Tag: Jeff Robinson

The Monday Fungo

Mickey Tettleton – #20

Who didn’t like Mickey Tettleton? He was built like a tank, stood ramrod straight at the plate and could crush the ball from either side. And, he was solid defensively.

Tettleton came to Detroit from the Orioles in a steal of a trade for the once-promising righty, the late Jeff Robinson.

Why would the Orioles, who weren’t exactly brimming with offensive talent, want to part ways with Tettleton?

According to this story, they “did not want to pay him more than $1 million to be backup to Bob Melvin.” Bob Melvin! And shortly thereafter his ticket to Detroit was punched.

“He has good defensive skills and is adept at working with pitchers,” acting Tigers General Manager Joe McDonald said. “In addition, he brings even more punch to our lineup.”

And how.

Tettleton joined a Tigers roster full of mashers: Cecil Fielder, Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia.

  • He averaged 32 homers in his first three years with the Tigers … and 136 strikeouts. But, he also averaged 110 walks over those three seasons including a league-leading 122 in 1992.
  • Sparky penciled him in primarily at catcher in 1991 and ’92, with a few dozen starts at designated hitter. In 1993 and ’94, Tettleton began to see more time at first base and the outfield.
  • Tettleton and Tiger Stadium were a perfect fit: More than half his homers as a Tiger came at home.

After the strike-shortened 1994 season, he was granted free agency by the Tigers. He signed with the Rangers just before the 1995 season began and played parts of three seasons in Arlington before retiring in July 1997, with 245 career home runs.

Birthdays

Will Rhymes and the late Rusty Staub, Ron Perranoski, Frank Castillo, Moe Franklin, Jake Wade

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 365 7/9 — Rarity: 213

I was overdue for a stinker. I still managed to work Jack Morris into it.

See you tomorrow.

🐇 The Sunday Fungo

The Tigers on Easter Sunday

Happy Easter! Here’s a rundown of the Tigers’ performance on Easter Sunday in games from 1977 through ’94. They appeared in nine games, winning three:

April 10, 1977: Royals 5 – Tigers 0 | W: Colborn – L: Ruhle – Save: Gura
April 15, 1979: Tigers 11 – Rangers 6 | W: Burnside – L: Lyle
April 19, 1981: Blue Jays 9 – Tigers 1 | W: Bomback – L: Morris
April 11, 1982: Tigers 2 – Royals 1 | W: Rozema – L: Blue – Save: Saucier
April 22, 1984: Tigers 9 – White Sox 1 | W: Berenguer – L: Brennan
April 19, 1987: White Sox 7 – Tigers 1 | W: Bannister – L: Petry
April 15, 1990: Orioles 6 – Tigers 0 | W: Milacki – L: Robinson
April 19, 1992: Orioles 3 – Tigers 2 | W: Milacki – L: Terrell – Save: Olson
April 11, 1993: Angels 7 – Tigers 6 | W: Crim – L: Krueger – Save: Grahe

Birthdays

Tracy Jones, Bill Denehy and the late Marv Grissom and Johnny Couch.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 364 9/9 – Rarity: 3

I don’t think I can do better than this. It checks all boxes except for the all-Tigers box.

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 Friday Fungo

Morris Madden – #42

Lefty Morris Madden had a micro-career with the Tigers, appearing just twice during the 1987 season.

Appearance 1: On June 11 versus Milwaukee at Tiger Stadium, he came in during the sixth inning to relieve Eric King, who had relieved starter Jeff Robinson, with the bases loaded and walked Brewers second baseman Jim Gantner.

In his one inning of work, he allowed two earned runs and three walks. The Tigers lost the game 8-5.

Appearance 2: Robinson’s next start*, on June 16 at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, Madden came in to start the fifth inning.

*The Jays lit up Robinson for eight runs in three and two-thirds on the way to a 10-4 win.

  • The first hitter he faced, Fred McGriff doubled to center.
  • And that was the end of Morris Madden’s Tigers career.

Less than a month later, on Aug. 12, 1987, the Tigers sent Madden to the Pirates to complete the Aug. 7 trade of Darnell Coles for Jim Morrison.

If you’re wondering how he fared with Jim Leyland‘s Pirates, it depends on the year.

