Author: Mike McClary

Upbeat guy.

The Thursday Fungo: April 11

April 11, 1984: Off Day in Detroit

Note: I had mistakenly posted today a game recap for April 12 — forgetting that the Tigers had an off day on April 11 for the usual Opening Day rainout makeup date. Check back tomorrow for that recap.

5 Things to Know About Sid Monge #42

The Tigers purchased his contract from the Padres on June 10, 1984.

He debuted with the Tigers on June 11 against the Blue Jays. He faced one batter, Willie Upshaw, who singled to center.

Monge’s longest outing with the Tigers came on Aug. 7 against the Red Sox, in the first game of a doubleheader. Boston chased Jack Morris after an inning and a third, surrendering nine runs. Sid came in for four and two thirds, allowing six hits and three earned runs.

His final appearance with the Tigers came on the last day of the season: a one-inning stint against the Yankees: one inning, two hits, two earned runs.

Sid wasn’t on the Tigers postseason roster. His final line: 19 appearances, 1-0 and a 4.25 ERA.

Birthdays

Pete Kozma, Charlie Furbush, Sean Bergman, John Martin, Sid Monge and Mike Kilkenny and the late Barney McCosky

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 375 8/9 — Rarity: 161

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo: April 10

Game 6: April 10, 1984

Tigers 5 – Rangers 1

W: Dan Petry (2-0) L: Dave Stewart (0-2) | Boxscore

Highlights

The Rangers got off to a fast start in the first, greeting Petry with a couple of singles — one by Buddy Bell and, after a groundout, another by Larry Parrish — and jumping out to a 1-0 lead.

It didn’t last.

  • In the bottom half, Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell walked, leading to Darrell Evans‘ first Tiger Stadium at bat. Evans blasted Dave Stewart‘s 1-0 pitch deep into the upper deck in right and, I think I can speak for most of us, we could hardly contain ourselves.
  • Petry threw a four-hit complete game, walking three and striking out seven.
  • With one out in the third, Herndon doubled and the next man up, Dave Bergman, drove him in for the Tigers’ final run.
  • Record: 6-0

*Somehow, Howard Johnson did not make it on my Top-5 Tigers list Honorable Mentions. I’m correcting that now. I was not happy when he was traded to the Mets after the ’84 season.

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Marty Springstead, 1B – Jim McKean, 2B – Durwood Merrill, 3B – Tim McClelland
  • Time of Game: 2:32
  • Attendance: 51,238
  • Start Time Weather: 62° F, Sunny, No Precipitation

Birthdays

Eric King and the late Frank Lary, Cliff Bolton and Rudy Kneisch 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 374 8/9 – Rarity: 170

See you tomorrow.

The Tuesday Fungo: April 9

April 9, 1984: An Off Day

After sweeps of the Twins and White Sox, the Tigers enjoy an off day before the home opener.

Nate Colbert #9

In the depths of the mid-1970s rebuild, the Tigers acquired 29-year-old first baseman Nate Colbert from Padres for Ed Brinkman, Dick Sharon and Bob Strampe.

In six seasons with the Padres, Colbert hit .253 with 163 homers, 481 RBI and a .800 OPS, so hopes were high.

He made his Tigers debut on April 10, 1975, a home opener loss to Jim Palmer and the Orioles, 10-0 — but he did get one of the Tigers’ three hits.

The next day, at Shea Stadium, he hit his first Tigers homer — a three-run shot — off Catfish Hunter, who was making his Yankees debut. The Tigers won, 5-3.

The next day, Colbert hit a grand slam off former Tiger Pat Dobson in a 7-2 Tigers win.

Twenty-four hours later, Colbert’s average dropped below .200 and never rose above it. Two homers and two months later, the Expos purchased his contract from the Tigers.

His final game with the Tigers was June 13, against the A’s. He went hitless in three at bats with a walk.

Colbert, who died Jan. 25, 2023, finished his brief time in Detroit with a .147 average, four homers, and 18 RBI.

