The Sunday Fungo

March 10, 1983: George Kell to Cooperstown

On this date in 1983, George Kell was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. Former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Walter Alston was elected too.

In his 15-year career, Kell:

Batted over .300 nine times
Was a 10-time All-Star
Led American League third basemen in fielding percentage seven times

In Detroit, he:

Wore three uniform numbers: 21, 15 and 7
Hit .325 with 25 homers, 414 RBI and a .824 OPS
Was named an all star in six of his seven seasons

Random Game: Aug. 10, 1986

Red Sox 9 – Tigers 6

W: Joe Sambito (2-0) – L: Bill Campbell (2-4) – Save: Calvin Schiraldi (3) | Boxscore

My friend Doug and I attended this game, sitting in the centerfield bleachers for budgetary reasons, and choosing the lower deck for meteorological.

‘Twas a soggy day for the finale of a three-game set that, at the outset, provided foolish hope the Tigers could gain ground on the Red Sox, which entered the series four-and-a-half games up on second-place Detroit.

Instead, the Tigers were swept and this one ended with an eighth-inning bullpen collapse.

Neither Roger Clemens nor Walt Terrell were sharp: Clemens allowed seven hits, five walks and three earned runs in six innings. Terrell: six hits, three walks and four earned in seven innings.
The Red Sox led 4-0 until the Tigers scored two in the sixth, on a two-run homer by Alan Trammell, and Darrell Evans grand slam in the seventh to go up 6-4.
Bill Campbell (three) and Willie Hernandez (two) coughed up five runs in the top of the eight and Boston held on to win.
Rich Gedman hit a grand slam off Willie; two of the runs were charged to Campbell.
Darnell Coles went 3 for 5 with a double.
Boston left town with a seven-and-a-half game lead over the Tigers.

Miscellany

Umpires: HP – Richard Shulock, 1B – Dan Morrison, 2B – Mark Johnson, 3B – Rocky Roe
Time of Game: 3:11
Attendance: 39,866

Birthdays

Bill Heath and the late Art Herring and Jim Curry

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 343 9/9 — Rarity: 22

See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Fungo

George Cappuzzello – #41

George Cappuzzello, the man who allegedly was on an ice cream and doughnut diet during Spring Training in 1981, appeared in just 18 games that year for the Tigers.

Originally, Cappuzzello was drafted by the Tigers in the 27th round of the 1972 amateur draft. He spent six seasons in the Tigers’ system before being traded with minor leaguer John Valle (minors) to the Reds for Jack Billingham on March 6, 1978. He returned to Detroit after being released by the Reds in April 1980.

Cappuzzello made his major-league debut on May 31, 1981 against the Orioles, in a start against Scott McGregor. He pitched only the first inning, giving up two hits, three walks and three runs, all earned.

He finished his Tigers career with a 1-1 record with one save in 18 appearances (three starts) and a 3.48 ERA.

After his March 1982 release from Detroit, he appeared in 17 games that year for Astros with a final line of 0-1 with a 2.79 ERA.

Cappuzzello pitched in his final game on Aug. 5, 1982 against the Giants, in relief of former Tiger Vern Ruhle, pitching a third of an inning, allowing two hits, and two earned runs.

Birthdays

Clay Rapada, C.J. Nitkowski and the late Jim Landis, Ron Kline, Hughie Wise and Lefty Williams.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 342 5/9 — Rarity: 455

Things I learned today:

Bobby Grich never earned a Gold Glove.
Eric Young stole 30+ bases 10 times in his career … just never with the Angels. The caffeine hadn’t kicked in yet and I misread the rows thinking the stolen bases was linked to the Rockies.
Andres Galarraga never had 200+ hits in a season with the Rockies. The closest he got was 191 in 1996.

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:

Drafted by the Reds in the 16th round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur out of University of Cincinnati.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sparky used him just about everywhere: 1B, 2B, 3B, Shortstop, all outfield spots.
From ’91 to ’94, he appeared in 278 games for the Tigers batting .281 with 11 homers, 73 RBI and a .739 OPS.
Barnes’ final career hit came on June 16, 1994 — a single to right off the Brewers’ Bob Scanlan.
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.

