Author: Mike McClary

Upbeat guy.

Gibby an All-Star at Last

Nice feature on Kirk Gibson in today’s Arizona Republic. He’ll be on Bruce Bochy‘s staff for the All-Star Game in Phoenix next Tuesday and it will be the first time Gibby appears at an All-Start Game in uniform.

Back in 1985 and ’88, Gibson had better things to do. He politely turned down offers from managers Sparky Anderson and Whitey Herzog to rest, go hunting and spend time with family.

Gibson also wasn’t afraid to fire off a salvo or two, like when he said, “There are players in this game that want to be stars – let them go play.”

Today, he probably wouldn’t say such a thing, although he still refuses to publicly endorse any of his own players as reserves for next week’s game.

Patrick Leyland Learning His Trade

If you’ve been wondering how the Tigers’ eighth-round pick in 2010, Patrick Leyland, has been progressing here’s an update from The Norwich Bulletin:

The consensus between Connecticut manager Andrew Graham and Detroit’s roving catching coordinator, Joe Depastino, is that Leyland is blessed with a wealth of talent. Because the 6-foot-2, 200-pound catcher didn’t see as many games playing high school ball as players from warmer climates, Leyland needs to get used to playing every day.

The things Leyland does behind that plate that will likely determine how far he goes.

“He’s a little raw and it all starts with his set-up,” Depastino said. “He’s got a good arm, blocking — everything is good. Right now he’s working on his set-up a little bit more. If he gets that good set-up and good base, which he’s been working on in the last few days, that’s going to help.”

He’s played only four games this season due to a calf injury.

Leyland’s teammates include Colin Kaline and Bo McClendon.

If you’re looking at the team’s website, check out the old English C on the lids. Not pretty.

R.I.P. Peter Falk

There’s a lot to talk about this weekend with the Tigers taking on Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammell‘s smoke-and-mirror Diamondbacks. We’ll get to that.

Today I’d like to honor Peter Falk who died this afternoon at 83.

Here’s one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies, The In-Laws — the original 1979 film, not the recent Michael Douglas/Albert Brooks abomination.

 

 

Dmitri Young in the Hall of Fame Classic. Come again … ?

This morning I received my Baseball Hall of Fame newsletter, Inside Pitch, and the lead story recapped yesterday’s Hall of Fame Classic in Cooperstown.

Before the game they held a parade that featured Hall of Famers Jim Rice, Ozzie Smith, Goose Gossage, Phil Niekro, Andre Dawson and Dick Williams.

Scanning through the article I could’ve sworn I saw Dmitri Young‘s name.

Dmitri Young? At the Hall of Fame Classic?

Lo and behold …

Soon enough the crowds headed to historic Doubleday Field for the day’s main event, which began with a Legends Hitting Contest won by two-time All-Star Dmitri Young in a finals showdown with Reggie Sanders.

“It felt great,” Young said minutes later. “It took a couple of swings but once you get in the swing of things and the mentality comes back with all the baseball players. I just started feeling comfortable up there.

“I was here in for the Hall of Fame Game in 2005 and came in second against Big Papi (David Ortiz). But now I’m the champ and have a watch to prove it.”

At this point I had to find out which players were a part of this game. The answer included several obscure former Tigers players including pitchers John Doherty, Jon Warden and Jack Lazorko, and infielder Frank Catalanotto.

You can see the box score here (be warned it’s not a web page — it fires up an Excel document) and you’ll see several well-known names — from Bill Lee to Dale Murphy to Dave Henderson.

And with names like that you can understand my curiosity about DY.

Classic, I suppose, but not in traditionally classic fashion.

Avila at Third? Not All That Uncommon in Tigers History

Tonight Alex Avila is the Tigers’ starting third baseman in the opener of a three-game series in Denver against the Rockies.

Avila’s never played third in the majors but he’s not the first Tigers player to be pressed into action there. Did you know that Al Kaline appeared in two games at third during his career?

In 1961, he played a full nine innings at third, fielding a pair of chances cleanly, with a putout and an assist. Four years later he played 5.1 innings of a game with three chances, two putouts and an assist.

Johnny Wockenfuss, who played mostly at first, catcher and in the outfield, became even more of a utility man for Sparky Anderson when he played … parts of two games – all of 2.1 innings – at third base but never saw any action.

Like Kaline, in 1965 Willie Horton played third but outlasted him be two-thirds of an inning. In one game he played six innings, fielded two chances and earned an assist on both.

Others taking a turn at the hot corner include:

  • Mickey Stanley: 18 games over two seasons (1975 and ’76), 61 chances, 13 putouts, 46 assists and two errors
  • Alan Trammell: 43 games in two seasons (1993, ’96), 100 chances, 26 putouts, 69 assists, five errors
  • Ty Cobb: 1 game in 1918, two chances, with an assist and a putout.
  • Charlie Gehringer: 6 error-free games (and 26 chances) in 1926 for The Mechanical Man

I’m looking forward to this experiment. Having Avila’s bat in the lineup is huge and having him at third, well, can’t be any worse than Ryan Raburn.

What do you think?

Sunday’s Tiger: Glenn Wilson

Glenn Wilson

  • Born: December 22, 1958 in Baytown, Texas
  • Bats: Right Throws: Right
  • Height: 6′ 1″ Weight: 190 lbs.
  • Acquired: Drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (18th pick) of the 1980 amateur draft.
  • Seasons in Detroit: 2 (1982-83)
  • Uniform Number: 12
  • Stats: .278 avg., 23 HR, 99 RBI, .739 OPS

Twenty-seven years ago this past March, the Tigers orchestrated the trade that all but secured their 1984 World Series championship.

GlennWilsonIn case you’ve forgotten, on March 24 that year, the Tigers sent Glenn Wilson and catcher/first baseman extraordinaire John Wockenfuss to the Phillies for lefty reliever Willie Hernandez and first baseman Dave Bergman.

Certainly it worked out well that year, but I was disappointed that the Tigers traded one of my favorite players –Wilson – and one that Tigers many fans loved for his versatility, his name and his funky batting stance, Wockenfuss.

But back to the beginning.

Wilson made his major-league debut for the Tigers on Opening Day in Detroit against the Blue Jays on April 15, 1982. A rash of injuries to Tigers regulars — Eddie Miller (!) and Rick Leach — led the club to recall the 23-year-old Wilson and Howard Johnson from Triple-A Evansville.

“I was with the Tigers, not on the roster, during spring training,” Wilson told Tom Loomis of the Toledo Blade. “I never expected to be up here this year. I figured what I had to do was work hard down there and I’d get a good shot at the majors next year.”

Continue reading “Sunday’s Tiger: Glenn Wilson” →

Jim Northrup Link Roundup

There’s been a lot written about Jim Northrup in the past 24 hours. Here are some of the more notable pieces: