According to Baseball Reference, 54 players have worn the number 12 in Tigers franchise history. Casey Mize currently wears it. Let’s look at a few Tigers that wore number 12 during the Fungo’s focus, 1977 through 1994:
Milt tossed a beaut: Eight innings, four hits, one run.
The Tigers raced out to a 5-0 lead by the third inning, fueled by homers from Kirk Gibson, a solo shot in the first, and Howard Johnson a three-run job in the second.
Lance Parrish had a pair a doubles and Gibby went three for four.
Miscellany
Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Jim McKean, 1B – Durwood Merrill, 2B – Dan Morrison, 3B – Marty Springstead
Time of Game: 2:33
Attendance: 44,680
Bill Nahorodny – C #18
He didn’t play very long for his hometown Tigers, but catcher Bill Nahorodny can, at the very least, say he appeared in a game, for the home team, at Tiger Stadium. Here are a few things to know about him:
The Hamtramck native was drafted by the Phillies in the sixth round of the 1972 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron.
After several seasons with the White Sox and Braves and one each with the Phillies and Indians, he signed with the Tigers on March 1, 1983.
At Evansville, he ran roughshod over International League pitching in 1983 — 127 games, a .335 average, 21 home runs, 94 RBI and a .945 OPS — and it earned him a September call up.
A genuine pitchers’ duel in this one as the ageless Phil Niekro shut down the Tigers on three hits and six strikeouts in 82/3 innings.
Milt was almost as good; he went seven allowed seven hits and struck out seven.
Gibby had two of Detroit’s hits, including a solo homer in the first.
Miscellany
Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – John Hirschbeck, 1B – Steve Palermo, 2B – Dave Phillips, 3B – Jerry Neudecker
Time of Game: 2:54
Attendance: 40,315
Julio Gonzalez – IF #10
Shortstop Julio Gonzalez appeared in 12 games for the 1983 Tigers, who signed him as a free agent on March 15 that year.
After hitting .299 at Evansville, he debuted with the Tigers, at age 30, on May 13 against the Yankees. He came in as a defensive replacement at third. His first start came a week later against the Rangers. Gonzalez was hitless in three at bats with three strikeouts.
All told, he had three hits in 21 at bats and two RBI, and finished with a .143 average.
Defensively, he played six games at short, five at second and one at third. He had 27 chances at short and made three errors, and made one in 13 chances at second.
After losing two of three to the Blue Jays, the Tigers travel to visit another A.L. East rival, the Brewers, for a three-game weekend set at County Stadium.
Record: 44-16 — 6 games up on Toronto
So here’s another June 14 game. This one from 1978:
Record: 31-27 — Fifth place, 91/2 games back of Boston
Highlights
The Tigers scratched out just four hits off of Splittorf who threw a complete-game gem.
Billingham was roughed up for eight hits and four walks in six innings, and allowed five earned runs.
Mickey Stanley‘s fifth-inning homer was the Tigers highlight.
Miscellany
Venue: Royals Stadium
Umpires: HP – Dave Phillips, 1B – Larry McCoy, 2B – Steve Palermo, 3B – Don Denkinger
Time of Game: 2:05
Attendance: 21,025
Mike Laga – 1B #4
The first paragraph of the 1984 Tigers Yearbook profile on Mike Laga pretty much summed it up:
“Mike Laga has been called the Tiger first baseman of the future. And despite the presence of a veteran star like Darrell Evans, it seems clear the Tigers still have high hopes for Laga.”
I’d go so far as to say we still have high hopes for Laga.
We heard so much about the left-handed hitting slugger but he didn’t capitalize on his brief visits to Detroit from 1982 through 1986 — and as I recall, injuries were a problem.
1982: Laga made his debut on Sept. 1, 1982 against the Angels and faced Ken Forsch, flying out to left. Two days later he hit his first homer, a two-run shot, off the A’s Rick Langford. He played in 27 games for ’82 Tigers, essentially the starting first baseman in September.
1983: The bulk of his season was spent in Evansville with a dozen games in Detroit: 21 at bats, no homers, .190 average.
1984: Laga again was a September call up but appeared just nine games: but he hit .545 — six for 11.
1985: Another nine-game stint. Thirty six at bats, two home runs, .167 average.
1986: Laga made the Opening Day roster and appeared in 33 games before being sent to Nashville. The Tigers traded him to the Cardinals, as a player to be named later, along with Ken Hill for catcher Mike Heath.
His final numbers with Detroit: 72 games, .239 avg., eight home runs, 28 RBI and a .691 OPS.
dailyfungo.com 