Month: March 2024

The Monday Fungo

Al Cowens – #10

Stop me if you’ve read this here before: When the Tigers traded Jason Thompson for Al Cowens, I was not a happy 12 year old.

But Cowens was an intriguing player to me because he was on those great Royals teams in the late-’70s.

Presumably the Tigers and Angels, at the time of the trade, thought a change of scenery would help both players — and it seemed to work.

  • Cowens was hitting .227 with the Angels with a homer, 17 RBI and a .597 OPS. As a Tiger, he hit .280 in 108 games, with five homers, 42 RBI and a .709 OPS. All told, his 1980 line was: .268, six homers, 59 RBI and a .684 OPS.
  • Thompson hit just .214 with four homers, 20 RBI and a .638 OPS, in Detroit, but warmed up quickly in Anaheim: .317, 17 home runs, 70 RBI and a .965 OPS. He finished the year at .288, 21 home runs, 90 RBI and .873 OPS.

Just four days after the trade, Cowens made his Tigers debut* against the Angels on May 30, 1980 at Tiger Stadium. He batted fifth, going 2 for 5 with a run scored.

*Thompson made his Angels debut on May 28 against the Rangers, pinch hitting for catcher Tom Donohue. He hit a bases-loaded double off Sparky Lyle, clearing the bases, and scored when Dickie Thon drove him home.

In 1981, Cowens appeared in 85 games for the Tigers, hitting .261 with one home run, 18 RBI and a .667 OPS … and that was it for his time in Detroit.

On March 28, 1982, the Mariners purchased his contract and he had a nice bounce-back year in Seattle, hitting .270 with 20 home runs, 78 RBI and an .800 OPS.

Cowens’ final game with the Mariners, and in the majors, was June 8, 1986. The club released him four days later.

Birthdays

The late Bill Lawrence and Art Ruble.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 344 8/9 — Rarity: 129

See you tomorrow.

The Sunday Fungo

March 10, 1983: George Kell to Cooperstown

On this date in 1983, George Kell was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Walter Alston was elected too.

In his 15-year career, Kell:

  • Batted over .300 nine times
  • Was a 10-time All-Star
  • Led American League third basemen in fielding percentage seven times

In Detroit, he:

  • Wore three uniform numbers: 21, 15 and 7
  • Hit .325 with 25 homers, 414 RBI and a .824 OPS
  • Was named an all star in six of his seven seasons

Random Game: Aug. 10, 1986

Red Sox 9 – Tigers 6

W: Joe Sambito (2-0) – L: Bill Campbell (2-4) – Save: Calvin Schiraldi (3) | Boxscore

My friend Doug and I attended this game, sitting in the centerfield bleachers for budgetary reasons, and choosing the lower deck for meteorological.

‘Twas a soggy day for the finale of a three-game set that, at the outset, provided foolish hope the Tigers could gain ground on the Red Sox, which entered the series four-and-a-half games up on second-place Detroit.

Instead, the Tigers were swept and this one ended with an eighth-inning bullpen collapse.

  • Neither Roger Clemens nor Walt Terrell were sharp: Clemens allowed seven hits, five walks and three earned runs in six innings. Terrell: six hits, three walks and four earned in seven innings.
  • The Red Sox led 4-0 until the Tigers scored two in the sixth, on a two-run homer by Alan Trammell, and Darrell Evans grand slam in the seventh to go up 6-4.
  • Bill Campbell (three) and Willie Hernandez (two) coughed up five runs in the top of the eight and Boston held on to win.
  • Rich Gedman hit a grand slam off Willie; two of the runs were charged to Campbell.
  • Darnell Coles went 3 for 5 with a double.
  • Boston left town with a seven-and-a-half game lead over the Tigers.