Birthdays

Hal Morris, Mike Brumley and the late Nate Colbert, Guy Cantrell and Vic Sorrell 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 373 9/9 – Rarity: 11

Happy to fit four former Tigers and a former Tigers broadcaster into this one. I beat my buddy Doug by a single point!

See you tomorrow.

The Monday Fungo: April 8

Game 5: April 8, 1984

Tigers 7 – White Sox 3

W: Aurelio López (1-0) – L: Tom Seaver (0-1) | Boxscore

Highlights

  • The Tigers chase Tom Seaver, tagging him for five runs on seven hits in four and a third.
  • Kirk Gibson hits his first homer of the year, off Seaver.
  • Bárbaro Garbey, who pinch hits for Dave Bergman in the fifth, still gets three at bats with two doubles and three RBI.
  • Record: 5-0

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Tim McClelland, 1B – Marty Springstead, 2B – Jim McKean, 3B – Durwood Merrill
  • Time of Game: 3:17
  • Attendance: 20,478

Birthdays

Artie Lewicki, Bobby Wilson, Dane Sardinha, Timo Pérez, John Hiller, Western Michigan University alum Charlie “Paw Paw” Maxwell (97!) and the late Bob Mavis

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 372 8/9 – Rarity: 141

Bert Blyleven never had 200+ strikeouts for Cleveland — but in 1985 he had 206 with the Indians and the Twins.

The Sunday Fungo: April 7

Game 4: April 7, 1984

Tigers 4 – White Sox 0

W: Jack Morris (2-0) – L: Floyd Bannister (0-2) | Boxscore

So much to say about this game.

A hot start, a Game of the Week appearance and a win would have been enough to satisfy me at an age, but at 16, well, adding a no-hitter by my favorite Tiger … come on.

  • As no-hitters go, it wasn’t clean — Morris walked six — but who cared? He struck out eight, facing 32 batters.
  • Then, with Fisk on third and Baines on second, Morris struck out Ron Kittle to end the inning.
  • Chet Lemon hit a two-run homer in the second, and the Tigers scored a pair in the fifth to make it 4-0.
  • Record: 4-0

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Durwood Merrill, 1B – Tim McClelland, 2B – Marty Springstead, 3B – Jim McKean
  • Time of Game: 2:44
  • Attendance: 24,616
  • Start Time Weather: 50° F, Wind 8mph in from Centerfield, Sunny, No Precipitation

5 Things to Know About Jack Lazorko – #36

No Tigers baseball card for Lazorko, it seems.
  • Jack Lazorko signed as a free agent with the Tigers on Feb, 7, 1986.
  • He spent most of the season in Triple-A Nashville, where he made 29 starts, finishing with an 8-6 record and 3.20 ERA — and one save.
  • The right-hander appeared in three games over the course of six days with the ’86 Tigers, his first on Aug. 9 against the Red Sox in Detroit: 1.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks and a strikeout.

Birthdays

Ben Petrick and the late Ed Lafitte

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 371 8/9 – Rarity: 171

Three former Tigers today, and my blank square was a guess for George Kell. He didn’t hit .300 for the Orioles, but got close. In his final big-league season, at age 34, he hit .297 for Baltimore.

See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Fungo: April 6

Game 3 – April 6, 1984

Tigers 3 – White Sox 2

W: Milt Wilcox (1-0) – L: Richard Dotson (0-1) – Save: Willie Hernandez (1) | Boxscore

Highlights

  • The Tigers score three in the first to spoil the White Sox’s (is that grammatically correct?) home opener.
  • Record: 3-0

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Jim McKean, 1B – Durwood Merrill, 2B – Tim McClelland, 3B – Marty Springstead.
  • Time of Game: 2:51
  • Attendance: 42,692

Birthdays

Ken Williams, Western Michigan U’s Phil Regan and the late Mickey Cochrane

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 370 8/9 – Rarity: 140

A swing and a miss on Chet Lemon in the bottom middle square.

See you tomorrow.

