did not allow a run.  He K’d 6 and walked only 2.  The following season things were not as bright for Franklyn.  He was on the 2003 Tigers that struggled to a 43-119 record.  He was in 45 games and was 2-4 with 5 saves but a 6.04 ERA.  In 2004 he spent most of the season in Toledo going 3-5 with 27 saves and a 4.59 ERA.  The 27 saves was second best in the International League.  He was up with Detroit from June 20 to July 7 and then ended the season with the Tigers from September 7 on.  In that time he was 1-0 in 16 games but with a 7.36 ERA.  In 2005 he was with Detroit the whole season.  He was 4-0 with 1 save and dramatically dropped his ERA to 3.66.  But he was signed only through 2005 and at the end of the season the Tigers let him go.  He bounced around after leaving the Tigers appearing in the majors only with the Marlins in 2006 and the Rangers in 2008.  In between and after he served in the minors with the White Sox, and Pirates before ending his career in the Mexican League in 2011 at the age of 31.

Chris Mears spent his entire major league career as a teammate of Franklyn German’s as a Tiger.  Chris was signed out of high school in Canada by the Seattle Mariners.  He spent 5 years in the Mariners farm system and reached as high as AA level ball his last season with the Mariners and had his best ERA of 3.14 that season.  The Tigers signed him as a free agent at the end of 2002.  In that poor 2003 Tiger season he started the season in Toledo and was 5-1 with a 2.78 ERA.  He was called up to help stem the bleeding of the 2003 Tigers and in 45 games was not bad for a bad team.  He was called up at the end of June and in July had 5 saves with a 2.81 ERA and was named Tiger pitcher of the month.  But August found no saves for Chris and his ERA climbed to 4.24.  September was not much better as his ERA continued to climb and he did not record a save.  In his second to last game of the season he was called in to pitch the 10^th and 11 innings of a tie game against the Twins. He was perfect for the two innings and K’d 3 of the 6 batters he faced.  In the 11^th Shane Halter hit a homer to win the game for the Tigers and give Chris his only major league win in his second to last appearance.  He spent the 2004 season in the minors for the Tiges and was never called back to the majors.  He was released at the end of the season and bounced around in the minors for the Braves and Cardinals before his baseball career was over in 2005 at the age of 27.  His major league record was 1-3 with 5 saves and a 5.44 ERA.  He later scouted for the Boston Red Sox.

Julio Santana was kinda twice a Tiger.  He signed as a 17 year old with the Texas Rangers our out of the Dominican Republic.  He did not actually play in the Rangers farm system until 1997 when he made the majors.  He spent a year and a half in Texas before they sent him Tampa Bay for another year and a half.  All the time he was a reliever and a stop gap rightie starter with an ERA over 5.00.  He went to the Expos in 2000 and it was more of the same.  He bounced to the minors with the Mets and Giants before finally signing a contract with the Tigers for 2002.  He had a great April for 2002 when he pitched 2 innings of scoreless ball against Kansas City.  In his next game against the Twins he came in to pitch in the 9^th of a 4-4 tie game.   With two outs and a runner on first he faced Matt LeCroy.  Matt reached on an error by shortstop Shane Halter and the runner advanced to third.  But Julio got Torii Hunter to ground out to third to end the inning.  In the Tigers half of the 9^th they scored and Julio got the win.  He pitched in one more game against the Royals in April and still did not give up a run.  In May Julio got two more wins and he did give up a few runs and his ERA climbed up to 3.24.  But it never really got too much higher than that.  At the end of the season he was 3-5 with a very nice 2.84 ERA and was one of the better relievers the Tigers had yet was released at the end of the season.  He re-signed with the Tigers in January 2003 and was a non roster invitee to Tigers spring training.  This was his second stint with the Tigers.  He did not make the team and was released by the Tigers in March.  He signed with the Phillies and did not make it the show with them.  Instead he went to Japan to play.  He did make it back to the majors with the Brewers in 2005 and made his last appearance in the majors in 2006 back with the Phillies.  He last played in pro ball in 2012 in the independent Canadian-American League with the Rockland Boulders. 