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Richard Shulock, 1B – Dan Morrison, 2B – Mark Johnson, 3B – Rocky Roe
  • Time of Game: 3:11
  • Attendance: 39,866

Birthdays

Bill Heath and the late Art Herring and Jim Curry

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 343 9/9 — Rarity: 22

See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Fungo

George Cappuzzello – #41

George Cappuzzello, the man who allegedly was on an ice cream and doughnut diet during Spring Training in 1981, appeared in just 18 games that year for the Tigers.

Originally, Cappuzzello was drafted by the Tigers in the 27th round of the 1972 amateur draft. He spent six seasons in the Tigers’ system before being traded with minor leaguer John Valle (minors) to the Reds for Jack Billingham on March 6, 1978. He returned to Detroit after being released by the Reds in April 1980.

Cappuzzello made his major-league debut on May 31, 1981 against the Orioles, in a start against Scott McGregor. He pitched only the first inning, giving up two hits, three walks and three runs, all earned.

He finished his Tigers career with a 1-1 record with one save in 18 appearances (three starts) and a 3.48 ERA.

After his March 1982 release from Detroit, he appeared in 17 games that year for Astros with a final line of 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA.

Cappuzzello pitched in his final game on Aug. 5, 1982 against the Giants, in relief of former Tiger Vern Ruhle, pitching a third of an inning, allowing two hits, and two earned runs.

Birthdays

Clay Rapada, C.J. Nitkowski and the late Jim Landis, Ron Kline, Hughie Wise and Lefty Williams.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 342 5/9 — Rarity: 455

Things I learned today:

  1. Bobby Grich never earned a Gold Glove.
  2. Eric Young stole 30+ bases 10 times in his career … just never with the Angels. The caffeine hadn’t kicked in yet and I misread the rows thinking the stolen bases was linked to the Rockies.
  3. Andres Galarraga never had 200+ hits in a season with the Rockies. The closest he got was 191 in 1996.

See you tomorrow.

The Friday Fungo

Skeeter Barnes – #9

This post should have been written yesterday, on William Henry “Skeeter” Barnes‘ birthday — he deserved better!

So, here are 10 things to know about a fun player from some mediocre Tigers seasons:

  1. Drafted by the Reds in the 16th round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur out of University of Cincinnati.
  2. He debuted on Sept. 6, 1983, against the Giants, in a game featuring Darrell Evans at shortstop, Dave Bergman at first, and Champ Summers pinch hitting.
  3. From 1983 to ‘84, he appeared in 47 games for the Reds. On April 26, 1985 the Reds sent him to the Expos for Max Venable. He appeared in 19 games for the ‘85 Expos.
  4. Barnes saw no major-league action in 1986, and on July 24 he was traded, with former Tiger Dan Schatzeder, to the Phillies for Tom Foley and Lary Sorensen.
  5. In 1987, he signed with the Cardinals but only appeared in four games. After spending 1988 in Triple A, he appeared in five games for the Reds.
  6. Then, on Jan. 21, 1991, he signed with the Tigers. After starting the year in Toledo, Barnes made his Detroit debut with gusto on June 14, in a 5-1 win in Seattle. He hit a solo homer in his first Tigers at bat, off Brian Holman, with two out in the first inning.
  7. Sparky used him just about everywhere: 1B, 2B, 3B, Shortstop, all outfield spots.
  8. From ’91 to ’94, he appeared in 278 games for the Tigers batting .281 with 11 homers, 73 RBI and a .739 OPS.
  9. Barnes’ final career hit came on June 16, 1994 — a single to right off the Brewers’ Bob Scanlan.
  10. His final major league appearance came on June 20, 1994, as a defensive replacement for Cecil Fielder at first base.

Birthdays

Mark Salas, Lance McCullers, Justin Thompson, Juan Encarnacion, Chris Lambert, Bob Stoddard, Joe Staton, Jim Small and the late Pete Fox, Ray Francis and Ollie O’Mara.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 341 7/9 — Rarity: 275

Have a great weekend. See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo

Charlie Spikes – #34

Charlie Spikes has always been a mystery to me. I have a baseball card with him in a Tigers uniform, and he appears in the 1978 Tigers Yearbook. Yet, I have zero recollection of him in a game.

