Milt gave up six runs on six hits, one of them a Frank White grand slam, in three innings of work — though he pitched to five hitters in the fourth inning. At that point, the Royals handed their starter Bud Black an 8-2 lead.
This blog could not exist without Baseball Reference, and the $80 a year for the ad-free subscription is a steal given how much time I spend on the site. I always seem to uncover some delightful tidbit and lately it seems to be the result of post-Immaculate Grid curiosity.
Today’s discovery might be atop the list, if I kept a list.
I sat in the upper-deck bleachers, dead center, for this game with my brother, future brother in law, and my friends (to this day!) Rob and Jeff.
It could not have been a better stage: A warm August Saturday night, a packed house to see Jack Morris face Ron Guidry in a classic 1980s A.L. East showdown with the teams tied for the division lead.
This was the first time in my Tigers fandom that the Tigers were this good, this close to first place, this late in the season — not counting 1981.
The game took place a few days after Yankees right fielder Dave Winfield had dispatched a seagull with a warmup toss at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium. Those of us in the bleachers tormented him with bird-like arm waving. Top-notch hijinks for a 15 year old.
We went crazy after the game when the scoreboard showed the standings with the Tigers on top by a game. Insanity.
Highlights
The Yankees led 3-2 until the bottom of the seventh when John Wockenfuss launched a homer to left, scoring Larry Herndon, to take a 4-2 lead. (I can still it in my mind, the ball arching in slow motion to left … but now I can’t remember if it was upper or lower deck.)
Glenn Wilson hit a two-run double in the eighth to widen the lead to 6-2.
Morris went the distance, scattering six hits and striking out 12.
According to The New York Times game story by Murray Chass, the loss snapped Guidry’s seven-game Tiger Stadium winning streak. The Tigers had last beaten him in Detroit May 21, 1979, 3-1.
Miscellany
Umpires: HP – Al Clark, 1B – Bill Kunkel, 2B – Richard Shulock, 3B – Derryl Cousins.
The Colt Keith extensiongot 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.
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.
How thick is the lens in a pair of Oakley sunglasses? I don’t own the instruments to determine the precise measurement but I think it’s safe to say thick enough to not only protect Miguel Cabrera‘s eye but sturdy enough to save his season, possibly his career, and almost assuredly make a Triple Crown season possible.
In my lifetime, the Tigers haven’t had a player like Cabrera – or anyone close for that matter. Even the best players I grew up watching Jason Thompson, Steve Kemp, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish, Kirk Gibson and Cecil Fielder, rarely assembled a season in any one offensive category that compares to what Cabrera did in three of the biggest in 2012.
In case you’ve forgotten, here’s a rundown of the countless ways he demolished major-league pitching (courtesy of the Tigers postseason media notes). Cabrera:
Led the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs and 139 RBI to become the first player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski did so in 1967. It marked the 14th time since 1900 a player captured the Triple Crown and Cabrera is the 12th player to accomplish the feat during that time. He’s the second Tigers player to do so, joining Ty Cobb(1909). He also joined Cobb by winning the A.L. batting title for the second straight season. The Peach did it in three straight seasons, from 1917-19.
Topped the American League with 377 total bases, 84 extra-base hits and a .606 slugging percentage, while he finished second with 109 runs scored and 205 hits, fourth with a .393 on-base percentage and seventh with 40 doubles.
Became the first Tigers player to connect for 40-or-more home runs in a season since Cecil Fielder hit 44 in 1991. It marks the 10th time in club history a Tigers player has hit 40-or-more home runs in a season and Cabrera is the sixth player in franchise history to do so. What’s more, he became the first player in Tigers history to belt 30-or-more home runs in five straight seasons.
Collected 139 RBI during the season, marking the fifth straight season he has posted 100-or-more RBI for the Tigers – he became only the third player in Tigers history to collect 100-or-more RBI in at least five straight seasons. Hall of Famer Harry Heilmann drove in 100-or-more runs in seven straight seasons (1923-29), and Charlie Gehringer did so in five straight seasons (1932-36).
Finished with 40 doubles and 44 home runs during the season, joining Hank Greenberg as the only two players in Tigers history to collect 40-or-more doubles and 40-or-more home runs during the same season. Greenberg accomplished the feat for Detroit in both 1937 and 1940.
Knocked 205 hits during the season, marking the first time he has finished with 200-or-more hits during a season – he became the 21st player in Tigers history to collect 200-or-more hits during a season.
Recorded 377 total bases during the season, marking the fifth straight season he has posted 300-or-more total bases for the Tigers – he became the first player in club history to post 300-or-more total bases in five consecutive seasons.
To the chagrin of many, this not only added up to a Triple Crown, it was the case for Cabrera winning the A.L. Most Valuable Player Award. His 2012 season might never be duplicated by a Tigers player – unless Cabrera himself matches it. For me, regardless of whether his award-winning season was universally acclaimed, it was thrilling to watch day in and day out and it is easily the top Tigers story in 2012.
And to think if not for a thin plastic lens we might not have witnessed it at all.
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