Tag: Willie Horton

The Sunday Fungo: April 28

April 28, 1984: Tigers 6 – Indians 2

W: Jack Morris (5-0) – L: Rick Behenna (0-1) | Boxscore

Record: 17-2

Two of these guys pitched for the Tigers.

Highlights

  • Another complete game for Morris. This time a three-hitter.
  • The Tigers hung six runs on Indians starter Behenna in three-and-a-third innings. Fourth-inning homers by Chet Lemon and Lou Whitaker ultimately chased him.
  • Detroit had 10 hits, Lemon and Whitaker with two each.

Miscellany

  • Venue: Tiger Stadium
  • Umpires: HP – Larry Barnett, 1B – Dale Ford, 2B – Ken Kaiser, 3B – Rocky Roe
  • Time of Game: 2:25
  • Attendance: 28,253

John Cerutti #55

The late John Cerutti would have turned 64 today. The long-time Blue Jays lefty pitched his final major-league season in Detroit.

  • After spending his first six seasons in Toronto, he signed with the Tigers as a free agent on Jan. 14, 1991.
  • Cerutti appeared in 38 games for the Tigers, including eight starts. His final line: 3-6, 4.57 ERA and two saves. As a Blue Jay from 1985-90, he appeared in 15 games against the Tigers: 2-1, 4.63 ERA
  • He passed away in 2004 at 44.

Birthdays

Sean Douglass, Jim Poole and the late John Cerutti, Tom Sturdivant and Charlie Metro 

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 392 9/9 – Rarity: 35

Another Willie Horton appearance.

See you tomorrow.

The Thursday Fungo – April 4

April 4, 1984: Off Day in Minneapolis

The Tigers and Twins had an off day between Opening Day and the final two games of the series.

It makes as little sense now as it did back then — why a day off when the Twins played indoors?

Today’s Random Game: Aug. 16, 1981

Tigers 5 – Yankees 4

W: Aurelio Lopez – L: Ron Davis | Boxscore

Highlights

  • Then with one out in the bottom of the ninth …

Miscellany

  • Umpires: HP – Ken Kaiser, 1B – Mark Johnson, 2B – Bill Haller, 3B – Dan Morrison
  • Time of Game: 2:54
  • Attendance: 21,077
  • Start Time Weather: 68° F, Cloudy, No Precipitation

Birthdays

Cameron Maybin and Louis Coleman

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 368 9/9 – Rarity: 15

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.

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

Ruppert Jones – #32

The 1984 season was an embarrassment of riches on so many levels. And when the Tigers signed Ruppert Jones to a minor-league deal on April 10, 1984, it was almost too much to comprehend.

Jones started the year in Evansville for what amounted to an extended spring training. That didn’t stop my friends and me from wondering:

When will he get called up?

Where will he play? 

When will he play?

  • The answer to the first question was early June, after lighting up the American Association, batting .313, 9 HR, 45 RBI and a .986 OPS in his 45 games with the Triplets.
  • The answer to the second question was left field and centerfield, with spot DH duty.
  • As for question three: 79 games. He finished the year with a .284 average, 12 HR, 37 RBI and a .862 OPS. 

In the postseason, Jones played in just four games — ALCS games one and two, and World Series games two and four — and notched only a walk and a run scored in nine plate appearances.

After the ’84 season, the Tigers let him walk — not a popular move in my eyes at the time (or now!). In January 1985, Jones signed with the Angels and played for them until his final big-league game, Oct. 4, 1987.

Check out this full bio on Jones by Adam Ulrey as part of SABR’s Bio Project.

Birthdays

Zach Miner, Craig Dingman, Ruppert Jones, Larry Rothschild and the late Eulogio “Frankie” De La Cruz and George Maisel

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 345 9/9 — Rarity: 11

If I had put Jack Morris in the top-right square, I could have had a Tigers bottom-right-to-top-left-diagonal Hollywood Squares win situation.

See you tomorrow.

The Friday Fungo

Tigers 23s

On this 23rd of February, let’s look back at the players who wore #23 for the Tigers during the period of 1977 through 1994:

  • Willie Horton – 1964-1977, number retired.
  • Kirk Gibson – 1979-87, 1993-95
  • Torey Lovullo – 1988-89
  • Mark Leiter – 1991-1992
  • Dan Petry – 1990. When Peaches returned to the Tigers after his time with the Angels, his original number 46 was being worn by Mike Schwabe. Presumably, he went with 23 because it is half of 46. In 1991, Petry was back in his original 46 for the 17 games he appeared in before being dealt to the Braves for Víctor Rosario.

If you’re wondering, the last players to wear 23 before it was retired were Gabe Kapler (1999) and Hideo Nomo (2000).

Birthdays

Rondell White, John Shelby and the late Roy Johnson.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 327 9/9 — Rarity: 44

Two former Tigers, including one of my all-time favorites, and one guy who I always wanted the Tigers to get.

See you tomorrow.

The Wednesday Fungo: Jan. 31

The Colt Keith extension got me wondering if 45 years ago, and these early extensions were a thing, the Tigers would have considered signing Kirk Gibson to a long-term extension.

It’s hard to take this notion even half seriously given that Jim Campbell was the Tigers’ GM back then.

But still.

Today’s Random Nuggets

On this date in 1952, Harry Heilmann was elected to the Hall of Fame.

Today’s birthdays: Hank Aguirre and Ted Power.

Today’s Immaculate Grid

Four Tigers in today’s grid:

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 304 — 9/9: Rarity: 17

One Last Thing

I cannot wait to watch the new Netflix documentary, “The Greatest Night in Pop”, about the recording, in 1985, of “We Are the World” — perhaps the song of my junior year.

And here’s the video:

See you tomorrow.

Avila at Third? Not All That Uncommon in Tigers History

Tonight Alex Avila is the Tigers’ starting third baseman in the opener of a three-game series in Denver against the Rockies.

Avila’s never played third in the majors but he’s not the first Tigers player to be pressed into action there. Did you know that Al Kaline appeared in two games at third during his career?

In 1961, he played a full nine innings at third, fielding a pair of chances cleanly, with a putout and an assist. Four years later he played 5.1 innings of a game with three chances, two putouts and an assist.

Johnny Wockenfuss, who played mostly at first, catcher and in the outfield, became even more of a utility man for Sparky Anderson when he played … parts of two games – all of 2.1 innings – at third base but never saw any action.

Like Kaline, in 1965 Willie Horton played third but outlasted him be two-thirds of an inning. In one game he played six innings, fielded two chances and earned an assist on both.

Others taking a turn at the hot corner include:

  • Mickey Stanley: 18 games over two seasons (1975 and ’76), 61 chances, 13 putouts, 46 assists and two errors
  • Alan Trammell: 43 games in two seasons (1993, ’96), 100 chances, 26 putouts, 69 assists, five errors
  • Ty Cobb: 1 game in 1918, two chances, with an assist and a putout.
  • Charlie Gehringer: 6 error-free games (and 26 chances) in 1926 for The Mechanical Man

I’m looking forward to this experiment. Having Avila’s bat in the lineup is huge and having him at third, well, can’t be any worse than Ryan Raburn.

What do you think?