He made his Tigers debut on April 8, 1978 against the Blue Jays, starting in right field and batting sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, he got his first hit, a single to center off Jerry Garvin.
According to this profile of Spikes:

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:

Date	Opp	Rslt	PA	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	BA	OPS
Apr 8	TOR	L,2-5	4	0	1	0	0	0	.250	.500
Apr 9	TOR	W,8-4	5	1	2	0	1	0	.333	.667
Apr 12	TEX	W,3-2	4	0	1	0	0	0	.308	.615
Apr 15	TOR	W,6-3	4	0	0	0	0	1	.250	.544
Apr 17	CHW	W,10-9	4	0	0	0	0	0	.200	.438
Apr 23 (1)	TEX	W,9-6	2	0	0	0	0	0	.200	.504
Apr 23 (2)	TEX	L,1-2	1	0	0	0	0	1	.200	.533
Apr 24	CHW	W,4-1	2	0	0	0	0	0	.182	.490
Apr 26	CHW	L,2-7	4	0	1	0	0	0	.192	.492
Apr 28	SEA	W,5-4	2	0	2	1	1	0	.250	.629
		Totals	32	1	7	1	2	2	.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.

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 Tuesday Fungo

Chris Brown — #35 (Part 2)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a short bit about Chris Brown. Today, I uncovered this July 2004 episode of ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” which highlights his career and his post-baseball life — which was too short. The segment is a little more than 20 minutes.

Birthdays

Mike Hessman, Brian Hunter and Jerry Ujdur, and the late Lu Blue, Rabbit Robinson, and Big Sam Thompson, who played for the Detroit Wolverines and Tigers.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 338 8/9 — Rarity: 125

See you tomorrow.

The Monday Fungo

Mark Wagner – #5

Infielder Mark Wagner debuted on Aug. 20, 1976, in a 3-2 Tigers win over the Twins at Tiger Stadium. He went 2 for 3 with an RBI, highlighted by a single, off lefty Eddie Bane, in his first major league at bat.

Here are four things to know about the guy nicknamed Peanut:

In five seasons with Detroit, the most games he played was 75, in 1979. He hit .271 with one homer and 13 RBI that year.
His first career home run came on May 11, 1977 at Tiger Stadium off the Twins’ Geoff Zahn. The Tigers won, 8-3.
On Dec. 10, 1980, the Tigers traded him to the Rangers for Kevin Saucier.
On Aug. 20, 1984, playing for his third and last club, the A’s, Wagner pitched the final 1-2⁄3 innings against the Tigers in relief of Chuck Rainey. He faced seven batters:
- Gave up hits to Doug Baker and Marty Castillo
- Walked Barbaro Garbey
- Struck out Johnny Grubb
- Yielded a sac fly to Dave Bergman but the run was charged to Rainey.

Random Game: April 26, 1977

White Sox 10 – Tigers 7 (14 innings)

W: Lerrin LaGrow (1-0) – L: Steve Foucault (0-1) | Boxscore

More proof of how baseball has changed over the past 50ish years: A 14-inning game and Ralph Houk used only three pitchers: Dave Rozema started and went 7 innings, John Hiller went 6 in relief, and Steve Foucault pitched the 14th, giving up three runs.

This was Rozema’s third career start and appearance.
Aurelio Rodriguez and Phil Mankowski teamed up to go 5 for 6 on the day.
Fellow St. Clair Shores native Jim Essian hit a paid of doubles in 6 at bats.
LaGrow went six innings in relief agains his former team.
Ron LeFlore had a rough day at the plate: 1 for 7, but he doubled in a run.

Miscellany

Umpires: HP – Don Denkinger, 1B – Larry McCoy, 2B – Durwood Merrill, 3B – Dave Phillips.
Time of Game: 3:58.
Attendance: 6,396.
Start Time Weather: 60° F

Birthdays

Nick Castellanos, Jack Hannahan, Mark Wagner and the late Les Mueller.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 337 8/9 — Rarity: 132

See you tomorrow.

The Sunday Fungo

Chuck Cary – #43

There was a lot of anticipation for what was being sold to Tigers fans as the next wave of homegrown talent behind Jack Morris, Dan Petry, Lance Parrish, Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell. One player that held promise was lefty Chuck Cary, along with Roger Mason, Randy O’Neal, et al.

Cary debuted on Aug. 22, 1985 against the A’s in Oakland, in a 13-inning game, earning a save with a sparkling line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 0 ER. (The Tigers won 5-3 in a game that featured a pair of soft-tossing lefties: Frank Tanana versus Tommy John.)

