Tag: Pudge Rodriguez

The Thursday Fungo: May 2

May 2, 1984: Red Sox 5 – Tigers 4

W: Mike Brown (1-2) – L: Juan Berenguer (1-1) – Save: Bob Stanley (4) | Boxscore

Record: 19-3

Highlights

  • A pair of two-run homers off Berenguer, one by Dwight Evans, the other by Jim Rice, gave the Red Sox a 4-0 lead in the third. Boston tacked on a run in the fifth to go up 5-0. 
  • The Tigers scratched back with a run in the sixth and eighth, and then two in the ninth off Stanley.
  • Kirk Gibson went 4 for 5 with a double, triple and an RBI.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Rocky Roe, 1B – Larry Barnett, 2B – Dale Ford, 3B – Ken Kaiser
  • Time of Game: 2:33
  • Attendance: 23,085

Darrell Evans #41

Before Pudge Rodriguez and Magglio Ordoñez, the Tigers’ big splash in the free agent market came on Dec. 17, 1983, when they signed 36-year-old* slugger Darrell Evans.

*He turned 37 in May 1984.

As most seasoned Tigers fans remember, the club’s leadership, or at least GM Jim Campbell — whose opinion was the only one that mattered — hated free agency. In fact, Campbell hated paying for his own free agent players and loved to trade them before their walk year. He certainly wasn’t going to spend on someone else’s players.

That changed in 1983 when Evans chose a Detroit offer which was, of course, lower than those of the Yankees, Giants and other clubs that tried to sign, or in the case of San Francisco, re-sign him. The allure of joining a team poised to win right away made Detroit the choice.

As we’ve covered, in his first game as a Tiger, April 3, 1984, Evans homered of the Twins’ Keith Comstock, a three-run jack, and Detroit was off to the races. A week later, on Opening Day in Detroit, he homered in his first Tiger Stadium at bat, an upper-deck blast off the Rangers’ Dave Stewart.

He’d hit only 14 more home runs in 1984, but quickly became a fan favorite. In 1985, he hit 40 homers, 29 in ’86 and then 34, at age 40!, in 1987. Even in 1988, his final year in Detroit, at age 41, he hit 22.

In five seasons with the Tigers, Evans hit 141 of his career 414 home runs. In 1989, he finished his career where it began: with the Atlanta Braves.

Birthdays

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Neftali Feliz, Mark Johnson, Jim Walewander, Keith Moreland, Steve Grilli and the late Gates Brown 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 396 8/9 – Rarity: 129

See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Fungo: April 20

Game 11: April 20, 1984

Tigers 3 – White Sox 2

W: Aurelio López (2-0) – L: Ron Reed (0-1) | Boxscore

Highlights

  • Milt Wilcox celebrated his 34th birthday with a solid outing: eight innings, eight hits, three walks three strikeouts and just two runs: a second-inning, two-run homer to Ron Kittle.
  • Floyd Bannister was just as good for the White Sox: 6.1 innings, eight hits and two earned runs.
  • Record: 10-1

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Joe Brinkman, 1B – Larry McCoy, 2B – Nick Bremigan, 3B – Vic Voltaggio
  • Time of Game: 2:36
  • Attendance: 33,554

5 Things to Know About Tim Tolman – #38

  1. The Tigers signed the right-handed hitting outfielder/first baseman Tim Tolman* as free agent on Feb. 10, 1986.
  2. After hitting .298 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI (.812 OPS) at Triple A Nashville, Tolman was a September call-up in 1986. He played almost every day — appearing in 16 games from Sept. 7 to Oct. 4 — and batted .186 with six hits in 34 plate appearances.
  3. In 1987, Tolman started the season at Triple A Toledo and hit .314 / 14 homers / 30 doubles and a .919 OPS. He was called up in July and played in nine games, hitting .083 — one hit in 21 plate appearances.
  4. His final big-league game was Aug. 16, 1987 against the Royals.
  5. Tolman passed away on June 3, 2021 at age 65 from Parkinson’s Disease.

Birthdays

Milt Wilcox and the late Tim Tolman, Earl Harrist and Lou Vedder

Today’s Grid

See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Fungo: April 6

Game 3 – April 6, 1984

Tigers 3 – White Sox 2

W: Milt Wilcox (1-0) – L: Richard Dotson (0-1) – Save: Willie Hernandez (1) | Boxscore

Highlights

  • The Tigers score three in the first to spoil the White Sox’s (is that grammatically correct?) home opener.
  • Record: 3-0

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Jim McKean, 1B – Durwood Merrill, 2B – Tim McClelland, 3B – Marty Springstead.
  • Time of Game: 2:51
  • Attendance: 42,692

Birthdays

Ken Williams, Western Michigan U’s Phil Regan and the late Mickey Cochrane

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 370 8/9 – Rarity: 140

A swing and a miss on Chet Lemon in the bottom middle square.

