Gary Sutherland

R.I.P., Gary Sutherland #3

The other day I saw on Baseball Reference’s In Memoriam section that former Tigers infielder Gary Sutherland died on Dec. 16 at 80.

Sutherland wore number 3 and played in 320 games for the Tigers in 1974, ’75 and part of ’76. He (and Jim Ray) came to Detroit from Houston on Dec. 3, 1973 for Fred Scherman and cash.

In ’74, he played 149 games, with 619 at-bats and a .254 batting average, drew 26 walks, and scored 60 runs.

The next year Sutherland played 129 games and 509 at-bats, posting slightly better numbers with a .258 batting average and scoring 51 runs.

His 1976 season began with Detroit but he struggled, hitting just .205 in 42 games before being traded to Milwaukee on June 10, 1976 for Pedro García. As Sutherland’s successor, García performed even worse, managing only a .198 average.

Here’s more.

Sept. 27, 1984: Yankees 2 – Tigers 1

W: Bob Shirley (3-3) – L: Willie Hernández (9-3) – S: Dave Righetti (31) | Boxscore

Record: 102-57 — 14 games up on Toronto

Highlights

Jack Morris started and other than being a little wild (a half-dozen walks), he was trending up for the postseason: seven innings, two hits and one run.

The Yankees had only four hits, but it was enough. Willie gave up the go-ahead run in the eighth.

The Tigers’ run came on Lance Parrish’s 32nd homer of the year, off Yankees starter Bob Shirley, in the fourth inning.

Miscellany

Venue: Yankee Stadium
Umpires: HP – Mike Reilly, 1B – Don Denkinger, 2B – Rich Garcia, 3B – Al Clark
Time of Game: 2:22
Attendance: 16,732

Birthdays

Gary Sutherland and the late Jerry Casale, Dave Wickersham, Whit Wyatt, Josh Billings, Chick Gagnon, Frank Gibson and Cy Ferry.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 544 9/9 — Rarity: 14

See you tomorrow

The Wednesday Fungo: April 17

April 17, 1984: 🌧️ Rained Out in Detroit

The rain seemed to follow the Tigers home from Boston, as they were rained out for the third-consecutive game.

Record: STILL 8-0

Pedro Garcia – #3

He didn’t play for the Tigers for very long, just 77 games, but he certainly arrived at the right time: The Year of the Bird.

Here are a few things to know about second baseman Pedro Garcia:

The Tigers got him on June 10, 1976 from the Brewers for Gary Sutherland.
Garcia finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1973. He hit .245 with 15 homers and a league-leading 32 doubles. Those were the career high-water marks for him offensively.
He was hitting .217 in 44 games with the Brewers when he was dealt to Detroit.
For the Tigers, he hit .198 with three homers and 20 RBI. In 245 plate appearances, he struck out 40 times with nine walks.
The Tigers released him on Dec. 16, 1976.
In 1977, he played on the inaugural Toronto Blue Jays team, hitting .208 in 42 games before being released.
You can see him play in this classic Monday Night Baseball telecast Mark Fidrych versus the late Ken Holtzman. The Tigers won, 5-1.

Birthdays

Ronny Rodriguez, Ryan Raburn, Max St. Pierre, Pedro Garcia and the late Charlie Jaeger

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 381 8/9 — Rarity: 179

See you tomorrow.

The Tuesday Fungo: April 9

April 9, 1984: An Off Day

After sweeps of the Twins and White Sox, the Tigers enjoy an off day before the home opener.

Nate Colbert #9

In the depths of the mid-1970s rebuild, the Tigers acquired 29-year-old first baseman Nate Colbert from Padres for Ed Brinkman, Dick Sharon and Bob Strampe.

In six seasons with the Padres, Colbert hit .253 with 163 homers, 481 RBI and a .800 OPS, so hopes were high.

He made his Tigers debut on April 10, 1975, a home opener loss to Jim Palmer and the Orioles, 10-0 — but he did get one of the Tigers’ three hits.

The next day, at Shea Stadium, he hit his first Tigers homer — a three-run shot — off Catfish Hunter, who was making his Yankees debut. The Tigers won, 5-3.

The next day, Colbert hit a grand slam off former Tiger Pat Dobson in a 7-2 Tigers win.

Twenty-four hours later, Colbert’s average dropped below .200 and never rose above it. Two homers and two months later, the Expos purchased his contract from the Tigers.

His final game with the Tigers was June 13, against the A’s. He went hitless in three at bats with a walk.

Colbert, who died Jan. 25, 2023, finished his brief time in Detroit with a .147 average, four homers, and 18 RBI.

Birthdays

Hal Morris, Mike Brumley and the late Nate Colbert, Guy Cantrell and Vic Sorrell

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 373 9/9 – Rarity: 11

Happy to fit four former Tigers and a former Tigers broadcaster into this one. I beat my buddy Doug by a single point!

See you tomorrow.

The Friday Fungo: Feb. 9

On TV: Pat Underwood’s Debut, May 31, 1979

Today is Pat Underwood‘s 67th birthday. He was one of my favorite players during the early years of my Tigers fandom. Here’s a rebroadcast of his major-league debut, against his brother Tom, on May 31, 1979.

Check out this excellent bio of Underwood written by Todd McDorman as part of the SABR Bio Project.

Birthdays

John Young, Vic Wertz, Don Hankins

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 313 9/9: Rarity: 13

I also almost went with Lance Parrish instead of Scott Rolen but I wasn’t 100% confident Lance appeared in a game for the Jays. So, after completing the one below, I started a new grid and swapped out Lance for Rolen — 5% for Rolen v.s. 0.4% for Lance. I put in all the other picks from below and it dropped my Rarity from 13 to 9! Should have gone with my instincts.

Have a great weekend. See you tomorrow.