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 8th. 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 8th 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 8th
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 12th 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.
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