May 13, 1984: Rained Out in Detroit

The Tigers are rained out yet again in the first six weeks. Seattle comes to town for three starting tomorrow.

Record: 26-5, 7.5 games up

Glenn Wilson #12

A torrid start in Evansville led to Glenn Wilson‘s promotion to the Tigers in time for the Tigers on Opening Day in Detroit, April 15, 1982, against the Blue Jays.

Just two years earlier Wilson was a Tigers first-round pick, 18th overall, out of Sam Houston State University in Texas.

Wilson entered the ’82 home opener in the bottom of the eighth pinch-hitting for DH Jerry Turner. Facing Jays’ reliever Jerry Garvin, he stuck out looking.

The next day, Wilson collected his first major-league hit the next day against Ron Guidry, leading off the ninth with a double to left center.

Wilson made the most of his opportunity, hitting .467 in his first six games, and playing excellent defense in the outfield. Thanks to his hot start, he stuck with the Tigers until early May when he was sent back to Evansville only to return in July.

Wilson ended up playing in 84 big-league games that season, 80 of them in centerfield, and finished at .292 with 12 home runs.

In 1983 the Tigers were depending on Wilson to maintain the pace he began in his rookie season. He shifted from centerfield to right, allowing Chet Lemon to take over his natural position. Wilson appeared in 144 games that year and hit .268 with 11 HR and 64 RBI.

The Tigers saw him as a key piece of the puzzle heading into 1984. But the Tigers were determined to make Kirk Gibson their regular right fielder in ’84 which complicated the outfield picture and likely meant Wilson was a man without a position.

On March 24, the Tigers sent Wilson and John Wockenfuss to the Phillies for Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman. Wilson spent four seasons with the Phillies and was named to the National League All-Star team in 1985. He finished the season with a .275 average, 14 home runs and 102 RBI.

With stops in Seattle, Pittsburgh and his hometown Astros, Wilson had a solid 10-year major-league career. His place in Tigers lore is set, if only as a player traded away on the eve of a magical season.

I for one enjoyed watching him play in Detroit — he was one of my favorite players — and wish he’d hung around a bit longer.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the late, old-time Tigers: Alex Main (1914 Tigers), Jimmy Archer (1907 Tigers) and Jack Burns (1903-04 Tigers)

See you tomorrow.

May 12, 1984: Angels 4 – Tigers 2

W: Tommy John (3-3) – L: Juan Berenguer (2-2) | Boxscore

Record: 26-5

Highlights

The Tigers had a 2-0 lead into the fifth when Reggie Jackson blasted a two-run homer off Berenguer. (See the proof below.)

The Angels tacked on runs in seventh and eighth, the last a solo shot by Rob Wilfong off Aurelio López.

Tommy John pitched a complete game, and Sparky got ejected in this one for arguing a call at second base and tossing his hat in the air to boot.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Jim Evans, 1B – Greg Kosc, 2B – Ted Hendry, 3B – Drew Coble
Time of Game: 2:32
Attendance: 38,516

Ron Jackson #15

The 1981 Tigers were in the hunt for a playoff spot as the second-half A.L. East champ, so they picked up right-handed hitting first baseman Ron Jackson for the stretch drive.

Here are a few things to know about his brief time in Detroit:

He came to Detroit from the Twins on Aug. 23, 1981 for a player to be named later. The Tigers sent Tim Corcoran on Sept. 4 to complete the trade.

Jackson made his Tigers debut that same August day, batting fifth and playing first base. He went 0 for 4 against the Rangers in a 5-4 Tigers win.

He became a regular during his brief stint in Detroit, appearing in 31 games and batting .284 with a homer and 12 RBI and a .758 OPS.

As I remember it, Jackson was a spark plug for the Tigers and it seemed like he would return in 1982. Instead, the Tigers let him go as a free agent (surprise, surprise).

He signed with the Angels, his original club, in April 1982 and spent two seasons in Anaheim and his final year, 1984, with the Orioles.

Birthdays

Lou Whitaker, Tom Timmermann and the late Dixie Parsons, Hank Borowy, Archie McKain and Joe Dugan

See you tomorrow.

May 11, 1984: Tigers 8 – Angels 2

W: Milt Wilcox (4-0) – L: Mike Witt (4-2) – S: Willie Hernández (4) | Boxscore

Record: 26-4

Highlights

Six solid, scoreless innings from Wilcox and a less-than-pristine three-inning save from Willie: 5 hits allowed, 2 runs.

A lot of traffic on the base paths during this one: 25 combined hits (14 for Detroit) and seven combined walks (6 for the Tigers.)

Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson, Darrell Evans, Larry Herndon, Bárbaro Garbey and Dave Bergman each had two hits.

Miscellany

Venue: Tiger Stadium
Umpires: HP – Drew Coble, 1B – Jim Evans, 2B – Greg Kosc, 3B – Ted Hendry
Time of Game: 2:55
Attendance: 44,187

Birthdays

Francisco Cordero, Bill Bean, Mark Huismann, Walt Terrell, the late Rip Sewell and Charlie Gehringer

See you tomorrow.