I did a little research and found out why. He appeared in only 10 games for the ’78 Tigers.

Here are a few things to know about Charlie Spikes:

  • The Tigers acquired him from the Indians on Dec. 9, 1977 for Tom Veryzer.

Spikes injured his knee and was sent down to Triple-A Evansville after just ten games. He played in only 16 games at Evansville, and then had knee surgery. He was released by Detroit on September 25, 1978.

From the Charlie Spikes bio, by Joseph Wancho, as part of SABR’s Bio Project

And here is the totality of Spikes’ Tigers career:

DateOppRsltPARH2BRBIBBBAOPS
Apr 8TORL,2-5401000.250.500
Apr 9TORW,8-4512010.333.667
Apr 12TEXW,3-2401000.308.615
Apr 15TORW,6-3400001.250.544
Apr 17CHWW,10-9400000.200.438
Apr 23 (1)TEXW,9-6200000.200.504
Apr 23 (2)TEXL,1-2100001.200.533
Apr 24CHWW,4-1200000.182.490
Apr 26CHWL,2-7401000.192.492
Apr 28SEAW,5-4202110.250.629
  Totals3217122.250.629
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/6/2024.

A Little Bonus

Yesterday I reminded us of ’84 World Series Game 2 irritant Kurt Bevacqua and a game we’d rather forget. Today, let’s savor this replay from Game 1:

Birthdays

Jairo Labourt, Red Wilson and the late Harry Davis and Ed Willett.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 340 9/9 — Rarity: 45

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo

Wayne Krenchicki – #15

The summer of 1983 gave Tigers fans a glimpse of what was to come a year later: a young core of star players ready to move to the next level in the American League East. Detroit was in the race until September when the eventual World Series champion Orioles pulled away for good.

That season also introduced fans — ever-so briefly — to a role player with one of the best names in baseball history: Wayne Krenchicki.

He came to the Tigers in a late-June trade with the Reds for once-promising-lefty Pat Underwood. With Alan Trammell nursing injuries, the club needed some infield help.

As he always did with newly acquired players, manager Sparky put Krenchicki right to work, inserting him in the starting lineup against the Orioles and rookie Storm Davis.

On July 1, batting eighth in the lineup, Krenchicki went hitless in three at bats against Davis and the Tigers lost 9-5. He got his first Tigers hit two days later, a third-inning double off Tim Stoddard, in a 10-1 Tigers win.

In all, Krenchicki appeared in 59 games for the Tigers in 1983, seeing time at every infield position but played primarily at third. His time in Detroit was brief; in November that year, the Reds purchased his contract from the Tigers.

He finished his eight-year big-league career with the Reds and Expos, and retired after the 1986 season.

Birthdays

Leonys Martin, Marcus Thames, Gabe Alvarez, Roberto Duran, Joe Hall, Karl Best*, Ed Mierkowicz and the late Joe Orrell and Bob Swift.

*Best was traded by the Mariners to the Tigers for Bryan Kelly on June 22, 1987, but never appeared in a game. On March 28, 1988, the Tigers dealt him to the Twins for Don Schulze … who also never appeared in a game for the Tigers.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 339 9/9 — Rarity: 21

Four former Tigers and one Tigers nemesis.

See you tomorrow.

The Tuesday Fungo

Chris Brown — #35 (Part 2)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a short bit about Chris Brown. Today, I uncovered this July 2004 episode of ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” which highlights his career and his post-baseball life — which was too short. The segment is a little more than 20 minutes.

Birthdays

Mike Hessman, Brian Hunter and Jerry Ujdur, and the late Lu Blue, Rabbit Robinson, and Big Sam Thompson, who played for the Detroit Wolverines and Tigers.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 338 8/9 — Rarity: 125

 

See you tomorrow.