Tag: Tom Veryzer

The Thursday Fungo: July 11

July 11, 1984: The All-Star Break Continues

‘Twas the final day of the 1984 All-Star Break and the Tigers prepared to start the second half with a four-game series against the Twins at the Metrodome.

So, let’s look at a game from this date in another season: 1977.

July 11, 1977: Tigers 9 – Blue Jays 7

W: Steve Grilli (1-0) – L: Dennis DeBarr (0-1) | Boxscore

Record: 38-46 — 6th place, 10.5 games behind Boston

Highlights

  • The Blue Jays tagged Tigers starter Dave Roberts with five runs in the top of the first. Detroit answered with a run of their own in the first, and another four in the second to make it 5-5 heading to the third.
  • Rusty Staub led the Tigers’s 10-hit attack, with a two-for-three night — including a second-inning three-run homer — and four RBI.
  • Roberts pitched 62/3, allowing seven runs on nine hits, and gave way to Steve Grilli who pitched 21/3 hitless innings to secure the win.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Vic Voltaggio, 1B – Marty Springstead, 2B – Larry Barnett, 3B – Jim Evans
  • Time of Game: 2:30
  • Attendance: 9,057

Dickie Noles – RHP #27

The first, and perhaps last, thing to know about Dickie Noles‘ Tigers career is that he was the player to be named later in the trade that brought him to Detroit. On Sept. 21, 1987, he was traded by the Cubs to the Tigers for a player to be named later.

He appeared in four games:

Sept. 22: He entered the game against Boston with bases load and two out in the bottom of the ninth, and got Dwight Evans to hit into a 1-3 ground out. Noles earned the save.

Sept. 25: Facing the Blue Jays, he pitched 11/3 innings, allowing a hit, a walk and a run. The Tigers lost 3-2.

Sept. 26: This one still hurts. The Tigers took a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Mike Henneman allowed a leadoff double to Jesse Barfield, an infield single to Willie Upshaw and then hit former Tiger Rick Leach. The next batter, Juan Beníquez, laced a triple to left off Noles and the Jays won, 10-9. We sobbed.

Sept. 27: Noles’ final Tigers appearance came in a huge, season-saving Tigers win. Doyle Alexander pitched the first 102/3 innings, and four relievers covered the final 21/3. Noles was the fourth; he entered with two out in the bottom of the 13th and they tying run on first. He got Barfield to hit it to shortstop for a force out at second. Tigers won 3-2 and that was it for Noles in Detroit.

On Oct. 23, 1987, he was returned to the Cubs. That’s a 32-day Tigers career. But given the mayhem of those final 10 days of the 1987 season, those were pretty good days to be with Detroit.

Birthdays

Johnny Barbato, Yorman Bazardo and the late Al Federoff

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 466 7/9: Rarity: 285

Ugly.

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo: May 22

May 22, 1984: Tigers 3 – Angels 1

W: Juan Berenguer (3-2) – L: Mike Witt (4-4) – Save: Aurelio López (6) | Boxscore

Record: 33-5

Highlights

  • The Tigers opened the scoring thanks to a Kirk Gibson first-inning single followed by a stolen base, and then an RBI single by Lance Parrish.
  • Berenguer gave up a solo homer to Rod Carew in the home half of the first and then settled down to allow just two more hits in six innings, striking out nine.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Anaheim Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Derryl Cousins, 1B – Bill Kunkel, 2B – Terry Cooney, 3B – Richard Shulock
  • Time of Game: 2:53
  • Attendance: 41,253

Bob Adams #40

Here are a few things to know about the right-handed hitting first baseman and catcher, Bob Adams.

  • The Tigers drafted him in the third round of the 1973 amateur draft.
  • He appeared in 15 games for the Tigers that year, 12 as a pinch hitter. On Aug. 26, he pinch hit for Tom Veryzer in the eighth-inning, a solo homer off the Angels’ Frank Tanana.
  • His major-league numbers: .250 average, two home runs, two RBI.

Birthdays

Andre Lipcius, Al Levine, Jose Mesa, the late Al Simmons and Al Shaw

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 416 9/9: Rarity: 89

See you tomorrow.

The Friday Fungo

Skeeter Barnes – #9

This post should have been written yesterday, on William Henry “Skeeter” Barnes‘ birthday — he deserved better!

So, here are 10 things to know about a fun player from some mediocre Tigers seasons:

  1. Drafted by the Reds in the 16th round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur out of University of Cincinnati.
  2. He debuted on Sept. 6, 1983, against the Giants, in a game featuring Darrell Evans at shortstop, Dave Bergman at first, and Champ Summers pinch hitting.
  3. From 1983 to ‘84, he appeared in 47 games for the Reds. On April 26, 1985 the Reds sent him to the Expos for Max Venable. He appeared in 19 games for the ‘85 Expos.
  4. Barnes saw no major-league action in 1986, and on July 24 he was traded, with former Tiger Dan Schatzeder, to the Phillies for Tom Foley and Lary Sorensen.
  5. In 1987, he signed with the Cardinals but only appeared in four games. After spending 1988 in Triple A, he appeared in five games for the Reds.
  6. Then, on Jan. 21, 1991, he signed with the Tigers. After starting the year in Toledo, Barnes made his Detroit debut with gusto on June 14, in a 5-1 win in Seattle. He hit a solo homer in his first Tigers at bat, off Brian Holman, with two out in the first inning.
  7. Sparky used him just about everywhere: 1B, 2B, 3B, Shortstop, all outfield spots.
  8. From ’91 to ’94, he appeared in 278 games for the Tigers batting .281 with 11 homers, 73 RBI and a .739 OPS.
  9. Barnes’ final career hit came on June 16, 1994 — a single to right off the Brewers’ Bob Scanlan.
  10. His final major league appearance came on June 20, 1994, as a defensive replacement for Cecil Fielder at first base.