May 10, 1984: Off Day

After sweeping the Royals, the Tigers enjoy an off day before a weekend series at home against the Angels.

So, here’s a game from May 10, 1987.

On TV: May 10, 1987: Tigers vs. A’s

Jack Morris vs. Moose Haas

Birthdays

JaCoby Jones, Brayan Villarreal, Matt Tuiasosopo, Luke Putkonen, Marino Santana, John Cummings and the late Tim Hosley

Today’s Grid

See you tomorrow.

May 9, 1984: Tigers 3 – Royals 1

W: Dan Petry (5-1) – L: Danny Jackson (0-4) – Save: Aurelio López (4) | Boxscore

Record: 25-4

Highlights

The Tigers banged out 12 hits, nine of them off K.C. starter Danny Jackson. Darrell Evans and Alan Trammell, three apiece, accounted for half of them.

Rusty Kuntz and Lou Whitaker each had two hits.

Petry pitched six and two-thirds, allowing seven hits and just one run. Aurelio López pitched the rest of the way, giving up just a walk and striking out four.

Miscellany

Venue: Royals Stadium
Umpires: HP – Larry McCoy, 1B – Nick Bremigan, 2B – Vic Voltaggio, 3B – Joe Brinkman
Time of Game: 2:48
Attendance: 15,709

Birthdays

Ian Krol, Daniel Schlereth, Prince Fielder, Ron Jackson, and the late Tom Yewcic and Lew Drill

See you tomorrow.

May 8, 1984: Tigers 5 – Royals 2

W: Jack Morris (6-1) – L: Bud Black (3-2) | Boxscore

Record: 24-4

Highlights

After seemingly years of being stymied by Dan Quisenberry, the Tigers got to him in the seventh inning — with an exclamation mark.

The Tigers trailed 2-0 and, with Quisenberry on the mound, the road winning streak again looked in peril … until a two-out grand slam by Alan Trammell as part of a five-run rally.

Larry Herndon, Darrell Evans and Chet Lemon had two hits apiece.

Morris turned in a seven-hit, five-strikeout complete game.

Miscellany

Venue: Royals Stadium
Umpires: HP – Joe Brinkman, 1B – Larry McCoy, 2B – Nick Bremigan, 3B – Vic Voltaggio
Time of Game: 2:35
Attendance: 14,304

Birthdays

Wily Peralta, Alfredo Simón and the late Norman “Turkey” Stearnes and John Skopec

Today’s Grid

See you tomorrow.

May 7, 1984: Tigers 10 – Royals 3

W: Juan Berenguer (2-1) – L: Mark Gubicza (0-3) – Save: Doug Bair (2) | Boxscore

Record: 23-4

Highlights

Alan Trammell (3 for 4), Johnny Grubb (2 for 3) and Chet Lemon (3 for 3) led the offense and Berenguer pitch a solid if not erratic six and two thirds. He gave up six hits and four walks. Bair pitched a scoreless two and a third.

The Tigers’ road winning streak marches on: 12 straight.

Miscellany

Venue: Royals Stadium
Umpires: HP – Vic Voltaggio, 1B – Joe Brinkman, 2B – Larry McCoy, 3B – Nick Bremigan
Time of Game: 3:02
Attendance: 19,474

A Bad Tigers TV Commercial from 1993

Fr. Allan Travers

Read about Fr. Allan Travers who gave up 24 runs on 26 hits in eight innings against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 18, 1912. It was his only appearance — anywhere.

Birthdays

Fr. Allan Travers

See you tomorrow.

May 6, 1984: Tigers 6 – Indians 5 (12)

W: Aurelio López (3-0) – L: Ernie Camacho (0-2) | Boxscore

Record: 22-4

Highlights

For the second straight day, the Tigers edge the Indians 6-5, but this one was a 12-inning affair.

Milt Wilcox started opposite Bert Blyleven. Milt went five innings, giving up eight hits and five runs.

The bullpen, Dave Rozema, Willie Hernández and Aurelio López, held the Tribe scoreless over the next seven. Blyleven pitched seven and a third yielding seven hits, five walks and struck out seven.

Dave Bergman led off the 12th with a double and Tom Brookens sacrificed him to third. Lou Whitaker singled to score Bergman with the go-ahead and eventual winning run.

Bergman and Alan Trammell each had three hits, and Johnny Grubb had two singles to go with three walks.

Miscellany

Venue: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Umpires: HP – Jim McKean, 1B – Durwood Merrill, 2B – Dan Morrison, 3B – Marty Springstead
Time of Game: 4:20
Attendance: 16,125

Dave Gumpert #43

The Tigers signed 6′ 1″ righty Dave Gumpert on Nov. 4, 1980 as an amateur free agent out of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.

