Colt Keith

Fixing the 2025 Tigers’ Morass of Uniform Numbers

The Tigers’ current uniform number assignments are dreadful and it starts with allowing pitchers to wear single-digits.

Here’s how I would reassign uniform numbers:

Number	Who Wears It	Who Should
4	Beau Brieske	Colt Keith
7	Manuel Margot	Trey Sweeney
9	Jack Flaherty	Jace Jung
12	Casey Mize	Jake Rogers
15	Matt Manning	Zach McKinstry
27	Trey Sweeney	Manny Margot*
26	George Lombard	Casey Mize
33	Colt Keith	Wenceel Pérez
39	Zach McKinstry	Beau Brieske
46	Wenceel Pérez	Jack Flaherty

*Margot could also wear 34, as could Flaherty or Andy Ibañez, though I think that’s too high a number for an infielder.

It would be nice to get a real number for #87 Tyler Holton, wouldn’t it? Perhaps Chris Fetter could offer up his #41 to support the cause.

Aug. 14, 1984: A Doubleheader Letdown

Game 1: Angels 6 – Tigers 4

W: Don Aase (2-1) – L: Willie Hernández (6-2) – S: Luis Sánchez (11) | Boxscore

Record: 77-42

Highlights

A decent start from Juan Berenguer, six innings, five hits, six strikeouts, is wasted by the bullpen. The Tigers were up 4-3 in the seventh until Bob Boone homered off Aurelio López to tie it. Then Willie surrendered two runs on three hits and a walk.

The Tigers tagged Angels starter Mike Witt with four solo homers: Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish and Howard Johnson.

Both teams had 10 hits; Juan Beníquez had four of them for California.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Rich Garcia, 1B – Tim McClelland, 2B – Don Denkinger, 3B – Mike Reilly
Time of Game: 2:53

Game 2: Angels 12 – Tigers 1

W: Bruce Kison (3-1) – L: Dave Rozema (7-4) | Boxscore

Record: 77-43 — 7.5 games up on Toronto

Highlights

A seven-run third inning put this one out of reach in a hurry, making it 8-0. Doug DeCinces drove in four, Bobby Grich plated three and the Angels got three hits each from Rob Wilfong and Reggie Jackson.

Rozema started and last two innings, giving up five runs on seven hits. Doug Bair wasn’t good either: 3^1/3 innings, five runs, five hits and three walks.

Darrell Evans drove in the Tigers lone run on an RBI single in the eighth.

Miscellany

Umpires: HP – Tim McClelland, 1B – Don Denkinger, 2B – Mike Reilly, 3B – Rich Garcia
Time of Game: 2:33
Attendance: 38,597

Birthdays

Colt Keith and the late Mark Fidrych and Skinny Graham

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 500: 5/9 — Rarity: 426

A clunker compared to yesterday.

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo: Jan. 31

The Colt Keith extension got me wondering if 45 years ago, and these early extensions were a thing, the Tigers would have considered signing Kirk Gibson to a long-term extension.

It’s hard to take this notion even half seriously given that Jim Campbell was the Tigers’ GM back then.

But still.

Today’s Random Nuggets

On this date in 1952, Harry Heilmann was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Today’s birthdays: Hank Aguirre and Ted Power.

Today’s Immaculate Grid

Four Tigers in today’s grid:

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 304 — 9/9: Rarity: 17

One Last Thing

I cannot wait to watch the new Netflix documentary, “The Greatest Night in Pop”, about the recording, in 1985, of “We Are the World” — perhaps the song of my junior year.

And here’s the video:

See you tomorrow.