January 2011 – Page 3

Today’s Tiger: Johnny Wockenfuss

Johnny Wockenfuss

Born: Feb. 27, 1949 in Welch, W. Va.
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 190 lb.
Acquired: Traded by the Cardinals to the Tigers for minor leaguer Larry Elliott on Dec. 3, 1973.
Seasons in Detroit: 10 (1974-83)
Uniform Number: 45, 14
Stats: .261 avg., 80 HR, 284 RBI, .786 OPS

The first time my brother imitated the finger-waving batting stance of a Tigers player by the name of “Wockenfuss” I was convinced he made it up.

Not only did the name sound like a cartoon character, the flapping of the right hand on the bat was too much for my nine-year-old brain to process as a viable approach at the plate.

I soon learned that Johnny Bilton Wockenfuss was — and is — a real-life person.

Never a superstar, he was a Super Sub before the phrase existed. He played key roles for the Tigers and helped the club bridge the gap between emerging contender and World Series Champion.

‘Fuss was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 42nd round of the 1967 amateur draft. His road to Detroit wound through Arlington, Texas, after the Senators relocated following the 1971 season.

On June 6, 1973 he was traded by the Rangers with Mike Nagy to the Cardinals for Jim Bibby. Less than six months later — on Dec. 3 — St. Louis sent him to the Tigers for minor-leaguer Larry Elliott.

Ironically, Wockenfuss made his major league debut on Aug. 11, 1974 against the Rangers at Arlington Stadium — and faced the pitcher he was traded for a year earlier, Bibby.

He started at catcher, as he would 12 more times that season, and, batting ninth, went 0 for 2 with a walk. In his first big-league at bat (leading off the Tigers third) he popped out to shortstop Toby Harrah.

Wockenfuss’s first major league hit would come three days later at Tiger Stadium off Royals starter Steve Busby — an RBI single with two outs in the ninth (Jim Nettles, brother of Graig scored).

During the lean years of the mid-1970s, Johnny B. — wearing first #45 and then, from 1976 on, #14 — steadily gained playing time, primarily behind the plate for manager Ralph Houk. When Sparky Anderson was hired in 1979, ‘Fuss became more of a first baseman/outfielder/DH hybrid.

For the next four seasons, Wockenfuss had a .265 average. His best year at the plate for Detroit was in 1982 when hit batted .301 in 79 games.

In the spring of 1984, the buzz around Lakeland was of a team poised to make the leap to the postseason. Wockenfuss had been so valuable to the Tigers over his 10 seasons that no one suspected he wouldn’t be with Detroit on Opening Day.

But on March 24, 1984, roughly one week before the Tigers opened the season in Minnesota, ‘Fuss was traded with outfielder Glenn Wilson to the Phillies for Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman.

We know how that played out.

In Philadelphia that year, Wockenfuss played in 86 games, mostly at first base, batting .289. In 1985, he appeared in just 32 games, collecting six hits. When the Phillies released him on Aug. 19, 1985 — almost 11 years to the day of his debut — his career was over.

Two years later, though, he was back in the Tigers organization as the manager of Lakeland in the Florida State League. He appeared to be on a meteoric rise in the organization. In 1988 he led the Glens Falls Tigers of the Eastern League two a first-place finish. The next season he was promoted to manager of Toledo where the Mud Hens finished in sixth place. He lasted only 24 games of the 1990 season before he was fired on April 29.

And that was all she wrote for Johnny B. Wockenfuss as a member of the Tigers family.

I remember feeling bad in 1984 that Johnny B. wasn’t around to enjoy the Tigers World Series championship. Years later when the Pistons won their first NBA Title they had some of the old guard on hand for the celebration. Too bad Wockenfuss couldn’t have participated in a similar sort of revelry in October ’84.

