Charlie Spikes – #34

Charlie Spikes has always been a mystery to me. I have a baseball card with him in a Tigers uniform, and he appears in the 1978 Tigers Yearbook. Yet, I have zero recollection of him in a game.
I did a little research and found out why. He appeared in only 10 games for the ’78 Tigers.
Here are a few things to know about Charlie Spikes:
- The Tigers acquired him from the Indians on Dec. 9, 1977 for Tom Veryzer.
- He made his Tigers debut on April 8, 1978 against the Blue Jays, starting in right field and batting sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, he got his first hit, a single to center off Jerry Garvin.
- According to this profile of Spikes:
Spikes injured his knee and was sent down to Triple-A Evansville after just ten games. He played in only 16 games at Evansville, and then had knee surgery. He was released by Detroit on September 25, 1978.
From the Charlie Spikes bio, by Joseph Wancho, as part of SABR’s Bio Project
And here is the totality of Spikes’ Tigers career:
| Date | Opp | Rslt | PA | R | H | 2B | RBI | BB | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8 | TOR | L,2-5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .500 |
| Apr 9 | TOR | W,8-4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .667 |
| Apr 12 | TEX | W,3-2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .308 | .615 |
| Apr 15 | TOR | W,6-3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .544 |
| Apr 17 | CHW | W,10-9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .438 |
| Apr 23 (1) | TEX | W,9-6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .504 |
| Apr 23 (2) | TEX | L,1-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .533 |
| Apr 24 | CHW | W,4-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 | .490 |
| Apr 26 | CHW | L,2-7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .192 | .492 |
| Apr 28 | SEA | W,5-4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .629 |
| Totals | 32 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .250 | .629 |
Generated 3/6/2024.
A Little Bonus
Yesterday I reminded us of ’84 World Series Game 2 irritant Kurt Bevacqua and a game we’d rather forget. Today, let’s savor this replay from Game 1:
Birthdays
Jairo Labourt, Red Wilson and the late Harry Davis and Ed Willett.
Today’s Grid
⚾️ Immaculate Grid 340 9/9 — Rarity: 45

See you tomorrow.
