Tag: Dave Bergman

The Monday Fungo

Today’s Game: July 20, 1985

Tigers 6 – Rangers 5, 15 Innings

W: Bill Scherrer (1-1) – L: Greg Harris (2-3) | Boxscore

When Brookens started the game at third, chances are he didn’t expect to finish it as part of the Tigers’ battery.

A routine Saturday evening game at Tiger Stadium, with Jack Morris pitching a typical eight and two thirds, and Willie Hernandez entering in relief of a 3-3 tie in the ninth got interesting in the top of the 11th when, given limited bench flexibility, to say the least, Sparky was forced to move Tom Brookens from third base to catcher … where he stayed for five innings.

Here’s how it happened:

In the bottom of the eighth, and the Tigers down 2-1, Alejandro Sánchez pinch hit for Bob Melvin with one out and pinch runner Dave Bergman on first — and homers! A two-run shot to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

Then, in the top of the ninth, Marty Castillo replaced Sánchez in the lineup at catcher.

Morris allowed the tying run in the top of the ninth and the Tigers failed to score in the bottom half.

Bottom of the 10th: Johnny Grubb pinch hits for Castillo.

Bottom of the 11th: Aurelio López replaces Hernández pitching, and Brookens moves from third to catcher, and Doug Flynn replaces Grubb playing third batting ninth.

So, Brookens caught three innings for Señor Smoke and two for lefty Bill Scherrer — talk about two different type of pitchers — and was flawless. No passed balls and no errors.

The teams traded runs in 10th and 13th, and the Tigers scored in the bottom of the 15th to win it.

Alan Trammell singled and went to second on an error by Rangers left fielder (and future Tiger) Gary Ward. The next hitter, Barbaro Garbey, singled Tram home.

A great win, but the story of the game was Brookens. His 1 for 6 night is a mere footnote in what was undoubtedly one of the most memorable games of his career.

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Ken Kaiser, 1B – Rocky Roe, 2B – Larry McCoy, 3B – Larry Barnett.
  • Time of Game: 4:14
  • Attendance: 38,602

Birthdays

Travis Fryman, Scott Sanders and the late Alan Koch.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 358 7/9 — Rarity: 251

See you tomorrow.

The Sunday Fungo

40 Years Ago: The Trade

Forty years ago today, March 24, 1984, the Tigers acquired relief pitcher Willie Hernandez and first baseman Dave Bergman from the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher John Wockenfuss and outfielder Glenn Wilson. 

And the insanity that was the Summer of ’84 began.

As if you need a refresher:

  • Hernandez won the American League MVP and Cy Young awards after saving 32 games with an 1.92 ERA and 140.1 innings in 80 appearances.

Here’s a longer piece from the Archives.

3 Things to Know About Bill Fahey – #17

  1. The Detroit native played high school ball at Redford Union, and college ball at St. Clair County Community College and University of Detroit.
  2. On March 24, 1981 — 43 years ago today! — the Tigers purchased his contract from the Padres.
  3. In parts of three Tigers seasons, Fahey appeared in 74 games and hit .212 with one home run and 15 RBI.

Today’s Birthdays

Jose Valverde, former Tigers LHP and scout, Dick Egan, and the late Dick Kryhoski.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 357 9/9 – Rarity: 48

See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Fungo

My Top-5 Tigers

Lately I’ve been giving a lot of thought to who my all-time favorite Tigers are and who would make a tidy list.

Putting together my top 10 would be easy. Narrowing it to just five would be tough but I wanted to give it a shot.

What’s the criteria for this list?

I decided that this was my purely subjective list based on players I enjoyed watching play for the Tigers.

For example, Mark Fidrych doesn’t make the list simply because I never saw him play live — and I decided ESPN Classic and MLB Network reruns don’t count.

The legend of The Bird and his place in Tigers lore is secure for me.

Here’s my list* — not in order of favorite-ness, but in order of how they came to mind — which has been revised right up to the moment I clicked “Publish” on this post.

Honorable Mentions

*Always subject to revision.

