The Wednesday Fungo: May 1

May 1, 1984: Tigers 12 – Red Sox 2

W: Milt Wilcox (3-0) – L: Bruce Hurst (3-3) | Boxscore

Record: 19-2

Highlights

  • The Red Sox scored once in the bottom of the first but it was all Tigers after that: dropping a dozen runs on 16 hits on Hurst and Oil Can Boyd.
  • Wilcox tossed eight solid innings, giving up seven hits and just one earned run with five strikeouts.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Ken Kaiser, 1B – Rocky Roe, 2B – Larry Barnett, 3B – Dale Ford
  • Time of Game: 2:31
  • Attendance: 17,495

Dan Gakeler #32

Here are a few things to know about right hander Dan Gakeler:

A former 31st-round draft pick of the Brewers (1983) and a year later a number-one pick of the Red Sox (secondary phase), Gakeler made it to the majors in 1991 with the Tigers, appearing in 31 games, seven of them starts.

He made his major-league debut on June 9, 1991 against the Angels. He started opposite Chuck Finley and lasted three innings: seven hits, five runs and two walks.

Gakeler made his final appearance on Oct. 5, 1991 against the Orioles. He pitched one-third of an inning and struck out the only batter he faced: Cal Ripken.

His MLB career line: 1-4 with two saves and a 5.74 ERA.

Birthdays

Casey Mize, Fausto Cruz, Phil Hiatt, Dan Gakeler and the late Bob Harris

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 395 7/9 – Rarity 216

Swings and misses: Jack Clark top middle, George Bell bottom middle.

See you tomorrow.

Gerald Laird Likely to Lose at His Uniform-Number Shell Game

LairdHead.jpgOn May 29, Gerald Laird changed his uniform number from 8 to 12 in the hope his offensive luck would change. Who could blame him for trying something — anything — to inject some life into his bat.

How’s it worked? He’s 2 for 16, or .125 since the switcheroo.

Before he had clubhouse guy Jim Schmakel sew him up a new uni, Laird was 16 for 101, or .158. And his overall stats for Laird while wearing #8 — the ones we’ll compare below with his predecessors are: .184 avg., 5 HR, .271 OBP, .553 OPS

This uniform-change ploy got me thinking about recent Tigers players that wore number 8 or number 12 to see which had the best offensive numbers and if, based on recent history (going back to 1995ish), Laird might luck out by some numerical karma.

Continue reading “Gerald Laird Likely to Lose at His Uniform-Number Shell Game”