Sometimes I want to rail on Major League Baseball about the lameness of so many things it does — the vapid celebrity softball game, the interminable Home Run Derby, the “this-time-it-counts” angle on the All-Star Game — but then I realize it’s probably me just getting old. The Tigers’ collection of All Stars is the largest since 1985 when the club sent six players to the Metrodome for the game managed by Sparky Anderson. Here’s a look at the largest classes of Tigers All Stars since 1984 and the team’s record that season: 1984 (104-58) Willie Hernandez Chet Lemon Jack Morris Lance Parrish Alan Trammell Lou Whitaker 1985 (84-77) Willie Hernandez Jack Morris Lance Parrish Dan Petry Alan Trammell Lou Whitaker 2007 (88-74) Carlos Guillen…
The next best thing to Kirk Gibson being the Tigers’ manager is watching him lead my local team, the Diamondbacks. He’s getting lots of attention as the Dbacks arrive in camp as 2011 marks his first full season as the club’s skipper. The focus seems to be on how he and his staff, which includes bench coach Alan Trammell, will shape this relatively young team — Melvin Mora notwithstanding — and emphasize the positive. In his blog today, the Arizona Republic‘s Nick Piecoro writes about how Gibby is falling in line with the organization’s new fan friendly mindset — specifically, autographs. As one whose autograph requests of Gibson as recently as three years ago (actually it was a photo request at Spring Training; I was wearing a Fungo…
Jason Thompson Born: July 6, 1954 in Hollywood, Calif. Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 6′ 4″ Weight: 200 lb. Acquired: Drafted by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 1975 amateur draft. Seasons in Detroit: 5 (1976-80) Uniform Number: 30 Stats: .256 avg., 98 HR, 354 RBI, .779 OPS Awards: Three-time All Star (1977, ’78 and ’82) On May 27, 1980, Tigers GM Jim Campbell traded my favorite player, first baseman Jason Thompson, to the California Angels for outfielder Al Cowens. The Hollywood native joined the Tigers full time in 1976 and played 123 games that year, hitting .218, with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. Two of the homers cleared the rightfield roof at Tiger Stadium. It was in 1977, though, that…
Morris Madden Born: Aug. 31, 1960 in Laurens, S.C. Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 155 lb. Acquired: Signed as a free agent on Nov. 23, 1985. Seasons in Detroit: 1 (1987) Uniform Number: 42 Stats: 0-0, 16.20 ERA, 1.2 IP Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember Morris Madden‘s mini-career with the Tigers. He pitched just twice for Detroit during the 1987 season and one look at his stats tells you why. On June 11 versus Milwaukee at Tiger Stadium, he came in during the sixth inning to relieve Eric King (who had relieved starter Jeff Robinson) with the bases loaded and promptly walked Brewers second baseman Jim Gantner. In his one inning of work, he allowed two earned runs and…
So after all the Hall of Fame ballots were counted, Tigers fans could only take solace in that Jack Morris saw his percentage of votes jump to 53.5 percent. That could bode well for the future but probably not next year. Anyway, all the debates about whether Morris or Alan Trammell belong in Cooperstown got me wondering who the most-similar players are two these Tigers greats. Thanks to the invaluable Baseball-Reference.com, we can get a quick look at how a player’s stats compare to others in baseball history. I decided to look at how Baseball Reference compares Morris, Trammell and the BBWA-voter-shafted Lou Whitaker.
