Dave Borkowski started his major league career as a
Tiger. He was drafted out of high school
from Sterling Heights, MI in 1995 by the Tigers. He worked his way up the Tigers farm system
as right handed starter. He always
showed good control and had a K to BB ratio almost always above 2 and sometimes
above 4. He made his debut on the road
in Houston with the Tigers facing the Astros.
He went 7.1 innings and gave up only 2 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks and
K’d 8. But he got a no decision as the
Tigers lost in the tenth. He got his
first win on the road in Oakland when he replaced Jeff Weave in the fourth with
the Tigers trailing 5-3. Dave went 2.1
innings and did not allow a run and the Tigers came back to win the game
9-7. Dave’s greatest thrill in the
majors must have been his first win in Detroit.
He started the second to last game played at Tiger Stadium. In front of more than 41,000 people, he
pitched 8 innings giving up only 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out
6. Dave pitched two more seasons with Detroit
but only started one more game. He did
not get another win in Detroit. In April
of 2003 Dave was released by the Tigers and signed with the Baltimore Orioles. But he did not appear in a game for the O’s
until 2004. He was 3-4 with
Baltimore. After spending 2005 in the
minors Dave found himself in Houston from 2006 through 2008 where he was 8-7 as
a reliever. He continued to pitch in
the Mexico in 2009. He was a pitching
coach in the minors for the Astros in 2010 and last year.
Earl Whitehill was the ace of the Tigers pitching staff for
years. He started his major league
career in 1923 as late season call up and went 2-0. The following year, he led the Tiger staff with
a 17-9 record. He would never win 20
games for the Tigers but led the team in wins regularly through 1932. No other Tiger starter would start more games
than Earl for the rest of the decade.
While on the mound he was known as a “temperamental” lefty.
He would not hesitate to chastise teammates for bad plays or lack of hustle,
he would criticize umps for bad calls and even chastised his own manager, Ty
Cobb when Cobb came in from centerfield tell him how to pitch to batter. While with Detroit he married Violet
Geissinger who was the original Sun-Maid Raisins girl. He was traded after the 1932 season to the
Washington Senators for Carl Fischer and Fred Firpo Marberry. In the 10 years the Earl played in Detroit he
was 133-119 with a 4.16 ERA. At
Washington he appeared in his only World Series and he threw a complete game
shut out over the New York Giants, allowing only 5 hits and 2 walks. He also finally was a 20 game winner when in
1933 he was 22-8. He ended his playing
days with the Indians in 1937 and 1938 and the White Sox in 1939. For his career the Earl won 218 games to 185
losses. After his playing days Earl became a coach for
the 1941 Indians and the 1943 Philadelphia Blue Jays. You may know them better as the
Phillies. The Phils were a terrible team
for years and in terrible financial straits.
When they were sold before the 1943 season (No, Bill Veeck never tried
to buy them, contrary to what he always said.) the new owner held a contest and
renamed them the Blue Jays in an effort to change their fortune. The team lost 90 games in 1943 with Earl as a
coach in 1943 and then lost 92 games in 1944.
This was during 154 game seasons.
In 1945 the team reverted to the Phillies. Why the Athletics moved from Philly and the
Phillies stayed is a mystery to me. Earl
was killed in an accident in 1954 when a car ran a stop sign and struck him.
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