A Tigers Birthday Roundup
By Mike McClary on May 8, 2008 in Blast from the Past, Tigers Birthdays
It’s been quite a week for birthdays in the Tigers’ galaxy, starting with May 2. Let us review.
Remember these guys?
- Jim Walewander, 46 — A fan favorite in 1987 and ‘88, Walewander captivated the media with tales of his aluminum-foil window treatments and affinity for the Dead Milkmen, described in Wikipedia as a “satirical punk band.” The prototypical good-glove-no-stick guy, Walewander played exactly 162 games in his career — 141 with the Tigers, nine with the Yankees in ‘90 and 12 with the Angels in ‘93 — with a .215 average, one homer and 14 RBI. He actually had one more steal than RBI. He wore number 32 with Detroit.
- Keith Moreland, 54 — This short-timer had a brief Tigers career (90 games, wearing number 30) in the awful 1989 season. The Tigers traded Walt Terrell to the Padres for Moreland and Chris Brown. He was traded to the Orioles near the trade deadline for Brian Dubois.
- Steve Grilli, 59 — Jason’s dad pitched in 69 games for the Tigers (wearing the same number 49 that Jason would wear 30 years later) over the 1975-77 seasons with a 4-3 record, 4.51 ERA. He also pitched in one game for the Blue Jays in 1979.
- Gates Brown, 69 — Who doesn’t love the Gator? Left-handed hitting, number-26-wearing William James Brown played 13 seasons with the Tigers as a pinch-hitter extraordinaire. His two best seasons were 1968 (.370) and ‘71 (.338). For his career (1963-75) he finished with a .257 average, 84 homers and 322 RBI. He later served as hitting coach, leaving after the 1984 season because the Tigers wouldn’t give him a raise into the obscene $70,000 range. I may be off on the dollar amount. If I am, my brother will remember it precisely.
And some others…
May 4
- Brian Maxcy, 37
- Rick Leach, 51
May 5
- Dave Gumpert, 50
May 6
- Phil Clark, 40
- Tom Bolton, 46
May 9
- Ron “Action” Jackson, 55
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