See you tomorrow.

Recapping the Return of Anibal Sanchez

Detroit fans have been spoiled rotten by Mike Ilitch‘s generosity with the Red Wings for 30 years and the Tigers for the past 20. But I thought even he’d reached his limit with the addition of Torii Hunter last month. And I’m so glad to be wrong.

The re-signing of Anibal Sanchez – to a contact equal to Justin Verlander’s 2009 extension – is not only another indication of an owner’s urgent desire to win, it’s a reminder of how the Tigers have become a destination of choice for big-name players.

For a long time, the Tigers had to overpay any free agent with even a hint of interest in playing home games at Comerica Park:

Then the winning came and with it a reputation for being a great place to play. Victor Martinez, Prince Fielder and Hunter further proved that. And now with the re-signing of Sanchez, the Tigers must be considered a threat to add big names for big dollars every year. But back to Sanchez. He was the highest-profile Tigers free agent since, perhaps, Jack Morris in 1990. But unlike Sanchez, few expected Morris to bolt for his hometown Twins. (Juan Gonzalez doesn’t count; no one expected him to re-sign with the Tigers after the 2000 season. And thankfully he didn’t.)

With Sanchez sticking around to permanently replace Rick Porcello as the Tigers’ fourth starter, his impact on the rotation could be just as big as Hunter’s in the everyday lineup.

 

What Others Are Saying

If anything, this deal highlights the differences between operating a franchise that will spend money and one that either won’t or is limited by its market size. The Royals had to trade a premium prospect to acquire two years of Shields. The Tigers can just dip into owner Mike Ilitch’s wallet and sign a free agent — this offseason, Torii Hunter and now Sanchez. The Royals might think of themselves as playoff contenders,but this signing makes it a little less likely that will be the case. – Dave Schoenfield, ESPN.com “Sanchez signing makes Tigers clear favorite”.

Did the Tigers overpay for Sanchez? Something like that is somewhat relative. In a vacuum, yes, the Tigers are paying $16 million to a pitcher who, while productive, isn’t exactly great like his impressive paychecks will say he is. Was he the best available left on the market, though, and a pitcher who can help Detroit achieve their goal of winning a World Series before the Tigers as we know them scatter to the winds? That’s why they acquired Sanchez at last year’s deadline to begin with. Re-signing him is simply giving that plan another go, and it’s hard to blame them considering how close they were to getting it done on the first attempt. – Marc Normandin, SB Nation “Anibal Sanchez might be overpaid, but fits Tigers“

When the reclining Tigers finally sat up and took enough notice to get off their original four-year, $48 million offer, the Cubs almost got him. The Cubs still might have had him if they had been willing to enter a bidding war that would have saddled them with a potentially bad contract. – Gordon Wittenmyer, Chicago Sun Times “Tigers outbid Cubs for Anibal Sanchez — but it was close“

Some viewed the Tigers as an underachieving bunch, but that did not sway Tigers owner Mike Ilitch’s commitment to winning a World Series. Like he did last year with Prince Fielder, Ilitch swooped in at the last minute to re-sign Sanchez, which preserved one of the strongest pitching staffs in the league. – Jim Bowden, ESPN.com “The AL Central’s strong offseason“

[T]he Sanchez signing was essential to preserve the Tigers’ clearest advantage over their divisional foes — and potential October opponents. Detroit’s postseason rotation – Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Sanchez and Max Scherzer — posted a 5-1 record and 1.02 ERA against Oakland and New York in the AL playoffs. And now no member of that group will be eligible for free agency until Verlander and Scherzer after the 2014 season. – Jon Paul Morosi, FoxSports.com “Sanchez signing gives Tigers an edge“

What do you think about the Sanchez contract?

Tigers Leftovers, Thoughts and Reflections

Making up for lost time with a stream-of-consciousness post …

It’s been almost a month since Miguel Cabrera took a Sergio Romo 0-2 fastball down the middle for the final out of the World Series. In some ways it feels that long ago and in others, still too recent.

So much seems to have happened since the middle of September when the Tigers were a game back of the White Sox and we weren’t certain (well, at least I wasn’t) postseason baseball was in our future.

But it was. A grueling ALDS against the A’s, an exhilarating sweep of the Yankees and then, good God, that World Series.

By the end of Game 2, it became increasingly clear that the Giants were a team of destiny … and the Tigers had gone into another frustrating offensive slumber. As we saw all too vividly, that’s a toxic brew.

