Tag: Chris Brown

Aug. 15, 1984: Tigers 8 – Angels 3

W: Dan Petry (15-5) – L: Tommy John (7-10) | Boxscore

Record: 78-43 — 9 games up on Toronto

Highlights

  • The Tigers gently knocked around Tommy John: 10 hits — all singles — and four runs (three earned) in six innings.
  • Detroit got five hits and three RBI from the number-three slot with Bárbaro Garbey going 3 for 3 and Dave Bergman, replacing Garbey in the seventh, having a 2 for 2 night — a pair of triples! — and three RBI. Tom Brookens also went 3 for 3.
  • Peaches went eight innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk, and struck out five. Willie Hernández pitched 1-2-3 ninth.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Don Denkinger, 1B – Mike Reilly, 2B – Rich Garcia, 3B – Tim McClelland
  • Time of Game: 2:46
  • Attendance: 33,940

Birthdays

Roberto Novoa, Bob James, Duffy Dyer, Arlo Brunsberg, Barney Schultz and the late Chris Brown, Joe Casey and Jack Warner

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 501 9/9 — Rarity: 16

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.

The Tuesday Fungo: Feb. 20

The Chris Brown Experiment

Perhaps no other word best describes third baseman Chris Brown like enigmatic.

After a promising start to his career with the Giants in 1985, his .271 average and 16 homers earned him a fourth-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and an All-Star Game appearance in ’86, Brown began frustrating his managers and his teammates with a string of questionable and bizarre injuries. In fact, he never appeared in more games than he did that rookie season (131).

The Tigers were in complete free fall when they traded Walt Terrell to the Padres for Brown and Keith Moreland, whose best years were behind him. Why Detroit thought Brown and his “Tin Man” reputation would be transformed under Sparky Anderson is mystifying.

Here’s a longer profile from the Fungo archives.


Birthdays

Buck Farmer, Justin Verlander, Kurt Knudsen, Bill Gullickson, Roy Face and the late Muddy Ruel and Suds Sutherland.


Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 324 9/9: Rarity: 20

See you tomorrow.

Today’s Tiger: Chris Brown

Chris Brown

  • Born: Aug. 15, 1961 in Jackson, Miss.
  • Died: Dec. 26, 2006 in Houston
  • Acquired: Traded by the Padres with Keith Moreland to the Tigers for Walt Terrell on Oct. 28, 1988.
  • Seasons in Detroit: 1 (1989)
  • Bats: Right Throws: Right
  • Height: 6′ Weight: 185 lb.
  • Uniform Number: 35
  • Stats: .193 avg., 0 HR, 4 RBI, .449 OPS

Perhaps no other word best describes third baseman Chris Brown like enigmatic.

After a promising start to his career with the Giants in 1985, his .271 average and 16 homers earned him a fourth-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and an All-Star Game appearance in ’86, Brown began frustrating his managers and his teammates with a string of questionable and bizarre injuries. In fact, he never appeared in more games than he did that rookie season (131).Chris Brown 1989 Tigers 3

By the middle of the 1987 season Brown was shipped to the Padres with Keith Comstock, Mark Davis and Mark Grant for Dave Dravecky, Craig Lefferts and Kevin Mitchell.

He didn’t fare well in San Diego either, hitting .232 in 44 games. In 1988 he hit just .235 in 80 games.The Tigers were in complete freefall when they traded Walt Terrell to the Padres for Brown and Keith Moreland, whose best years were behind him.

Why Detroit thought Brown and his “Tin Man” reputation would be transformed under Sparky Anderson is mystifying. His reputation for injuries — real or imagined — ranged from shoulder tenderness, a bad tooth and a sore eyelid. At least those are the more legendary ones and who knows if any were true.

In Detroit, the Chris Brown Experiment — such as it was — got off to a poor start when he arrived to spring training overweight. It ended after just 17 games, 11 hits and a .193 average. Worse yet, if possible, was a .909 fielding percentage in that time. On May 19, he was released.

A few weeks later he was signed by the Pirates but never appeared in a big-league game for them.

Brown died in a mysterious Houston house fire on Dec. 26, 2006, at the age of 45. According to this MLB.com story:

Brown was employed by Halliburton Co. in Iraq, driving and repairing 18-wheel fuel trucks, and in a 2004 interview with The Associated Press, he said, “It’s a place I would’ve never thought 20 years ago that I’d be.”

His final career line: .269 average, 38 home runs, 184 RBI and a .725 OPS.

Today’s Tiger: Chris Brown

Chris Brown

  • Born: Aug. 15, 1961 in Jackson, Miss.
  • Died: Dec. 26, 2006 in Houston
  • Acquired: Traded by the Padres with Keith Moreland to the Tigers for Walt Terrell on Oct. 28, 1988.
  • Seasons in Detroit: 1 (1989)
  • Bats: Right Throws: Right
  • Height: 6′ Weight: 185 lb.
  • Uniform Number: 35
  • Stats: .193 avg., 0 HR, 4 RBI, .449 OPS

Perhaps no other word best describes third baseman Chris Brown like enigmatic.

After a promising start to his career with the Giants in 1985, his .271 average and 16 homers earned him a fourth-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and an All-Star Game appearance in ’86, Brown began frustrating his managers and his teammates with a string of questionable and bizarre injuries. In fact, he never appeared in more games than he did that rookie season (131).

By the middle of the 1987 season Brown was shipped to the Padres with Keith Comstock, Mark Davis and Mark Grant for Dave Dravecky, Craig Lefferts and Kevin Mitchell. He didn’t fare well in San Diego either, hitting .232 in 44 games. In 1988 he hit just .235 in 80 games.

The Tigers were in complete freefall when they traded Walt Terrell to the Padres for Brown and Keith Moreland, whose best years were behind him. Why Detroit thought Brown and his “Tin Man” reputation would be transformed under Sparky Anderson is mystifying. His reputation for injuries — real or imagined — ranged from shoulder tenderness, a bad tooth and a sore eyelid. At least those are the more legendary ones — who knows if they were true.

In Detroit, the Chris Brown Experiment — such as it was — got off to a poor start when he arrived to spring training overweight. It ended after just 17 games, 11 hits and a .193 average. Worse yet, if possible, was a .909 fielding percentage in that time. On May 19, he was released. A few weeks later he was signed by the Pirates but never appeared in a big-league game for them.

He died in a mysterious Houston house fire on Dec. 26, 2006, at the age of 45. According to this MLB.com story:

Brown was employed by Halliburton Co. in Iraq, driving and repairing 18-wheel fuel trucks, and in a 2004 interview with The Associated Press, he said, “It’s a place I would’ve never thought 20 years ago that I’d be.”

His final career line: .269 average, 38 home runs, 184 RBI and a .725 OPS.

Former Tiger Chris Brown Dies in Houston

I may have been one of the few Tigers fans who actually saw Chris Brown play in Detroit. It was 1989 and the Tigers were awful so if you don’t remember him sporting number 9, you’re not alone.

That’s because Brown, who died today in Houston from burns suffered in a house fire, played in only 17 games for Detroit that year.

The last I’d heard of him was that he was driving a truck for Halliburton in Iraq.

According to the AP story, the circumstances surrounding his death are suspicious.

Nevertheless, RIP, Chris Brown.