Birthdays

Mark Salas, Lance McCullers, Justin Thompson, Juan Encarnacion, Chris Lambert, Bob Stoddard, Joe Staton, Jim Small and the late Pete Fox, Ray Francis and Ollie O’Mara.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 341 7/9 — Rarity: 275

Have a great weekend. See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo

Charlie Spikes – #34

Charlie Spikes has always been a mystery to me. I have a baseball card with him in a Tigers uniform, and he appears in the 1978 Tigers Yearbook. Yet, I have zero recollection of him in a game.

I did a little research and found out why. He appeared in only 10 games for the ’78 Tigers.

Here are a few things to know about Charlie Spikes:

  • The Tigers acquired him from the Indians on Dec. 9, 1977 for Tom Veryzer.

Spikes injured his knee and was sent down to Triple-A Evansville after just ten games. He played in only 16 games at Evansville, and then had knee surgery. He was released by Detroit on September 25, 1978.

From the Charlie Spikes bio, by Joseph Wancho, as part of SABR’s Bio Project

And here is the totality of Spikes’ Tigers career:

DateOppRsltPARH2BRBIBBBAOPS
Apr 8TORL,2-5401000.250.500
Apr 9TORW,8-4512010.333.667
Apr 12TEXW,3-2401000.308.615
Apr 15TORW,6-3400001.250.544
Apr 17CHWW,10-9400000.200.438
Apr 23 (1)TEXW,9-6200000.200.504
Apr 23 (2)TEXL,1-2100001.200.533
Apr 24CHWW,4-1200000.182.490
Apr 26CHWL,2-7401000.192.492
Apr 28SEAW,5-4202110.250.629
  Totals3217122.250.629
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/6/2024.

A Little Bonus

Yesterday I reminded us of ’84 World Series Game 2 irritant Kurt Bevacqua and a game we’d rather forget. Today, let’s savor this replay from Game 1:

Birthdays

Jairo Labourt, Red Wilson and the late Harry Davis and Ed Willett.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 340 9/9 — Rarity: 45

See you tomorrow.

February Leftovers

Sometimes I don’t clear out the cut-and-paste document I have going with scattered goodies and other potential Fungo nonsense.

Case in point, a few items from February 11:

Ben Oglivie

Ben Oglivie was born on Feb. 11, 1949. After the Tigers inexplicably traded him for Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers, he went on to hit 176 home runs for the Brewers over nine years — including 21 he hit against the Tigers in 119 games.

He retired after the 1986 season with a lifetime average of .273 and 235 career homers.

Tom Veryzer

The late Tom Veryzer was born on Feb. 11, 1953. He played five years in Detroit (1973-77) before being dealt to Cleveland for Charlie Spikes.

His last year in the bigs was 1984 when he was a bench rider for the Cubs. Had Leon Durham fielded a grounder more cleanly in the NLCS that year, perhaps Veryzer could’ve ended his career where it started, at Tiger Stadium.

His final career numbers: .241 average, 14 homers, 231 RBI, .966 fielding percentage.

Other Feb. 11 Birthdays

Gregory Soto, Trey Beamon, Willie Smith, George Alusik

On to March …

The Monday Fungo: Feb. 12

On TV: Tigers vs. Red Sox – June 25, 1985

Jack Morris vs. Bob Ojeda — and what a great lineup. Here’s the boxscore.

Birthdays

Gary Knotts, Chet Lemon, Pat Dobson, Andy Harrington, Harry Arndt.

Weekend Leftovers

Saturday

Happy 75th birthday to Ben Oglivie who, after the Tigers inexplicably traded him for Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers, went on to hit 176 home runs for the Brewers over nine years. He retired after the 1986 season with a lifetime average of .273 and 235 career homers.

The late Tom Veryzer was born on Feb. 11, 1953. He played five years in Detroit (1973-77) before being dealt to Cleveland for Charlie Spikes. His last year in the bigs was 1984 when he was a bench rider for the Cubs. Had Leon Durham fielded a grounder more cleanly in the NLCS that year, perhaps Veryzer could’ve ended his career where it started, at Tiger Stadium. His final career numbers: .241 average, 14 homers, 231 RBI, .966 fielding percentage.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 316 9/9: Rarity: 30

Two former Tigers managers today.

See you tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Benji & Tommy V

Oglivie_Ben78


Happy 60th to Ben Oglivie who, after the Tigers inexplicably traded him for Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers, went on to hit 176 home runs for the Brewers over nine years. He retired after the 1986 season with a lifetime average of .273 and 235 career homers.

Veryzer_Tom78

Tom Veryzer turns 56 today. He played five years in Detroit (1973-77) before being dealt to Cleveland for Charlie Spikes. His last year in the bigs was 1984 when he was a bench rider for the Cubs. Had Leon Durham fielded a grounder more cleanly in the NLCS that year, perhaps Veryzer could’ve ended his career where it started, at Tiger Stadium. His final career numbers: .241 average, 14 homers, 231 RBI, .966 fielding percentage.

Happy Birthday, gentlemen.