The Friday Fungo – April 5

Game 2 – April 5, 1984

Tigers 7 – Twins 3

W: Dan Petry (1-0) – L: Frank Viola (0-1) | Boxscore

  • Kirk Gibson, batting eighth, with a two-out, three-run homer off Viola in fourth.
  • Petry: 7 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 4 walks, 1 strikeout.
  • Record: 2-0

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Larry McCoy, 1B – Nick Bremigan, 2B – Vic Voltaggio, 3B – Joe Brinkman
  • Time of Game: 2:33
  • Attendance: 8,373

3 Things to Know About Larry Pashnick #22

  • He appeared in 40 games for the Tigers across the 1982 and ‘83 seasons, 19 of them starts, finishing with a 5-7 record and a 4.17 ERA.
  • On Dec. 8, 1983, the Tigers traded him to the Twins for Rusty Kuntz.

Birthdays

Beau Brieske

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 369 8/9 – Rarity: 131

I was thwarted by thinking former Tiger Mike Moore had won 20 games while pitching for the A’s. Alas, he topped out at 19 wins for 1989 World Series champs.

Have a great weekend. See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo – April 4

April 4, 1984: Off Day in Minneapolis

The Tigers and Twins had an off day between Opening Day and the final two games of the series.

It makes as little sense now as it did back then — why a day off when the Twins played indoors?

Today’s Random Game: Aug. 16, 1981

Tigers 5 – Yankees 4

W: Aurelio Lopez – L: Ron Davis | Boxscore

Highlights

  • Then with one out in the bottom of the ninth …

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Ken Kaiser, 1B – Mark Johnson, 2B – Bill Haller, 3B – Dan Morrison
  • Time of Game: 2:54
  • Attendance: 21,077
  • Start Time Weather: 68° F, Cloudy, No Precipitation

Birthdays

Cameron Maybin and Louis Coleman

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 368 9/9 – Rarity: 15

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo – April 3

Reliving 1984, 1 Game at a Time

Game 1 – April 3, 1984: Tigers 8 – Twins 1

WDIV Channel 4 – Tigers Pregame

Birthdays

Victor Alcantara, Doug Baker, Gary Pettis and the late Dick Conger 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 367 9/9 – Rarity: 39

See you tomorrow

The Tuesday Fungo: April 2

5 Things to Know About Jerry Turner – #20

The late* left-handed hitting outfielder John Webber “Jerry” Turner played seven-ish seasons with the Padres and part of one with the White Sox before signing with the Tigers on Feb. 12, 1982.

Here are five things to know about his one year in Detroit:

1. He made his Tigers debut on April 12, 1982 against the Blue Jays, as the DH and batting sixth. He went one for four with a run scored.

2. He hit his first Tigers homer on April 24 against the Yankees’ Doyle Alexander.

3. Turner’s most productive day came on June 9 against the Indians: three for four with a homer.

4. His final Tigers game came on Sept. 26, also against the Indians. He went hitless in three at bats but with a walk.

5. Turner’s totals in Detroit: 85 games, .248 average, eight home runs, 27 RBI and a .687 OPS.

*Turner died Aug. 20, 2023

Today’s Random Game: July 24, 1982

Tigers 3 – Rangers 1

W: Larry Pashnick (3-3) – L: Doc Medich (7-8) | Boxscore

Highlights

  • Jerry Turner homered as part of two for three night — plus a walk.
  • Pashnick went the distance, scattering nine hits, walking two and striking out one.

Miscellany

  • Location: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Bill Haller, 1B – Jerry Neudecker, 2B – Dan Morrison, 3B – Ken Kaiser
  • Time of Game: 2:26
  • Attendance: 35,470

Birthdays

Pete Incaviglia and the late Billy Pierce, Earl Johnson, Cotton Pippen, Harry Moran, Ed Siever and Hughie Jennings 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 366 7/9 — Rarity: 244

Swings and misses: Jerry Mumphrey bottom left, José Lima bottom middle. Can you identify the one former Tiger? (Answer below)

Him.

See you tomorrow.