The Friday Fungo: May 17

May 17, 1984: Off Day in Detroit

The Tigers await the arrival of Oakland for a weekend set.

Record: 29-5

Mark Carreon #15

Outfielder/DH Mark Carreon came to Detroit with Tony Castillo in a Jan. 22, 1992 trade with the Mets for lefty reliever Paul Gibson and minor leaguer Randy Marshall — one of many curious deals the Tigers made in the 1990s.

In his one season in Detroit, Carreon hit just .232 with 10 homers and .636 OPS in 101 games. He homered in his first Tigers at bat, off the Blue Jays’ Juan Guzmán, on April 9.

Carreon had success before and after coming to the Tigers:

  • 5 seasons with the Mets: .272 average, .746 OPS
  • 4 seasons with the Giants: .289/.813
  • 1 season with the Indians: .324/.835

He filed for free agency after the season and signed with the Giants in January 1993.

Bonus! A Taste of Up North

I discovered this live stream cam from Charlevoix looking out at Lake Michigan, and I check it a few times a week. In the winter, it makes me feel great about living in Arizona. In the summer, not so much.

There are a couple of other views including Bridge Cam and Round Lake Cam.

Birthdays

Carlos Pena, Ozzie Virgil and the late Billy Hoeft 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 411 9/9 Rarity: 36

Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo

Tigers’ Opening Day Record, 1977-1994

The wheelhouse of The Daily Fungo is the Ralph Houk, Les Moss and Sparky Anderson years. So, through that narrow lens in the Tigers’ much broader history, let’s look at how the teams from 1977 through 1994 opened their respective seasons.

* Indicates I was at the game.

YearOpening DayScorePitchers
1977April 7
Home
Boxscore
Royals 7
Tigers 4
W: Paul Splittorff
L: Dave Roberts
Save: Mark Littell
1978April 7
Home
Boxscore
Tigers 6
Blue Jays 2
W: Mark Fidrych
L: Dave Lemanczyk
1979April 7*
Home
Boxscore
Rangers 8
Tigers 2
W: Ferguson Jenkins
L: Dave Rozema
1980April 10
Away
Boxscore
Tigers 5
Royals 1
W: Jack Morris
L: Dennis Leonard
1981April 9*
Home
Boxscore
Tigers 6
Blue Jays 2
W: Jack Morris
L: Joey McLaughlin
1982April 9*
Away
Boxscore
Royals 4
Tigers 2
W: Larry Gura
L: Jack Morris
1983April 5
Away
Boxscore
Tigers 11
Twins 3
W: Jack Morris
L: Brad Havens
1984April 3
Away
Boxscore
Tigers 8
Twins 1
W: Jack Morris
L: Albert Williams
1985April 8
Home
Boxscore
Tigers 5
Indians 4
W: Jack Morris
L: Ernie Camacho
Save: Willie Hernandez
1986April 7*
Home
Boxscore
Tigers 6
Red Sox 5
W: Jack Morris
L: Sammy Stewart
Save: Willie Hernandez
1987April 6*
Home
Boxscore
Yankees 2
Tigers 1
10 innings
W: Dave Righetti
L: Jack Morris
1988April 4
Away
Boxscore
Tigers 5
Red Sox 3
10 innings
W: Jack Morris
L: Lee Smith
Save: Mike Henneman
1989April 4
Away
Rangers 4
Tigers 0
W: Charlie Hough
L: Jack Morris
1990April 9
Away
Boxscore
Red Sox 5
Tigers 2
W: Roger Clemens
L: Jack Morris
Save: Lee Smith
1991April 8
Home
Boxscore
Tigers 6
Yankees 4
W: Paul Gibson
L: Greg Cadaret
Save: Mike Henneman
1992April 6
Home
Boxscore
Blue Jays 4
Tigers 2
W: Jack Morris
L: Bill Gullickson
1993April 5
Away
Boxscore
A’s 9
Tigers 4
W: Bob Welch
L: Mike Moore
Save: Dennis Eckersley
1994April 4
Away
Boxscore
Red Sox 9
Tigers 8
W: Scott Bankhead
L: Storm Davis
Save: Jeff Russell

The result? An even 9 and 9, with Jack Morris notching a 6-4 record — not counting his win against the Tigers on Opening Day 1992 as a member of the Blue Jays.

Birthdays

Craig Paquette and the late Jimmy Barrett

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 361 9/9 – Rarity: 69

See you tomorrow.