Celebrating Detroit Tigers teams, players and games from 1977 to '89.
Month: May 2008
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Twenty-eight years ago today, Tigers GM Jim Campbell broke my heart. On May 27, 1980, he traded my favorite Tigers player, first baseman Jason Thompson, to the California Angels for outfielder Al Cowens. (For more on Cowens, check out this post.) The Hollywood native joined the Tigers full time in 1976 and played 123 games…
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Edwin Nunez turns 45 today. Remember him? He pitched in 69 games for the Tigers in 1988 and ’89, earning a 6-5 record with seven saves. Looking back on it, I would’ve guessed he’d pitched in a lot more games than that.
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Happy 61st (?!) Birthday to ol’ #41 Darrell Evans. Before Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez, the Tigers’ big splash in the free agent market came on Dec. 17, 1983, when they signed the 36-year-old slugger. As most seasoned Tigers fans remember, the free agency was anathema to the club’s leadership. Former Tigers GM Jim Campbell…
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…When, on May 14, we failed to acknowledge the 57th birthday of former Tigers infielder Stan Papi. The Tigers purchased Papi’s contract from the Phillies on May 29, 1980 and he made an immediate splash in Detroit. On Friday, May 30 against the Angels, Papi started at second base and batted ninth (behind the number-eight…
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…the Tigers acquired outfielder Russ Nagelson and lefty Bill Rohr from the Indians for RHP Fred Lasher. Nagelson appeared in 28 games for the Tigers that year, his last in the bigs, and batted .188. Rohr never appeared in a game for Detroit. After his trade to Cleveland, Lasher went 1-7 with a 4.07 ERA…
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When you search for “raw deal” on Google, the first entry is for the 1986 film by the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathryn Harrold and Darren McGavin. Twenty-nine years ago Les Moss got a raw deal in his second big-league managing job. Yes, second. He managed the 1968 White Sox for just 36 games,…
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How in the world did Lou Whitaker turn 50 — forget about 51, which he is today? Lest we’ve forgotten, let’s take a quick stroll down memory lane on his 19-year career with the Tigers: 2,390 games .276 average 2,369 hits 244 home runs If you’re keeping score at home, Whitaker averaged a hit a…
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You are one die-hard Tigers fan if you remember right hander Dan Gakeler. It’s scary because I remember him. A former number-one pick of the Red Sox in the 1984 draft (secondary phase), Gakeler appeared in 31 games for the 1991 Tigers, seven of them were starts. Wearing the number 32, he assembled a record…
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