Champ Summers
Champ Summers was a fan favorite in Detroit and for good reason. He came to the Tigers as a 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 Reds traded the 30-year-old Summers to the Tigers for a player to be named later on May 25, 1979. On Oct. 25, the Tigers sent Sheldon Burnside to the Reds to complete the trade.
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.
In 1979, Summers was hitting .200 with a single home run after 27 early-season games with the Reds, but after coming to Detroit, he had the best three seasons of his career.
That season he batted .313 with 20 home runs (14 solo) in 90 games and posted a .614 slugging percentage along with a 1.028 OPS. Anderson played Summers primarily in right field with a few DH assignments sprinkled in.
The Tigers rewarded him with a three-year contract near the end of the ’79 season.
Tigers fans loved Summers and he continued to provide punch to a young lineup. In 1980, his numbers slipped ever-so slightly but they were solid: .297/17/60 with an OPS of .897.
His production dropped further in the strike-shortened season of 1981 when, at age 35, his average fell to .255 and his power numbers plummeted, too. Summers hit only three home runs and eight doubles in 64 games in what would be his final season in Detroit.
In March 1982 the Tigers dealt him to the Giants for first baseman Enos Cabell. Summers would struggle in his two seasons in San Francisco, posting a .231 average and four home runs.
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Random Game: Aug. 7, 1987
Tigers 8 – Yankees 0
W: Jeff Robinson (8-5) – L: Rick Rhoden (14-7) | Boxscore
A classic midsummer showdown between A.L. East rivals, who were gridlocked atop the division heading into this game:
| Tm | W | L | W-L% | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR | 65 | 44 | .596 | — |
| NYY | 65 | 45 | .591 | 0.5 |
| DET | 62 | 44 | .585 | 1.5 |
| MIL | 56 | 51 | .523 | 8.0 |
| BOS | 51 | 57 | .472 | 13.5 |
| BAL | 49 | 60 | .450 | 16.0 |
| CLE | 40 | 69 | .367 | 25.0 |
- Rookie Jeff Robinson was masterful, allowing just five hits and striking out nine while cruising to a complete-game shutout.
- Dave Bergman drove in four runs, three of them on a homer off Rick Rhoden in the fourth.
- Newcomer Jim Morrison, in his Tigers debut, went two for four with a solo homer.
- Chet Lemon went three for three with a walk and an RBI.
- Matt Nokes and Pat Sheridan also had two hits.
Miscellany
- Umpires: HP – Mike Reilly, 1B – Tim Welke, 2B – Terry Cooney, 3B – Joe Brinkman
- Time of Game: 2:31
- Attendance: 48,262
Birthdays
Mike Aviles, the late Cliff Mapes, Eric Erickson and Mal Eason.
Today’s Grid
⚾️ Immaculate Grid 346 9/9 — Rarity: 22
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See you tomorrow.
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