Today’s Tiger: Chris Brown

Chris Brown

Born: Aug. 15, 1961 in Jackson, Miss.
Died: Dec. 26, 2006 in Houston
Acquired: Traded by the Padres with Keith Moreland to the Tigers for Walt Terrell on Oct. 28, 1988.
Seasons in Detroit: 1 (1989)
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Height: 6′ Weight: 185 lb.
Uniform Number: 35
Stats: .193 avg., 0 HR, 4 RBI, .449 OPS

Perhaps no other word best describes third baseman Chris Brown like enigmatic.

After a promising start to his career with the Giants in 1985, his .271 average and 16 homers earned him a fourth-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and an All-Star Game appearance in ’86, Brown began frustrating his managers and his teammates with a string of questionable and bizarre injuries. In fact, he never appeared in more games than he did that rookie season (131).

By the middle of the 1987 season Brown was shipped to the Padres with Keith Comstock, Mark Davis and Mark Grant for Dave Dravecky, Craig Lefferts and Kevin Mitchell. He didn’t fare well in San Diego either, hitting .232 in 44 games. In 1988 he hit just .235 in 80 games.

The Tigers were in complete freefall when they traded Walt Terrell to the Padres for Brown and Keith Moreland, whose best years were behind him. Why Detroit thought Brown and his “Tin Man” reputation would be transformed under Sparky Anderson is mystifying. His reputation for injuries — real or imagined — ranged from shoulder tenderness, a bad tooth and a sore eyelid. At least those are the more legendary ones — who knows if they were true.

In Detroit, the Chris Brown Experiment — such as it was — got off to a poor start when he arrived to spring training overweight. It ended after just 17 games, 11 hits and a .193 average. Worse yet, if possible, was a .909 fielding percentage in that time. On May 19, he was released. A few weeks later he was signed by the Pirates but never appeared in a big-league game for them.

He died in a mysterious Houston house fire on Dec. 26, 2006, at the age of 45. According to this MLB.com story:

Brown was employed by Halliburton Co. in Iraq, driving and repairing 18-wheel fuel trucks, and in a 2004 interview with The Associated Press, he said, “It’s a place I would’ve never thought 20 years ago that I’d be.”

His final career line: .269 average, 38 home runs, 184 RBI and a .725 OPS.

Today’s Tiger: Champ Summers

Champ Summers

Born: June 15, 1946 in Bremerton, Wash.
Acquired: Traded by the Reds to the Tigers for a player to be named later on May 25, 1979. The Tigers sent Sheldon Burnside to the Reds to complete the trade October 25, 1979.
Seasons in Detroit: 3 (1979-81)
Bats: Left Throws: Right
Height: 6′ 2″, Weight: 205 lb.
Uniform Number: 24
Stats: .293 avg., 40 HR, 132 RBI, .896 OPS

Champ Summers was a fan favorite in Detroit and for good reason. He came to the Tigers as career underachiever — at least at the major-league level — in an under-the-radar trade roughly a week before they hired Sparky Anderson in 1979.

The year before, John Junior Summers was the Minor League Player of the Year for the Reds’ top farm club, Indianapolis of the American Association. He led the AA with a .368 average, 34 homers and 124 RBI.

It was in the majors, though, where Summers struggled to out together a career — and it wasn’t from a lack of opportunities. After debuting with the A’s in 1974 — a team with a loaded outfield featuring Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Rick Monday and Bill North, among others — he spent two seasons with the Cubs (hitting only .217 with four home runs). Next up was parts of three seasons with the Reds … and a .199 average.

In 1979, Summers was hitting .200 with a single home run after 27 early-season games with the Reds. But on May 25, the Reds sent him to the Tigers and, at the age of 30, he began the best three seasons of his career.

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Today’s Tiger: Gee Walker

Gee Walker

Born: March 19, 1908 in Gulfport, Miss.
Died: March 20, 1981 in Jackson, MS
Seasons in Detroit: 7 (1931-37)
Uniform Numbers: 6, 11
Awards: All-Star (1937)
Stats: .317 avg., 61 HR, 32 triples, 468 RBI, .820 OPS

Gerald Holmes “Gee” Walker debuted with the Tigers on April 14, 1931, and though he didn’t see a great deal of playing time as a rookie (59 games, 189 at bats) he made the most of his opportunities, hitting .296 with 27 doubles. The following year he was even better, hitting .323 with 32 doubles and 78 RBI.