Later in his career, Cary was a starter but in Detroit, he worked out of the bullpen. He finished ’85 with 16 appearances, a 0-1 record, two saves, and a 3.42 ERA. The following year he was one of several left-handers on the Tigers staff including Tanana, newly acquired Dave LaPoint, Willie Hernandez, and Mark Thurmond

He appeared in 22 games in 1986, finished 1-2 with a 3.41 ERA. In his 33.2 innings pitched, he allowed 18 runs and 15 walks. The next offseason he was dealt to the Braves, along with O’Neal, for minor leaguer Freddy Tiburcio and Terry Harper.

After two seasons in Atlanta, he signed with the Yankees and pitched in the Bronx from 1989-91. Cary didn’t pitch in the majors in 1992, but in ‘93 appeared in 16 games for the White Sox. His last appearance came on Oct. 2, 1993 against the Indians.

Birthdays

Brent Dlugach, Matt Treanor, A.J. Sager, Chuck Cary, Skeeter Barnes and the late Stephen “Bud” Souchock.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 336 9/9 — Rarity: 28

See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Fungo

Dave Tobik: 5 Things to Know

Today is Tobik’s 70th birthday. Here are five things you need to know:

RHP Dave Tobik was drafted by the Tigers in the first round, second overall, of the 1975 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase from Ohio University.
He debuted on Aug. 26, 1978 against the Brewers, a 9-5 loss. His line: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 1 SO, 1 BB, 3 ER.
He first wore number 38, then switched to 45.
The Tigers traded him to the Rangers on March 24, 1983 for Johnny Grubb.
Gist of Tobik’s time in Detroit: 5 seasons, 10-16 record, 3.65 ERA and 13 saves. (He started two games.)

Birthdays

Dave Tobik, Jim Nettles, Jim Brady and the late Chico Hernandez. Check out Brady’s ghastly record — and that equally ghastly Tigers hat in his photo.

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 335 7/9 — Rarity: 235

See you tomorrow.

The Friday Fungo

Fernando Valenzuela?

Yes. Briefly.

This blog could not exist without Baseball Reference, and the $80 a year for the ad-free subscription is a steal given how much time I spend on the site. I always seem to uncover some delightful tidbit and lately it seems to be the result of post-Immaculate Grid curiosity.

Today’s discovery might be atop the list, if I kept a list.

Did we know Fernando Valenzuela was, for 75 days, in the Tigers system?

This development leads to a less-intriguing but worthy follow-up question: Did we know Rick Renteria was too?

My answer, at least, is: no!

Random Game: Aug. 13, 1983

Tigers 6 – Yankees 3

W: Jack Morris (14-8) – L: Ron Guidry (13-8) | Boxscore

I sat in the upper-deck bleachers, dead center, for this game with my brother, future brother in law, and my friends (to this day!) Rob and Jeff.
It could not have been a better stage: A warm August Saturday night, a packed house to see Jack Morris face Ron Guidry in a classic 1980s A.L. East showdown with the teams tied for the division lead.
This was the first time in my Tigers fandom that the Tigers were this good, this close to first place, this late in the season — not counting 1981.
The game took place a few days after Yankees right fielder Dave Winfield had dispatched a seagull with a warmup toss at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium. Those of us in the bleachers tormented him with bird-like arm waving. Top-notch hijinks for a 15 year old.
We went crazy after the game when the scoreboard showed the standings with the Tigers on top by a game. Insanity.

Highlights

The Yankees led 3-2 until the bottom of the seventh when John Wockenfuss launched a homer to left, scoring Larry Herndon, to take a 4-2 lead. (I can still it in my mind, the ball arching in slow motion to left … but now I can’t remember if it was upper or lower deck.)
Glenn Wilson hit a two-run double in the eighth to widen the lead to 6-2.
Alan Trammell went 4 for 4.
Morris went the distance, scattering six hits and striking out 12.
According to The New York Times game story by Murray Chass, the loss snapped Guidry’s seven-game Tiger Stadium winning streak. The Tigers had last beaten him in Detroit May 21, 1979, 3-1.

Miscellany

Umpires: HP – Al Clark, 1B – Bill Kunkel, 2B – Richard Shulock, 3B – Derryl Cousins.
Time of Game: 2:27
Attendance: 50,016
Start Time Weather: 76° F