Even though the Series was over in a heartbeat, and the Tigers looked overmatched, I was stunned with how it played out. I never for a moment thought they’d lose to the Giants – a mindset that was equal parts homer-optimism and at-least-it-ain’t-the-Cardinals relief. (There was also my anti-Giants bias lingering from the Barry Bonds era.)

And now that I’ve had time to think about it, Bruce Bochy‘s club was perfectly constructed to take down the Tigers. I tweeted that my biggest fear going into Game 1 was that Barry Zito would impersonate Bruce Chen and stymie a rusty Tigers lineup. He did both and, as fate would have it, that was all she wrote.

If I’d created a list of possible World Series scenarios and endings, a sweep by the Giants, an ice-cold Prince Fielder and a caught-looking Cabrera to end it all wouldn’t be on it. None of them.

There was one thing that did not surprise me in the Series: Justin Verlander‘s Game 1 implosion. Who didn’t see that coming?

Listening to the national media leading up to the opener, you’d have thought Verlander had an unblemished postseason (or at least World Series) record. Except, you know, he totally didn’t: 0-2, 5.30 ERA, 1.545 WHIP. And now he’s 0-3/7.20/1.75.

I don’t know about you, but the Game 1 performance is what I feared in ALDS Game 5 … and in the ALCS.

Chances are I wasn’t alone in almost dreading a Game 4 win and what it might mean. Would it prolong the agony? Absolutely. Because at that point it was clear the Tigers weren’t going to beat Zito, Madison Bumgarner, Rick Reuschel, Mike LaCoss or any other starter the Giants rolled out to the mound.

This postseason was one wild ride. One I didn’t expect to come to a screeching halt with Miguel Cabrera* watching one blow by.

*Speaking of the MVP: watch for a post on that whole debate soon.

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Fare thee well, G-Money

When Gerald Laird arrived in Detroit ahead of the 2008 season, I was giddy. At last, a solid backup and successor-ish guy for Pudge Rodriguez. We’d watched Laird abuse Tigers pitching for long enough; time for him to do some damage in The D. Yeah, well, ahem.

I was equally giddy when Laird left Detroit after the 2010 season. He never produced at the level the Tigers had expected (or that fans had hoped) so, good riddance. Right?

When G-Money returned to Detroit for the 2012 campaign on a one-year deal my giddiness returned. He’s the perfect guy to backup Alex Avila and a great mentor for the new young arms coming up, I thought. And how big a lift was Laird this past season? Huge, I’d say.

He was exactly what the Tigers needed as Avila was assaulted game after game. And, Laird actually hit this year (.282) in his 63 games.

Good for G-Money landing a two-year deal with the Braves. Unlike in ’10, I’m sorry to see him go.

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Finally, here are some moldy leftovers. I found this (at best) half-baked post from last October that never saw the light of day:

After watching the Rangers bludgeon the Tigers in a terrifically played series, I just don’t have it in me to watch Nelson Cruz or Mike Napoli again until 2012. That doesn’t, of course, mean I’m not pulling for the Rangers in the World Series. I’d root for any team – even the White Sox – against a Tony LaRussa team.

As it turned out, I didn’t watch any of that Rangers-Cardinals World Series.

No regrets, either.

The Top 10 Tigers Stories of 2008: #8 – The Tigers Trade Pudge

Number8.jpgIt’s hard to believe that it has been nearly five years since Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez signed with the Tigers as a free agent — only a few months after winning the World Series with the Marlins. I tuned in to ESPNEWS on Feb. 6, 2004, to see if they were going to broadcast Pudge’s introductory press conference from Comerica Park. And they did.

My first thoughts were that his body language and tone of voice didn’t align with someone who just signed up for four-plus years in The D. Rather, he looked more like a guy who was thinking “After all I’ve accomplished in my career, this is what I get?” Thankfully, his attitude improved modestly over the seasons that followed (somewhat less, of course, near the end of the Alan Trammell Era).

We’ve read all about the Baseball Renaissance that Pudge fueled in 2004, and it’s all true. I was a huge Pudge fan and marveled at the effect he had on the Tigers. (And his performance during the 2005 Home Run Derby at Comerica Park was remarkable.) Despite the good times, I knew Pudge would leave Detroit and it wouldn’t be a entirely pleasant.

Nevertheless, I was stunned when, on July 30, he was traded to the Yankees — the Yankees! — for Kyle Farnsworth. Talk about déjà vu.

At the same time, I was relieved that a decision had been made on the future of Detroit’s catching spot, specifically that it would not be Rodriguez’s in 2009. Still, it seemed asymmetrical that a future Hall of Famer would arrive with much fanfare and depart at the trade deadline in what amounted to a lose-lose trade for both teams.