January 11 Happy Birthday to Former Tigers or Detroit Wolverines

Warren Morris ended his career as a Tiger.  Warren was a good minor leaguer working his way up the Rangers farm system when he was traded with Todd Van Poppel to the Pirates for Esteban Loaiza in 1998.  He had hit .306 in A ball and then was hitting .331 in AA.   Pittsburgh brought up Warren early and he proved ready hitting .288 for the Pirates as a rookie starting at second base in 1999.  He also hit 15 homers and drove in 73 runs and finished third in rookie of the year voting.  2000 saw a drop in his production as he hit .259 and only 3 homers and 43 RBI’s while still starting at second.  In 2001 the bottom appeared to fall out on Warren in Pittsburgh.  He hit only .204 and spent more time in the minors than with the Pirates.  Before the 2002 season the Pirates gave up on Warren and released him.  He signed with the Twins and got into four games before bouncing around to the Cards and Red Sox and finally being released.  The Tiges picked him up as a free agent and it looked like the old Warren was back as he hit .272 for the Tiges in 2003 as the Tigers starting second baseman and he was a better fielder than his closest competitor, Ramon Santiago.  Plus Ramon only hit .225.  But in 2004 the Tigers went with Omar Infante at second and Warren’s major league days were done. 

Don Mossi was known as the ugliest man in baseball when he was a Tiger.  Don has ears that stick way out the side of his head, a large nose, heavy dark eye brows and a sad looking face.  He is the combination of Leonid Brezhnev and Woody Allen.  In a conversation with Charlie Maxwell I learned that in the days before bullpen phones they would signal from the dugout who they wanted to warm up.  When the call went out for Don the person in the dugout would merely cup their hands by their ears.  However, he was an all-star pitcher.  He started with the Indians in 1954 as a reliever with a good fast ball and curve ball and worked his way into a starting role in 1957 when he was 11-10 with a 4.13 ERA.  After one more year with the Indians there was a great lopsided trade when the Indians sent Don, Ossie Alvarez and Ray Narleski to Detroit for Al Cicotte and Billy Martin.  Don fit right into the Tiger rotation and finished the 1959 season with a 17-9 record and a 3.36 ERA.   The lefty stayed with the Tigers for four more years.  He was a solid fielder and his .990 fielding percentage as a pitcher puts him third all time for pitchers.  His final record in Detroit was 59-44 with a 3.49 ERA.  Before the 1964 season started he was sold to the White Sox.  He pitched one season there before signing as a free agent with the Kansas City Athletics.  Don’s overall record was 101-80 with a 3.43 ERA and 50 saves.

Neil Berry was a Kalamazoo boy before joining the Tigers.  He was born there, went to high school at Kalamazoo Central.  He attended Western Michigan University before signing with the Tigers in 1942.  He went off to the war and did not return until 1946.  He was in the Tigers farm system before breaking in to the majors in 1948.  At the end of the 1948 season the Cleveland Indians needed to beat the Tigers in the last game of the season.  Bob Feller was going against Hal Newhouser.  There were some in the press who said the Tiges stood little chance as they were starting two rookies in the infield in Johnny Lippon at short and Neil at second.  The two combined for 5 hits, and 4 runs as the Tiges beat the Indians 7-1.  The Indians would have to beat the Red Sox in a playoff to win the pennant.  Neil was the starting second baseman in 1949 and hit .237.  He was used as a utility player for the rest of his time in Detroit.  He was traded to the St. Louis Browns after the 1952 season.  His final stats with Detroit in five years were a .242 average and 63 RBI’s.  Neil never hit a major league homer.  He wound up his career in Baltimore in 1954 after a brief stint with the Browns and White Sox.  Neil went on to coach in the Tigers farm system and in 1958 took over as manager of the Montgomery Rebels from Schoolboy Rowe.

Schoolboy Rowe was an all-star pitcher for the Tigers.  His real name was Lynwood Rowe.  Schoolie got his nickname while playing on a mens team at the age of 15.  He was 6’4” and was known for his fastball and his “colorful” character.  While being interviewed on national radio in 1934 he asked his fiancé and high school sweetheart “how am I doin’ Edna, honey?”  “How am I doin’ Edna?”  Became the “where’s the beef?” of the 1930’s.  He started his pro career with one year in the minors in 1932 with Beaumont of the Texas League.  He was 19-7 with a 2.30 ERA.  1933 found him in Detroit.  He was 7-4 with a 3.58 ERA.  However, the next year he led the Tiges with 24 wins as they went on to win their first pennant in 25 years.  He won 16 games in a row that year.  In the World Series he and Dizzy Dean were the opposing pitching stars.  Unfortunately, Dean went 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA and Schoolboy went 1-1 with a 2.95 ERA.  1935 again found Schoolboy at the top of his game.  He was 19-13 with a 3.69 ERA and six complete game shutouts.  The Tiges returned to the World Series and Schoolboy was 1-2 with a 2.57 ERA as the Tigers won their first franchise World Series title.   Schoolie won 19 games again in 1936 but in 1937 and 1938 was bothered with arm trouble.  He returned to the mound as a new pitcher in 1939.  His fast ball was largely gone so he developed a knuckle ball and in 1939 he was 10-12.   He helped the Tiges win the pennant again in 1940 when, at the age of 30, he was 16-3 with a 3.46 ERA.  He had a terrible World Series against the Reds.  In game two he was the starter and gave up 5 runs on 8 hits in 3.1 innings pitched.  With the Tigers on the verge of winning the series in 6 Schoolie again got the start and got only one out.  He game up 4 runs in the process and was tagged with his second loss of the series.  The Tigers would lose that series in 7 games.  Schoolie was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1942 but was only 1-0 with Dodgers in 1942 before being traded to the Phillies in 1943.  He was 14-8 with the Phils before spending the next two years in the service during the war.  He pitched four more years with the Phils winning 10 or more games for thee of those four years.  His final totals were 105-62 with a 4.01 ERA with Detroit and a career 158-101 record.  He was a Tiger coach and scout in the 1950’s and managed a bit in the minors.  His last time managing he was replaced by Neil Berry in 1958. 

General Crowder ended his major league career helping the Tigers win their first World Series.  His real name was Alvin but he was called General Crowder after the General who initiated the draft in WWI.  He had started his major league career in 1926 with the Washington Senators.  After a season and a half he was traded to the Browns of St. Louis.  He was there for three and half years going 21-5 his first year in St. Louis and winning 18 his second year.  The next year, 1930, he was traded back to the Senators with Heinie Manush for Goose Goslin.  He stared for the Senators winning 18 games in 1931, and then a league leading 26 in 1932 and a league leading 24 in 1933.  He was then waived in 1934 and the Tigers picked him up.  He pitched three years for the Tigers and was in both the 1934 and 1935 World Series.  His best year in Detroit was 1935 when he was 16-10 with a 4.26 ERA.  He was an excellent fielding pitcher with a career .984 fielding percentage which puts him in the top 10 all time.  He was released by the Tigers before the 1937 season and never pitched in the majors again.