(Quick aside: Walker’s older brother, Hub, played alongside him with the Tigers in 1931 and ’35.)

As you can see, Walker was a hitting machine for the Tigers as he matured, only hitting under .300 once after his rookie season. Near the end of his time in Detroit he began showing a power stroke and a knack for driving in runs.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1931	23	DET	AL	59	189	56	17	2	1	28	.296	.345	.423	.768
1932	24	DET	AL	127	480	155	32	6	8	78	.323	.345	.465	.809
1933	25	DET	AL	127	483	135	29	7	9	64	.280	.304	.424	.728
1934	26	DET	AL	98	347	104	19	2	6	39	.300	.340	.418	.758
1935	27	DET	AL	98	362	109	22	6	7	53	.301	.329	.453	.782
1936	28	DET	AL	134	550	194	55	5	12	93	.353	.387	.536	.924
1937	29	DET	AL	151	635	213	42	4	18	113	.335	.380	.499	.880

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/6/2011.

As Walker was making his mark as a hitter, he was leaving much to be desired in the field averaging 14 errors a year in the outfield.

His time in Detroit coincided with two World Series appearances, 1934 and ’35. Against the Cardinals in October ’34, he had one hit in three at bats. The following postseason, he went one for four in three Series games against the Cubs.

Walker’s Tigers career ended on Dec. 2, 1937, when he was traded with Marv Owen and Mike Tresh to the White Sox for Vern Kennedy,
Tony Piet and Dixie Walker.

He played eight more seasons in the majors, two with the White Sox, four with the Reds, and a season with both the Senators and Indians. His major-league game was on Sept. 30, 1945.

According to Walker’s Baseball-Reference page …

Baseball Digest from August 1976 states that Walker had arthritis during his later years in baseball and after his playing days he worked in real estate in Florida and Mississippi.

He died on March 20, 1981 in Whitfield, Miss., a day after his

Today’s Tiger: Mickey Tettleton

Mickey Tettleton

Born: Sept. 16, 1960 in Oklahoma City
Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 200 lb.
Acquired: Traded by the Orioles to the Tigers for Jeff Robinson on Jan. 11, 1991.
Seasons in Detroit: 4 (1991-94)
Uniform Number: 20
Stats: .249 avg., 112 HR, 333 RBI, .867 OPS
Awards: Silver Slugger (1991, ’92) All Star (1994)

Who didn’t like Mickey Tettleton? He was built like a tank, stood ramrod straight at the plate and could crush the ball from either side of the plate. And, he wasn’t half-bad behind the plate.

Mickey Tettleton.jpg Tettleton came to Detroit in a steal of a trade from the Orioles 20 years ago next week, the Tigers sending once-promising righty Jeff Robinson to Baltimore in the deal.

After four nondescript seasons with the A’s in which he never hit more than 10 home runs, Tettleton was released by Oakland and signed by the Orioles at the end of March 1988. That season he hit 11 homers but struck out 117 times in 411 at bats.

In 1989, however, he became a dangerous hitter, clubbing 26 homers and earning an All-Star appearance. And while his strikeouts rose along with his plate appearances, so did his walks. In 1990, he fanned 160 times (a career high) but walked 106.

Why would the Orioles, who weren’t exactly brimming with offensive talent, want to part ways with Tettleton? According to this story, they “did not want to pay him more than $1 million to be backup to Bob Melvin.” Bob Melvin! And shortly thereafter his ticket to Detroit was punched.

“He has good defensive skills and is adept at working with pitchers,” acting Tigers General Manager Joe McDonald said. “In addition, he brings even more punch to our lineup.”

And how.