He quickly moved up the ladder in 1981, starting in Single-A Lakeland, Double-A Birmingham and the Triple-A Evansville. In 1982, he appeared in 42 games for Birmingham and two for Evansville before getting the call to Detroit.

Gumpert made his debut on July 25, 1982 against the Rangers, securing the final two outs to close out the Tigers’ 7-2 win.

He pitched in five games for the ’82 Tigers, including one brief start on Aug. 8: getting just one out and giving up three runs on four hits, including a homer to Ernie Whitt.

His final line for 1982: Five appearances, two innings pitched, 13 batters faced, one start, one save, and a 27.00 ERA.

In 1983, he began the season in Evansville and was promoted in time to again face the Blue Jays, on May 30. Gumpert relieved starter Dan Petry with one out in the ninth and the Tigers trailing 4-0. He escaped the inning and the Tigers scored four in the bottom half to push it to extras. Gumpert was charged with two runs in the 10th and the Tigers lost, 6-4.

Gumpert appeared in 26 games for the ’83 Tigers, finishing with a record of 0-2, an ERA of 2.94 and a pair of saves.

He spent all of 1984 in Evansville, posting a 7-4 record with a 4.96 ERA. The Tigers released him at the end of Spring Training in 1985 and he signed with the Cubs a week later. His final numbers with Detroit: 0-2, 3.69 ERA, two saves.

Gumpert spent the ’85 and ’86 seasons in Chicago, before being traded to the Royals for his final big-league season in 1987.

Birthdays

Phil Clark and Tom Bolton

See you tomorrow.

May 5, 1984: Tigers 6 – Indians 5

W: Glenn Abbott (2-1) – L: Neal Heaton (2-3) – Save: Aurelio López (3) | Boxscore

Record: 21-4

Highlights

I started to write today’s installment but stopped once I received this text from my friend John, who did the heavy lifting for me:

40 years ago today the Tigers almost lost their first road game of the 1984 regular season. At Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the bottom of the 9th inning with George Vukovich on 1st, Mike Fischlin on 2nd, and Broderick Perkins pinch hitting for Kevin Rhomberg, Perkins hit a long drive to right field off Aurelio López that went into the seats but was just foul by a couple of feet. Perkins went on to take a called third strike to end the game and give the Tigers a 6-5 win.

Chet Lemon went 4 for 4 with three RBI and a homer.

Miscellany

Venue: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Umpires: HP – Marty Springstead, 1B – Jim McKean, 2B – Durwood Merrill, 3B – Dan Morrison
Time of Game: 2:57
Attendance: 9,282

Birthdays

The pride of South Haven, Mich., Dave Gumpert; Juan Acevedo, Ramon Pena, Don Buddin and Henri Rondeau

See you tomorrow.

May 4, 1984: Tigers 9 – Indians 2

W: Dan Petry (4-1) – L: Dan Spillner (0-2) – Save: Willie Hernández (3) | Boxscore

Record: 20-4

Highlights

The Tigers had 13 hits, three for Lou Whitaker and four for Larry Herndon.

Howard Johnson homered, his second.

Petry: 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs 6 walks, 5 strikeouts

A four-inning save for Willie.

Miscellany

Venue: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Umpires: HP – Dan Morrison, 1B – Marty Springstead, 2B – Jim McKean, 3B – Durwood Merrill
Time of Game: 3:06
Attendance: 8,497

Rick Leach #7

Here are seven things to know about Rick Leach, who went from start Michigan quarterback to Tigers first baseman.

He was drafted by the Tigers in the first round (13th) of the 1979 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Michigan. He was previously drafted by the Phillies twice: in the 11th round of the 1975 draft from Flint Southwestern High, and in the 24th round of the 1978 draft from Michigan.

He made his major-league debut on April 30, 1981, as a ninth-inning defensive replacement for Rich Hebner at first base. And he did it again the next game.

Leach’s first plate appearance came on May 2, as ninth-inning pinch hitter for Lynn Jones. Leading off the top of the ninth, facing Dick Drago, he lined out to second baseman Julio Cruz.

On May 6 in Oakland, Leach got his first big-league start: batting seventh and place first. He finished 0 for 1 that night, but with three walks. The following day, he got his first major-league hit, a single to left off Matt Keough that drove in Champ Summers.

Leach saw his playing time increase between 1981 and 1983, appearing 54, 82 and 99 games respectively. His best year was 1983: .248, three home runs and 28 RBI.

With Dave Bergman, Bárbaro Garbey and Darrell Evans all slated for playing time at first, the Tigers released Leach on March 24, 1984 — the same day of The Trade that brought Bergman and Willie Hernandez to Detroit. And he signed, with of all teams, the Blue Jays. (He appeared in only two games against the Tigers.)

Leach had his best years in Toronto. In five seasons, he batted .283, eight home runs and 95 RBI.

Birthdays

Rick Leach, Brian Maxcy and the late Howie Koplitz, John Tsitouris and Charlie Hickman

See you tomorrow.