  • In 1988, he appeared in five games, allowed five hits and seven walks in five innings but didn’t allow a run. 
  • In ’89, Madden pitched 14 innings across nine games — including three starts — he allowed a stunning 13 walks, 17 hits, 14 runs, 11 earned. Final ERA: 7.07.

On Nov. 21, 1989, he was released by the Pirates, and though he pitched for the AAA Albuquerque Dukes in 1990, his major-league career was over.

Birthdays

Michael Fulmer, Robert Fick and the late Ralph “Sailor” Stroud, George Disch and James Casey

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 348 9/9 — Rarity: 19

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.

Today’s Tiger: Morris Madden

Morris Madden

  • Born: Aug. 31, 1960 in Laurens, S.C.
  • Bats: Left Throws: Left
  • Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 155 lb.
  • Acquired: Signed as a free agent on Nov. 23, 1985.
  • Seasons in Detroit: 1 (1987)
  • Uniform Number: 42
  • Stats: 0-0, 16.20 ERA, 1.2 IP

MorrisMadden.jpg

Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember Morris Madden‘s mini-career with the Tigers. He pitched just twice for Detroit during the 1987 season and one look at his stats tells you why.

On June 11 versus Milwaukee at Tiger Stadium, he came in during the sixth inning to relieve Eric King (who had relieved starter Jeff Robinson) with the bases loaded and promptly walked Brewers second baseman Jim Gantner. In his one inning of work, he allowed two earned runs and three walks. The Tigers lost the game 8-5.

Robinson’s next start, five days later at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium, the lefty Madden came in to start the fifth inning. The first hitter he faced, Fred McGriff doubled to center, then Garth Iorg grounded out to Alan Trammell, advancing McGriff to third. Tony Fernandez singled, Lloyd Moseby flied out to center, then Jesse Barfield got an infield single. And that was the end of Morris Madden’s Tigers career.

Less than a month later, on Aug. 12, 1987, Madden was sent by the Tigers to the Pirates to complete the Aug. 7, 1987 trade of Darnell Coles for Jim Morrison.

If you’re wondering how he fared with Jim Leyland‘s Pirates, well it depends on the year. In 1988, he appeared in five games, allowed five hits and seven walks in five innings (!) but didn’t allow a run. In ’89, Madden pitched 14 innings across nine games — including three starts — he allowed a stunning 13 walks, 17 hits, 14 runs, 11 earned. Final ERA: 7.07.

On Nov. 21, 1989, he was released by the Pirates and while he pitched for the AAA Albuquerque Dukes in 1990, his major-league career was over.

Today’s Tiger: Mickey Tettleton

Mickey Tettleton

  • Born: Sept. 16, 1960 in Oklahoma City
  • Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 200 lb.
  • Acquired: Traded by the Orioles to the Tigers for Jeff Robinson on Jan. 11, 1991.
  • Seasons in Detroit: 4 (1991-94)
  • Uniform Number: 20
  • Stats: .249 avg., 112 HR, 333 RBI, .867 OPS
  • Awards: Silver Slugger (1991, ’92) All Star (1994)

Who didn’t like Mickey Tettleton? He was built like a tank, stood ramrod straight at the plate and could crush the ball from either side of the plate. And, he wasn’t half-bad behind the plate.

Mickey Tettleton.jpgTettleton came to Detroit in a steal of a trade from the Orioles 20 years ago next week, the Tigers sending once-promising righty Jeff Robinson to Baltimore in the deal.

After four nondescript seasons with the A’s in which he never hit more than 10 home runs, Tettleton was released by Oakland and signed by the Orioles at the end of March 1988. That season he hit 11 homers but struck out 117 times in 411 at bats.

In 1989, however, he became a dangerous hitter, clubbing 26 homers and earning an All-Star appearance. And while his strikeouts rose along with his plate appearances, so did his walks. In 1990, he fanned 160 times (a career high) but walked 106.

Why would the Orioles, who weren’t exactly brimming with offensive talent, want to part ways with Tettleton? According to this story, they “did not want to pay him more than $1 million to be backup to Bob Melvin.” Bob Melvin! And shortly thereafter his ticket to Detroit was punched.

“He has good defensive skills and is adept at working with pitchers,” acting Tigers General Manager Joe McDonald said. “In addition, he brings even more punch to our lineup.”

And how.

Continue reading “Today’s Tiger: Mickey Tettleton”