Birthdays

None!

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 356 9/9 – Rarity: 11

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo

Champ Summers

Champ Summers was a fan favorite in Detroit and for good reason. He came to the Tigers as a career underachiever — at least at the major-league level — in an under-the-radar trade roughly a week before they hired Sparky Anderson in 1979.Summers_Champ

The Reds traded the 30-year-old Summers to the Tigers for a player to be named later on May 25, 1979. On Oct. 25, the Tigers sent Sheldon Burnside to the Reds to complete the trade.

The year before, John Junior Summers was the Minor League Player of the Year for the Reds’ top farm club, Indianapolis of the American Association. He led the AA with a .368 average, 34 homers and 124 RBI.

In 1979, Summers was hitting .200 with a single home run after 27 early-season games with the Reds, but after coming to Detroit, he had the best three seasons of his career.

That season he batted .313 with 20 home runs (14 solo) in 90 games and posted a .614 slugging percentage along with a 1.028 OPS. Anderson played Summers primarily in right field with a few DH assignments sprinkled in.

The Tigers rewarded him with a three-year contract near the end of the ’79 season.

Tigers fans loved Summers and he continued to provide punch to a young lineup. In 1980, his numbers slipped ever-so slightly but they were solid: .297/17/60 with an OPS of .897.

His production dropped further in the strike-shortened season of 1981 when, at age 35, his average fell to .255 and his power numbers plummeted, too. Summers hit only three home runs and eight doubles in 64 games in what would be his final season in Detroit.

In March 1982 the Tigers dealt him to the Giants for first baseman Enos Cabell. Summers would struggle in his two seasons in San Francisco, posting a .231 average and four home runs.

You can read the full post in the Archives.

Random Game: Aug. 7, 1987

Tigers 8 – Yankees 0

W: Jeff Robinson (8-5) – L: Rick Rhoden (14-7) | Boxscore

A classic midsummer showdown between A.L. East rivals, who were gridlocked atop the division heading into this game:

AL East Division July 17,1987
Tm W L W-L% GB
TOR 65 44 .596 —
NYY 65 45 .591 0.5
DET 62 44 .585 1.5
MIL 56 51 .523 8.0
BOS 51 57 .472 13.5
BAL 49 60 .450 16.0
CLE 40 69 .367 25.0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 3/13/2024.
 
I was there for this one with a big group of friends in our usual bleacher seats, upper deck, dead center.

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Mike Reilly, 1B – Tim Welke, 2B – Terry Cooney, 3B – Joe Brinkman
  • Time of Game: 2:31
  • Attendance: 48,262

Birthdays

Mike Aviles, the late Cliff Mapes, Eric Erickson and Mal Eason.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 346 9/9 — Rarity: 22

 

Screenshot 2024-03-13 at 8.06.16 AM

See you tomorrow.

The Tuesday Fungo

Ruppert Jones – #32

The 1984 season was an embarrassment of riches on so many levels. And when the Tigers signed Ruppert Jones to a minor-league deal on April 10, 1984, it was almost too much to comprehend.

Jones started the year in Evansville for what amounted to an extended spring training. That didn’t stop my friends and me from wondering:

When will he get called up?

Where will he play? 

When will he play?

  • The answer to the first question was early June, after lighting up the American Association, batting .313, 9 HR, 45 RBI and a .986 OPS in his 45 games with the Triplets.
  • The answer to the second question was left field and centerfield, with spot DH duty.
  • As for question three: 79 games. He finished the year with a .284 average, 12 HR, 37 RBI and a .862 OPS. 

In the postseason, Jones played in just four games — ALCS games one and two, and World Series games two and four — and notched only a walk and a run scored in nine plate appearances.

After the ’84 season, the Tigers let him walk — not a popular move in my eyes at the time (or now!). In January 1985, Jones signed with the Angels and played for them until his final big-league game, Oct. 4, 1987.

Check out this full bio on Jones by Adam Ulrey as part of SABR’s Bio Project.