Bill Scherrer

Dave Boswell

Jimmy Outlaw

Bill James

Ernie Courtney

January 19 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Phil Nevin was very good utility player for the Tigers. He started his major league career with the Houston Astros in 1995. He played 18 games for the Astros before he became the “player to be named later” for our sending Mike Henneman to the Astros. It was an odd trade for Tiger GM, Randy Smith, as no known catcher was involved. Phil was highly regarded before even coming to Detroit. But in Detroit it was unclear where he would be used. He had played third at Houston but the Tiges had Travis Fryman. So Phil went to the outfield for the rest of 1995. In 1996 his versatility was appearing when he was the main back up for Travis at third as well as some outfield and he played catcher for four games. At the plate Phil hit .292 with 8 homers in 120 at bats. In 1997 he played outfield, DH, third, first and caught a game while his average dropped to .235. At the end of the season Phil was sent to the Angels for catcher Matt Walbeck and minor leaguer Nick Skuse. Phil was only in Anaheim for one season before heading to the Padres. In San Diego Phil became an all star. He hit .288 over seven seasons for the Pads while playing mainly third but still spending a few games in the outfield, first and behind the plate. Part way through the 2005 season the Pads sent Phil to the Rangers. Phil had one more year in the majors before his major league career was over. He spent that last year with the Rangers, Cubs and Twins. For his 12 year career Phil was a .270 hitter with 208 homers and 743 RBI’s. In Detroit he was a .246 hitter with 19 homers and 66 RBI’s. He skippered the Toledo Mud Hens last year and on this year’s HOF balloting he did not receive a vote.

Mark Grater played two thirds of his time in the majors with the Tigers.  He started his professional career in the Cardinals system in 1986.  He had always kept a good ratio of K’s to walks at whatever level he was at.  Usually it was above 2 and one year he was above 3.  He was a mid season call up in 1991 and in three innings over three games he did not give up a run.  However, he did give up 5 hits and 2 walks.  And several of the outs were runners caught stealing.  1992 he was back in the minors at AAA Louisville and again his K to BB ratio was above 3 and his ERA was at 2.13.  But at the end of the season the Cardinals granted the 28 year old rightie free agency.  He then signed with the Tigers.   For about two weeks in May of 1993 Mark was pitching the Tiges.  He faced the Yankees, Orioles, Brewer, Blue jays and Indians.  In 6 games and 5 innings pitched he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks.  However, in his last game for the Tigers he pitched one inning against the Indians and sent the side down 1-2-3 with 2 K’s swinging.   Today he works for the Washington Nationals as rehab pitching coordinator. 

Rip Radcliff ended his major league career as a Tiger during the war.  Rip was actually Raymond Allen Radcliff but his dad nicknamed him Rip.  He went into the minors instead of playing for a college team because he wanted to make some money.  He originally was in the Philadelphia Athletics farm system but when Connie Mack told him he was looking for a catcher Rip suggested Hank Erickson.  So Connie Mack traded Rip to the White Sox for Hank Erickson.  Rip broke in with the Sox in 1934 and was soon the starting left fielder.  He was an all star in 1936.  The Sox traded him to the St. Louis Browns for Moose Solters after the 1939 season.  Rip then led the league in hits with 200 hits and led all left fielders in fielding percentage.  Half way through May of 1941 the Tiges purchased Rip for $25,000.  Rip played through the 1943 season with the Tiges hitting .292 with 4 homers and 70 RBI’s as a back up outfielder.  At the end of the season the Tiges traded Rip back to the Athletics for Bob Swift and Don Heffner.   But rather than go back to play for Connie Mack he joined the Navy and went to spend the next two years fighting the war.   

Dan Boone played part of four seasons in the majors and one part was with the Tigers.  He played at the University of Alabama with future major leaguers Lena Styles, Frank Pratt, Riggs Stephenson, Luke Sewell and his Hall of Fame brother Joe Sewell.  Dan made his major league debut as a Philadelphia Athletic in 1919 and in 3 games was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA.  He was in the minors in 1920 with the Atlanta Crackers but returned to the majors in 1921 with the Tigers.  He appeared in one game and got a save.   He next appeared with the Indians in 1922 and 1923.  His final pitching stats was a 8-13 record with a 5.10 ERA.  He returned to minors and in 1926 started his next career as a hitter playing first and third.  He continued to play in the minors until he was 38 and hit .356 as a player manager in the minors.

