Tag: Dave Beard

Oct. 2, 1984: ALCS Game 1

Tigers 8 – Royals 1

W: Jack Morris (1-0) – L: Bud Black (0-1) – | Boxscore

Tigers lead series, 1-0.

Highlights

  • Alan Trammell had a night. He went 3 for 3 — with a triple and a homer — three RBI, two walks and two runs scored.
  • Morris was terrific: seven innings, one run on five hits, a walk and four strikeouts. Willie Hernández pitched two flawless innings.
  • How in the world did the Royals, with 20 fewer wins than the Tigers, get to host the first two games of this series? Baseball’s ridiculous alternate-year home-field advantage nonsense, that’s how.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Royals Stadium
  • Replacement Umpires: HP – Bill Deegan, 1B – Jon Bible, 2B – Randy Christal, 3B – Larry Zirbel, LF – Harold Jordan, RF – Mike O’Dell
  • Time of Game: 2:42
  • Attendance: 41,973

Birthdays

Alex Lange, Chad Smith, Victor Santos, Matt Walbeck, Dave Beard and the late Earl Wilson

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 549 8/9 — Rarity: 207

See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo: May 16

May 16, 1984: Tigers 10 – Mariners 1

W: Milt Wilcox (5-0) – L: Matt Young (2-3) | Boxscore

Record: 29-5

Highlights

  • The Tigers ambushed Matt Young for five first-inning runs, and then tacked on another five off the Mariners bullpen.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Richard Shulock, 1B – Derryl Cousins, 2B – Bill Kunkel, 3B – Terry Cooney
  • Time of Game: 2:52
  • Attendance: 22,001

Dave Machemer #9

Here are a few things to know about infielder Dave Machemer. But first, a nugget from his profile in the 1979 Tigers Yearbook:

Born in St. Joseph, on the west side of Michigan, Dave and his wife still live in neighboring Benton Harbor. The 27-year-old infielder has another Michigan tie, being a 1973 graduate of Central Michigan University at Mt. Pleasant.

  • Machemer homered in his first major league at bat, on June 21, 1978, when he debuted with the California Angels. He led off the game by homering off Twins starter Geoff Zahn. Spoiler: It would be his only career homer.
  • After a 10-game stint with the ’78 Angels, the Tigers drafted Machemer in the Rule 5 pick that December.
  • Machemer’s final game was on July 2, 1979, when he pinch ran for Rusty Staub. His Tigers career totals: 19 games, .192 average.

Birthdays

Jack Morris, Doug Brocail, Bob Bruce, the late Billy Martin, Dave Philley, Stubby Overmire and John O’Connell 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate 410 9/9: Rarity: 12

See you tomorrow.

Post-Game Reading: Game 2 Edition

  • Magglio Ordonez went three-for-three in Game 2, but he almost retired at midseason.

  • Interesting scoop here from Danny Knobler on Dave Dombrowksi’s dogged pursuit of Doug Fister. Teaser: “Over a three-week period, we called [the Mariners] a couple of times a day. Sometimes three times.”

  • Ian O’Connor says that Yankees’ Game 4 starter A.J. Burnett should strike fear in New York fans, not the Tigers lineup:

    A.J. Burnett is the Yankees’ worst nightmare, a pitcher with good stuff and bad everything else. He isn’t wired to carry the burdens tethered to a 2-1 division series lead, never mind a 2-1 division series deficit.

    And yet there he is lurking around the bend, ready to follow Verlander versus Sabathia with a misadventure his team can’t afford to weather in the early hours of October. If Mariano Rivera is the indomitable closer, Burnett is the indefensible opener.

  • Buried deep in this piece from Knobler we find out that Kenny Rogers is throwing out the first pitch Monday night before Game 3.

  • And to think I used to like A-Rod:

    “I’m assuming over the next day or two or three that there will be some big at-bats I’ll be waiting for,” Rodriguez said. “Two outs, runners in scoring position all over the place. It’s something that I relish.”

  • Nice article on Scherzer and Alex Avila in The New York Times.

    Avila tracked the ball, moving slowly, and stole a glance at the railing, before he stepped onto the plastic on-deck circle, which he later said felt like a slip-and-slide.

  • Jose Valverde declares the series over … but not really.

  • Great stuff from Ian on Scherzer showing the world that the Tigers are more than a one-man rotation.

  • Happy 42nd Birthday to former Tigers catcher and minor-league manager, Matt Walbeck. Today’s the 52nd birthday of Dave Beard, who pitched in two games for the 1989 Tigers.