Tag: Morris Madden

Aug. 31, 1984: A’s 7 – Tigers 6 (13)

W: Keith Atherton (7-5) – L: Dave Rozema (7-5) | Boxscore

Record: 87-48 — 9.5 games up on Toronto

Highlights

  • Sparky had a short leash on Milt Wilcox, with good reason, pulling him after 32/3 innings in which he gave up five runs on four hits and five walks. Aurelio López  and Willie Hernández pitched the next eight and a third, allowing just three hits and combining for eight strikeouts.
  • The Tigers let four leads slip away, including in the ninth when they took a 6-5 lead. Rozema’s wild pitch with two out in the 13th allowed Mike Davis to score from third with the winning run.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
  • Umpires: HP – Rick Reed, 1B – Jerry Neudecker, 2B – Dave Phillips, 3B – Steve Palermo
  • Time of Game: 4:19
  • Attendance: 15,836

Birthdays

John Hicks, Ramon Santiago, Shane Loux, Hideo Nomo, Morris Madden, Bill Nahorodny, former Tigers coach Boots Day, and the late Jack Burns and Norman Glaser.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 517 7/9 — Rarity: 276

See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo: June 20

June 20, 1984: Tigers 9 – Yankees 6 (13)

W: Doug Bair (4-0) – L: José Rijo (1-7) | Boxscore

Record: 49-17 — 7.5 up on Toronto

Highlights

  • Chet went 4 for 5.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Dave Phillips, 1B – Jerry Neudecker, 2B – John Hirschbeck, 3B – Steve Palermo
  • Time of Game: 3:51
  • Attendance: 43,972

Jim Morrison – IF #9 and #17

The Tigers picked up Jim Morrison from the Pirates on Aug. 7, 1987 for a player to be named later* and Darnell Coles.

*Five days later, they sent Morris Madden to Pittsburgh to complete the trade.

Morrison was expected to be another veteran presence for a Tigers team that was, after a dreadful start, in the thick of the American League East race.

On Aug. 7 against the Yankees**, he made his Tigers debut (a game I attended) at third based and batting sixth. He led off the bottom of the sixth with a homer off New York starter Rick Rhoden.

**The Tigers won 8-0 and sat in third place, just a game behind second-place New York and a game and half behind Toronto.

When the Tigers got him, he was hitting .264 with the Pirates with nine home runs and a .726 OPS. Although Morrison became Sparky’s everyday third baseman for the rest of the year, that performance didn’t carry over to Detroit. He hit just .205 — which was still 20+ points higher than what Coles was hitting at the time of the trade.

After 24 games in 1988, the Tigers released him on June 6. In his final game with Detroit, on June 3, he pinch hit for Pat Sheridan and singled off future-Tiger Jeff Kaiser, driving in a run.

His final line with the Tigers: .209, 4 HR, 25 RBI and a .534 OPS.

Birthdays

Bobby Seay, Paul Bako, the late Charlie Grover, Jim Delahanty and Win Mercer

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.

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.

Happy Birthday, Morris Madden

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.Madden Morris

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 his career was over. But today we celebrate his 48th birthday. Three cheers for Morris Madden.