Sparky Anderson

The Friday Fungo

Lynn Jones – #35

The Tigers selected Lynn Jones from the Reds in the December 1978 Rule 5 Draft, and he made some noise in his major-league debut on April 13, 1979.

In the 5-4 Tigers loss to the Rangers, Jones started in centerfield, batting eighth, and went two for three with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base.

All told, he appeared in 95 games in his rookie year, batting .296 with four home runs.

Jones was a role player for Sparky’s earliest Detroit teams, seeing time mostly in the outfield and as a pinch-hitter, and posting a .347 on-base percentage in his first three seasons.

The 1982 and 1983 seasons, though, saw his production slip and his playing time was limited to 64 at bats in ’83. That offseason the Tigers made him a free agent and he promptly signed with the Royals.

In 1984, Jones hit a career-high .301 in a similar role to what he played in Detroit. He faced his former team in the American League Championship Series, going just 1 for 5.

The next season Jones appeared in 110 games for Dick Howser’s Royals — a career high — but saw his average plummet 90 points. It wasn’t a total downer though, he won a World Series ring that year and had two extra-base hits in the Series against the Cardinals.

1986 was the final big-league season of his eight-year career. He made his final appearance on the last game of the season: Oct. 4 against the A’s. Jones replaced Rudy Law in left field in the bottom of the ninth and the first batter, Terry Steinbach, hit the ball to him for an out.

Jones hit .128 in 67 games with a single RBI and after that season he became a free agent but didn’t sign with another team.

His final numbers: .252 average, seven HR, 91 RBI and 13 stolen bases.

In 1991 and 1992, Jones was the Royals’ first base coach before managing in the Marlins system. In 2001, he was the Marlins’ first-base coach. He earned his second World Series ring in 2004 as a member of Terry Francona’s coaching staff in Boston.

Birthdays

Denny McLain, Billy Beane, the late Ferris Fain, Johnny Gorsica, George Wilson, Al Klawitter, Lou Schiappacasse, Harry Lochhead, Duff Cooley

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 362 9/9 – Rarity: 18

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.

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

The Wednesday Fungo

Champ Summers

Champ Summers was a fan favorite in Detroit and for good reason. He came to the Tigers as a career underachiever — at least at the major-league level — in an under-the-radar trade roughly a week before they hired Sparky Anderson in 1979. Summers_Champ

The Reds traded the 30-year-old Summers to the Tigers for a player to be named later on May 25, 1979. On Oct. 25, the Tigers sent Sheldon Burnside to the Reds to complete the trade.

The year before, John Junior Summers was the Minor League Player of the Year for the Reds’ top farm club, Indianapolis of the American Association. He led the AA with a .368 average, 34 homers and 124 RBI.

In 1979, Summers was hitting .200 with a single home run after 27 early-season games with the Reds, but after coming to Detroit, he had the best three seasons of his career.

That season he batted .313 with 20 home runs (14 solo) in 90 games and posted a .614 slugging percentage along with a 1.028 OPS. Anderson played Summers primarily in right field with a few DH assignments sprinkled in.

The Tigers rewarded him with a three-year contract near the end of the ’79 season.

Tigers fans loved Summers and he continued to provide punch to a young lineup. In 1980, his numbers slipped ever-so slightly but they were solid: .297/17/60 with an OPS of .897.

His production dropped further in the strike-shortened season of 1981 when, at age 35, his average fell to .255 and his power numbers plummeted, too. Summers hit only three home runs and eight doubles in 64 games in what would be his final season in Detroit.

In March 1982 the Tigers dealt him to the Giants for first baseman Enos Cabell. Summers would struggle in his two seasons in San Francisco, posting a .231 average and four home runs.

You can read the full post in the Archives.

Random Game: Aug. 7, 1987

Tigers 8 – Yankees 0

W: Jeff Robinson (8-5) – L: Rick Rhoden (14-7) | Boxscore

A classic midsummer showdown between A.L. East rivals, who were gridlocked atop the division heading into this game:

**AL East Division** **July 17,1987**
Tm	W	L	W-L%	GB
TOR	65	44	.596	—
NYY	65	45	.591	0.5
DET	62	44	.585	1.5
MIL	56	51	.523	8.0
BOS	51	57	.472	13.5
BAL	49	60	.450	16.0
CLE	40	69	.367	25.0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 3/13/2024.

I was there for this one with a big group of friends in our usual bleacher seats, upper deck, dead center.

Rookie Jeff Robinson was masterful, allowing just five hits and striking out nine while cruising to a complete-game shutout.
Dave Bergman drove in four runs, three of them on a homer off Rick Rhoden in the fourth.
Newcomer Jim Morrison, in his Tigers debut, went two for four with a solo homer.
Chet Lemon went three for three with a walk and an RBI.
Matt Nokes and Pat Sheridan also had two hits.

Miscellany

Umpires: HP – Mike Reilly, 1B – Tim Welke, 2B – Terry Cooney, 3B – Joe Brinkman
Time of Game: 2:31
Attendance: 48,262

Birthdays

Mike Aviles, the late Cliff Mapes, Eric Erickson and Mal Eason.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 346 9/9 — Rarity: 22

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo

Wayne Krenchicki – #15

The summer of 1983 gave Tigers fans a glimpse of what was to come a year later: a young core of star players ready to move to the next level in the American League East. Detroit was in the race until September when the eventual World Series champion Orioles pulled away for good.

That season also introduced fans — ever-so briefly — to a role player with one of the best names in baseball history: Wayne Krenchicki.

