For a two unfortunate years, I was a resident of the greater Houston metroplex. In fact, it’ll be 10 years this December that I moved there (and it was seven years ago this week that I escaped).
My stay in Houston coincided with the April 2000 opening of a new baseball stadium, then Enron Field, site of this weekend’s interleague series between the Tigers and Astros. Meanwhile, the Tigers were moving into Comerica Park.
Continue reading “Memories of Enron Field and Loose Tigers Connections”
Find out here.
Did they burn cars in ’68 too, or is Bobby mixing his championship metaphors?
On this date in 2005, the Tigers traded reliever/troublemaker Ugueth Urbina and infielder Ramon Martinez to the Phillies for infielder Placido Polanco. We all know how that traded worked out.
In his five-ish seasons in Detroit, Polanco has been merely a machine: .313 average, .357 OBP, playing in about 140 games a year, hitting .529 in the ALCS to win the MVP, consecutive errorless-games streak at second base, and so on.
As for Urbina, he pitched in 56 games for the Phillies posting a 4-3 record with a 4.13 ERA. He managed to notch a single save before turning to a life of crime — and who could blame him? He was scraping by on the more than $25 million he’d earned in his 11 seasons. He’ll be in a Venezuelan clink for another 12 years. Give or take.
Also, a bevy of notable births occurred on June 8, not the least of which is my daughter. Friends of the Fungo Doug Hill and Ian Casselberry (he of the resplendent BlessYouBoys.com) also celebrate birthdays today. Then there are the Tigers-related celebrations, Kevin Ritz and Dave Mlicki and Matt Perisho.
He didn’t pitch long for the Tigers (1993 and part of ’94; 6-6 in 56 appearances), but Bill Krueger still qualifies for a Happy Birthday wish. He’s 51 today.
Now, did you know that Krueger’s batterymate in 1993 often was Chad Kreuter? Of course, Kreuter is pronounced “Kroy-ter”, but still, Krueger-to-Kreuter could’ve had a spot in the pantheon of classic batteries such as Bud Black and Steve Decker.
Well, maybe not.
I failed to mention in today’s podcast that this marks the birthday of Tigers Hall of Famer Wahoo Sam Crawford. He was born in 1880.
He broke into the majors with Reds in 1899 and stayed until 1902 when the National League and American League fought bitterly for players.
According to his Baseball-Reference.com page, before the 1903 season Crawford “[j]umped from the Cincinnati Reds to the Detroit Tigers.” So there you have it.
Here’s Crawford’s entry in the 2008 Hall of Fame Yearbook:
“Wahoo” Sam Crawford — so nicknamed for his Nebraska birthplace — was one of his era’s finest hitters and base stealers. He led the American League in triples six times and remains baseball’s career leader at 312. Ty Cobb said of Crawford, “With the rabbit ball they’re playing with today, he’d have been one of the greatest home run hitters of all time.” Crawford, who stole 363 bases and batted .309 lifetime during a 19-year career, played alongside Cobb in the Detroit Tigers outfield for 13 seasons. Crawford helped the Tigers to three straight A.L. pennants from 1907 to 1909.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1957. Crawford died in 1968.
In case you were wondering, here’s how the Tigers have fared against the Mariners since Seattle joined the American League in 1977:
Wait a second. The Tigers and Mariners played to a tie? In the 20th century?
This little item sent me scrambling to my favorite site, Baseball-Reference.com, for the details. Here’s what I found:
Continue reading “The Curious Case of June 2, 1980: Tigers and Mariners Play to a Tie”
Friend of the Fungo Justin Weeks (a.k.a. “Justin in Grand Rapids” on the podcast) sent along these two photos taken near Comerica Park and Grand Rapids, respectively.
Thanks, Justin!
I once had a Mark “The Bird” Fidrych mood ring. For the life of me, I can’t find it and I’ve also scoured my parents’ house for it. (Even an eBay search came up empty.)
The only living proof that I have of it is a photo from my oldest sister’s wedding in which I was wearing it. (My mom was mortified.)
Anyone else have one?
A 1985 interview with Mark Fidrych on the TV show “Once a Star”, hosted by Jack Brickhouse, Steve Stone and former Pistons guard and TV color analyst John “Crash” Mengelt.
An Appreciation of The Bird from former Free Press Writer Joe Lapointe in The New York Times.
Obits:
dailyfungoarchive.com 