According to Baseball Reference, 54 players have worn the number 12 in Tigers franchise history. Casey Mize currently wears it. Let’s look at a few Tigers that wore number 12 during the Fungo’s focus, 1977 through 1994:
Pat Underwood shut out the Blue Jays for eight-and-a-third innings at Exhibition Stadium, earning his first major-league win as the Tigers beat Toronto, and his brother Tom, 1-0 thanks to Jerry Morales‘ eighth-inning solo home run.
How great is this? Underwood picked off Blue Jays second baseman Danny Ainge at second base.
Mark Salas – #10 and #27
Here are five things to know about catcher Mark Salas:
The Tigers signed him as a free agent on April 8, 1990.
The left-handed hitting Salas made his debut on April 14 against the Orioles. He pinch hit for Mike Heath in the seventh and struck out.
He appeared in 74 games for the Tigers that season — wearing number 10 — hitting .232 with nine home runs, 24 RBI and a .737 OPS.
He appeared in just 33 games, now wearing number 27, for the 1991 Tigers. He hit .088 with a homer and seven RBI.
Salas’s final big-league game was Oct. 5, 1991, like his first, against the Orioles. In the bottom of the sixth, he replaced pinch hitter Rich Rowland, playing first and batting ninth. His career came to an end when he led off the ninth by grounding out to pitcher Mark Williamson.
Birthdays
Happy Birthday to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, whom the Tigers drafted in 1994 and traded in 1998 to Indians for Geronimo Berroa.
On a cold and wet Easter Sunday, Juan Berenguer delivered one of his best Tigers starts, at least that I can remember. He gave up just two hits — and didn’t allow one until the fifth — with one walk. He struck out seven.
Michigan native and fellow WMU alum first baseman Mike Squires was pressed into pitching duty, with two gone in the five-run eighth, for the final out.
Miscellany
Umpires: HP – Nick Bremigan, 1B – Vic Voltaggio, 2B – Joe Brinkman, 3B – Larry McCoy
He appeared in parts of three seasons, 1976-78, as a reliever and spot starter.
Crawford made his Tigers debut on April 20, 1976 against the A’s in Oakland. He came into the game in the ninth, relieving starter Joe Coleman, with the Tigers clinging to a 5-3 lead. Crawford got Bill North to line out but the next batter, Joe Rudi, singled to tie the game. Crawford was lifted for rookie Mark Fidrych who gave up a single to Don Baylor and the A’s won, 6-5.
His final game came on July 27, 1978 against the Orioles. Starter Jim Slaton gave up five runs on nine hits in three innings and Crawford came in to pitch the fourth — and gave up two runs of his own on three hits. Jack Morris relieved him with four scoreless.
Crawford’s final line in Detroit: 10-19, 4.62 ERA and 3 saves.
On May 27, 1980, Sparky traded my favorite Tigers player — my first favorite Tiger — first baseman Jason Thompson, to the California Angels for outfielder Al Cowens. (For more on Cowens, check out this post from the archives.)
The Hollywood native joined the Tigers full time in 1976 and played 123 games that year, hitting .218, with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. Two of the homers cleared the rightfield roof at Tiger Stadium. It was in 1977, though, that he made his mark: .270, 31 homers and 105 RBI, and an All Star Game selection.
In 1980, Thompson got off to a slow start: .214/4/20 in 36 games, and Sparky invoked his My Way or the Highway clause and sent his first baseman to Orange County.
As I’ve said before, Thompson’s replacement, Richie Hebner, was a favorite of mine too. But, who were the Tigers kidding? Hebner over Jason Thompson?
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