Birthdays

Zach Miner, Craig Dingman, Ruppert Jones, Larry Rothschild and the late Eulogio “Frankie” De La Cruz and George Maisel

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 345 9/9 — Rarity: 11

If I had put Jack Morris in the top-right square, I could have had a Tigers bottom-right-to-top-left-diagonal Hollywood Squares win situation.

See you tomorrow.

The Friday Fungo

Skeeter Barnes – #9

This post should have been written yesterday, on William Henry “Skeeter” Barnes‘ birthday — he deserved better!

So, here are 10 things to know about a fun player from some mediocre Tigers seasons:

  1. Drafted by the Reds in the 16th round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur out of University of Cincinnati.
  2. He debuted on Sept. 6, 1983, against the Giants, in a game featuring Darrell Evans at shortstop, Dave Bergman at first, and Champ Summers pinch hitting.
  3. From 1983 to ‘84, he appeared in 47 games for the Reds. On April 26, 1985 the Reds sent him to the Expos for Max Venable. He appeared in 19 games for the ‘85 Expos.
  4. Barnes saw no major-league action in 1986, and on July 24 he was traded, with former Tiger Dan Schatzeder, to the Phillies for Tom Foley and Lary Sorensen.
  5. In 1987, he signed with the Cardinals but only appeared in four games. After spending 1988 in Triple A, he appeared in five games for the Reds.
  6. Then, on Jan. 21, 1991, he signed with the Tigers. After starting the year in Toledo, Barnes made his Detroit debut with gusto on June 14, in a 5-1 win in Seattle. He hit a solo homer in his first Tigers at bat, off Brian Holman, with two out in the first inning.
  7. Sparky used him just about everywhere: 1B, 2B, 3B, Shortstop, all outfield spots.
  8. From ’91 to ’94, he appeared in 278 games for the Tigers batting .281 with 11 homers, 73 RBI and a .739 OPS.
  9. Barnes’ final career hit came on June 16, 1994 — a single to right off the Brewers’ Bob Scanlan.
  10. His final major league appearance came on June 20, 1994, as a defensive replacement for Cecil Fielder at first base.

Birthdays

Mark Salas, Lance McCullers, Justin Thompson, Juan Encarnacion, Chris Lambert, Bob Stoddard, Joe Staton, Jim Small and the late Pete Fox, Ray Francis and Ollie O’Mara.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 341 7/9 — Rarity: 275

Have a great weekend. See you tomorrow.

The Monday Fungo

Mark Wagner – #5

Infielder Mark Wagner debuted on Aug. 20, 1976, in a 3-2 Tigers win over the Twins at Tiger Stadium. He went 2 for 3 with an RBI, highlighted by a single, off lefty Eddie Bane, in his first major league at bat.

Here are four things to know about the guy nicknamed Peanut:

Random Game: April 26, 1977

White Sox 10 – Tigers 7 (14 innings)

W: Lerrin LaGrow (1-0) – L: Steve Foucault (0-1) | Boxscore

More proof of how baseball has changed over the past 50ish years: A 14-inning game and Ralph Houk used only three pitchers: Dave Rozema started and went 7 innings, John Hiller went 6 in relief, and Steve Foucault pitched the 14th, giving up three runs.

  • This was Rozema’s third career start and appearance.
  • Aurelio Rodriguez and Phil Mankowski teamed up to go 5 for 6 on the day.
  • Fellow St. Clair Shores native Jim Essian hit a paid of doubles in 6 at bats.
  • LaGrow went six innings in relief agains his former team.
  • Ron LeFlore had a rough day at the plate: 1 for 7, but he doubled in a run.

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Don Denkinger, 1B – Larry McCoy, 2B – Durwood Merrill, 3B – Dave Phillips.
  • Time of Game: 3:58.
  • Attendance: 6,396.
  • Start Time Weather: 60° F

Birthdays

Nick Castellanos, Jack Hannahan, Mark Wagner and the late Les Mueller.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 337 8/9 — Rarity: 132

See you tomorrow.