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Today’s Tiger: Tito Fuentes

Tito Fuentes

Born: January 4, 1944 in Havana, Cuba.
Acquired: Signed as a free agent on Feb. 23, 1977
Height: 5′ 11″ Weight: 175 lb.
Seasons in Detroit: 1 (1977)
Uniform Number: 3, 44
Stats: .309 avg., 5 HR, 51 RBI, .745 OPS

When the Tigers sought a player to oversee second base until Lou Whitaker was ready, they could have done a lot worse than Rigoberto “Tito” Fuentes.

Offensively, that is.

TitoFuentes The switch-hitting 33 year old trailed only Ron LeFlore‘s team-leading .325 average that season but was brutal in the field. He led all American League second baseman with 26 errors, and posted a .970 fielding percentage.

Fans that remember Fuentes’ brief stop in Detroit are more likely to recall his signature bat flip when he approached the plate, tapping the bat handle on the plate, flip it up and catch the handle. This was a move widely imitated during Wiffle Ball games in my neighborhood, and probably others around Detroit, too.

After his one season with the Tigers, his contract was purchased by the Expos, who promptly released him in Spring Training in 1978.

The Tigers were ready to hand second base to Whitaker but picked up infielder Steve Dillard just in case.

Upon Fuentes’ departure, Jim Campbell had some interesting things to say in the Associated Press story:

“I’m not going to knock Tito,” said Tigers General Manager Jim Campbell. “He did a good job for us, especially offensively.

(snip)

“Dillard does some things better than Tito,” Campbell said. “He’s a better fielding second baseman than Tito, he covers more ground. And he runs better than Tito did.”

Good thing Campbell didn’t want to knock him.

Of course, the truth about Fuentes’ brief tenure in Detroit is probably somewhere in this paragraph from the AP story:

There also had been reports that he was haggling with Campbell over a new contract. Fuentes’ salary demands were reported to be in the $200,000 range.

And there you go.

Just ask Rusty Staub or Steve Kemp how receptive Campbell was to salary “demands.”

Fuentes spent the 1978 season, his last in the majors, with the A’s.

Oh, and if you were curious whether Dillard’s range and fielding were better: they weren’t. His fielding percentage of .958 was 12 points worse. But at least he was a better runner.

Same Time, Next Year for Me, Morris and the Hall of Fame

It’s early January which means I have to write a post about how I’ll hold out hope that Jack Morris will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gobs of articles have been written in the past couple of weeks, the majority of which put The Cat squarely in the “great but not Hall-of-Fame great” category.

Sadly, many of them, such as this one by Joe Posnanski, make terrific arguments against Morris’ chances. Even sadder, I’m starting to believe them. As a result I’m resigned to the fact he won’t be elected this year, if ever.

But wait! I have some anecdotes of my own:

In the summer of 2008 I attended the SABR Convention in Cleveland and asked former Indians outfielder Rick Manning if he thought Morris belonged in Cooperstown. He hemmed and hawed and eventually said, “That’s a tough call.” I took it as a “no”.

Then, last spring — thanks to a twist of fate — I had coffee with former major leaguer Ken Phelps and I asked him if he thought Morris belonged in the Hall and he responded without hesitation: “Absolutely.” I told him that many writers disagree and he replied, “Well, they didn’t face him.”

Touche.

I think today I realized why I so badly want to see Morris in the Hall of Fame. It’s because Tigers fans that grew up with the players that formed the core of the 1984 team expected so much from them. Didn’t we honestly think the Tigers would win again and again in the 1980s — not just one other division title in 1987?

For crying out loud, there was Morris, Dan Petry, Lance Parrish, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Kirk Gibson — the best collection of Tigers players in a generation! And all we got was a single World Series championship?

Granted, I wouldn’t trade the summer of ’84 for anything, I just expected it to be the beginning of something great, not a one-time trip to the baseball summit. Didn’t you?

That’s why I want to see Morris or Trammell in the Hall. They deserve — and I think they’ve earned — a lasting baseball legacy. One that includes more than the magic they displayed in October 1984.