January 18 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Marvin Lane played his entire major league career in Detroit. Marvin went to Pershing High School in Detroit and was drafted by the Tigers in 1968. He made his major league debut as a pinch hitter as a late season call up in 1971. The next day he got a start in left field and got his first hit as a major leaguer against Mike Kekich and the Yankees. He got in another six games and only got one more hit. In 1972 and 1973 it was more of the same, 8 games in 72 without a hit, 6 games in 73 with 2 hits. In 1974 he actually got some playing time and was in 50 games as an outfielder. He hit .233 with 2 homers and 9 RBI’s. 1975 found Marvin in Evansville, the Tigers AAA farm team and he hit .256. In 1976 Marvin spent most of the year in Evansville again but did get called up for 18 games. On October 3, the game of the season, Marvin was the starting left fielder. After going 0 for 4, he made his last plate appearance against Milwaukee’s Moose Haas. Marvin got a single. It was his last appearance as a major leaguer. For his career in the majors Marvin hit .207 with 3 homers and 17 RBI’s.

Chuck Cottier was a second baseman who played briefly for the Tigers in the early 1960’s. He started his career with 10 games as a back up in 1959. In 1960 he became their starting second baseman and hit .227. At the end of the season he was part of the trade with the Braves that brought Dick Brown, Terry Fox, Billy Bruton and Chuck to the Tigers for Frank Bolling and Neil Chrisley.  Frank Bolling became an all star second baseman for the Braves and Chuck got in ten games a Tiger backing up shortstop Chico Fernandez and second baseman, Jake Wood.  In those ten games Chuck went 2 for 7 with a walk, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored.  In June Chuck was traded to the Senators for Hal Woodeshick.   Chuck became the starting second baseman for the Senators before being replaced by Don Blasingame.  Chuck then got in a handful of games with the Angels in 1968 and 1969 before his playing days were done.  Later Chuck went in to coaching and even managed the Seattle Mariners for about two years from 1984 into 1986.

Nolen Richardson played six seasons in the majors spread out over 11 years with half the time spent as a Tiger.   However, in total he played a little more than one season.   He was from the University of Georgia before starting his professional career in the minors in 1927 in the Tigers farm system.  He was the opening day shortstop in 1929 and we went 0-2 but did get two walks.  However, he was caught stealing.  The next day he was 1-6 while driving in a run and scored a run himself against the Indians.   He started the first six games for the Tigers in 1929.  But he was still hitting only .211 and the Tigers were confused at shortstop.  Three players had 24 games or more at short that season with Heinie Schuble being the main starter with 85 games.  Nolen was the fourth man.  He hit .190 in 13 games in 1929 and spent most of the season in Toronto with the Maple Leafs.  He spent all of 1930 at Toronto and hit .277.  He was back with Detroit in 1931 and 1932 but was back up third baseman now to Marty McManus and Heinie Schuble who had moved over from short in 1932.  Nolen got in a total of 120 games with the Tiges and hit .241 without a single homer and only 30 RBI’s.  Nolen dropped to the minors for the next two years and returned for 12 games with the Yankees in 1935 before dropping into the minors for another two years and returning to the majors in 1938 and 1939 with the Cincinnati Reds as a back up shortstop.  He returned to the University of Georgia and was coaching there when he died in 1951 at the age of 48.

Danny Clark started his major league playing time as a Tiger in 1922.  He got in after playing nine years in the minors from 1913 to 1921.  He was about a .300 hitter in the minors as a third baseman.  He played the season with the Tigers in 1922 as a back up second baseman, and a few games in the outfield and only one game at third.  He hit .292 with 3 homers and 26 RBI’s.  But at the end of the season he was traded with Howard Ehmke, Babe Herman, Carl Holling and $25,000 to the Boston Red Sox for Rip Collins and Del Pratt.  He was in the minors again for 1923 but returned to the majors with the Sox in 1924.  He hit .277 as their staring third baseman.  But he was replaced at third by Doc Prothro in 1925.  He made one more appearance in the majors in 1927 with the Cardinals.  He continued to play in the minors until 1930 and died in 1937 at the age of 43.