He came to the Tigers in a late-June trade with the Reds for once-promising-lefty Pat Underwood. With Alan Trammell nursing injuries, the club needed some infield help.

As he always did with newly acquired players, manager Sparky put Krenchicki right to work, inserting him in the starting lineup against the Orioles and rookie Storm Davis.

On July 1, batting eighth in the lineup, Krenchicki went hitless in three at bats against Davis and the Tigers lost 9-5. He got his first Tigers hit two days later, a third-inning double off Tim Stoddard, in a 10-1 Tigers win.

In all, Krenchicki appeared in 59 games for the Tigers in 1983, seeing time at every infield position but played primarily at third. His time in Detroit was brief; in November that year, the Reds purchased his contract from the Tigers.

He finished his eight-year big-league career with the Reds and Expos, and retired after the 1986 season.

Birthdays

Leonys Martin, Marcus Thames, Gabe Alvarez, Roberto Duran, Joe Hall, Karl Best*, Ed Mierkowicz and the late Joe Orrell and Bob Swift.

*Best was traded by the Mariners to the Tigers for Bryan Kelly on June 22, 1987, but never appeared in a game. On March 28, 1988, the Tigers dealt him to the Twins for Don Schulze … who also never appeared in a game for the Tigers.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 339 9/9 — Rarity: 21

Four former Tigers and one Tigers nemesis.

See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo

On this Date in 2000

Sparky Anderson and Detroit Stars slugger Norman (Turkey) Stearnes were elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.

Random Game: April 6, 1992

Blue Jays 4 – Tigers 2

Jack Morris starting an Opening Day at Tiger Stadium for the visiting team was certainly different. As usual, he went the distance, giving up ninth-inning homers to Cecil Fielder and Rob Deer.

W: Jack Morris — L: Bill Gullickson | Boxscore

Monday, April 6, 1992
Attendance: 51,068
Venue: Tiger Stadium
Game Duration: 2:46

Recap

Dave Winfield had three hits for the Jays.
Travis Fryman had a pair of hits.
Speaking of Rob Deer, this was the quintessential Deer performance: 1 for 4, three strikeouts to go with the homer.
Recently acquired Les Lancaster made his Tigers debut with a scoreless ninth.

Birthdays

He hasn’t made the Tigers yet, but Bligh Madris has a Leap Day® birthday.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 333 6/9 — Rarity: 427

Abysmal. But! A nice Hail Mary in the bottom right corner.

See you tomorrow.

The Tuesday Fungo

Ray Knight?

On this date in 1988, the Orioles traded third baseman Ray Knight to the Tigers for lefty Mark Thurmond.

I remember hearing about this move and thinking it was a brilliant way to further the ’84 team’s last-gasp effort to be a force in the American League East. 😐

Knight appeared in 105 games in his ‘88, and hit .217 with 3 home runs and 33 RBI.
According to Baseball-Reference, he wore numbers 9 and 22 in Detroit.
He one-third of his season HR total on Oct. 2, the final game of the season and of his career: a two-run shot off Yankees starter Pat Clement, scoring Chet Lemon.
Knight also made two errors in the game.
His final career at bat was a ground out to third baseman Luis Aguayo.

Remembering Johnny B.

Today would have been John Wockenfuss’s 75th birthday.

Never a superstar, he was a Super Sub before the phrase existed. He played key roles for the Tigers and helped the club bridge the gap between emerging contender and World Series Champion.

‘Fuss was drafted by the Washington Senators in the 42nd round of the 1967 amateur draft. His road to Detroit wound through Arlington, Texas, after the Senators relocated following the 1971 season.

On June 6, 1973 he was traded by the Rangers with Mike Nagy to the Cardinals for Jim Bibby. Less than six months later – on Dec. 3 – St. Louis sent him to the Tigers for minor-leaguer Larry Elliott.

During the lean years of the mid-1970s, Johnny B. – wearing first #45 and then, from 1976 on, #14 – steadily gained playing time, primarily behind the plate for manager Ralph Houk. When Sparky Anderson was hired in 1979, ‘Fuss became more of a first baseman/outfielder/DH hybrid.

For the next four seasons, Wockenfuss had a .265 average. His best year at the plate for Detroit was in 1982 when hit batted .301 in 79 games.

Read the full appreciation in the Archives.

Birthdays

Anibal Sanchez, Craig Monroe, Matt Stairs, Greg Cadaret, and the late Johnny Pesky and Cy Perkins.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 331 9/9 — Rarity: 38

See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo

Richie Hebner, One of My Favorites

Richie Hebner didn’t swing at the baseball as much as he chopped at it. That hacker’s cut was, the Tigers thought, an ideal fit for Tiger Stadium’s right field porch. It also served him well in the offseason when he dug graves in the Boston area.

According to the Associated Press story on the trade that brought Hebner to Detroit in October 1979, the Detroit acquired him for his punch:

“We’re really pleased to get somebody like Richie,” a Tigers spokesman said. “He’ll give us some power hitting we need.”

Power? Richie Hebner?

He came from the Mets where in 1979, his only season in New York, he hit just 10 homers.

Check out this Fungo profile of one of my favorite Tigers from the Archives.

*A quintessential 1980 Tigers photo: Champ Summers in the box, Stan Papi, Richie Hebner and Duffy Dyer looking on.*

Birthdays

Dixon Machado, Steve Colyer and the late George Lee “Sparky” Anderson, Jackie Sullivan, Tony DeFate and Clarence Mitchell

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 326 8/9 — Rarity: 121

See you tomorrow.