Tag: Willie Hernández

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:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. He first wore number 38, then switched to 45.

  4. The Tigers traded him to the Rangers on March 24, 1983 for Johnny Grubb.

  5. 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 Wednesday Fungo

Enos Cabell

The Tigers acquired Enos Cabell on March 4, 1982, in trade with the Giants for Champ Summers.

In 2011, Tom Gage wrote a piece in The Detroit News about Cabell (the original link to the article is here, but it’s not active for whatever reason) and I was interested to read why Cabell, who hit .311 for the 1983 Tigers, moved on after that season:

He wanted to stay a Tiger, and they weren’t averse to him staying.

“But they wouldn’t give me a raise,” Cabell said Saturday. “I hit .311, played with a knee brace the last two months of that year, and they wouldn’t give me a penny more.

“So I said bye-bye. I was pretty sure the Astros wanted me back, anyway.”

He filed for free agency on Nov. 7, 1983 and I couldn’t believe they let him walk away, especially after a solid ’83 campaign.

Six weeks later, on Dec. 17, 1983, the Tigers signed left-handed hitting Darrell Evans, a much-bigger power threat than the right-handed Cabell.

Then, of course, in March came the trade that defined the 1984 season: Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman for Glenn Wilson and John Wockenfuss.

Who knows how that would have come about if they had re-signed Cabell? A few years later this news broke — and on this date in 1986 — and you have to wonder if this played into the Tigers thinking in the fall of ‘83.

Commissioner Peter Ueberroth gives seven players who were admitted drug users a choice of a year’s suspension without pay or heavy fines and career-long drug testing, along with 100 hours of drug-related community service. Joaquín Andújar, Dale Berra, Enos Cabell, Keith Hernandez, Jeffrey Leonard, Dave Parker, and Lonnie Smith will be fined ten percent of their annual salaries to drug abuse programs. The commissioner also doles out lesser penalties to 14 other players for their use of drugs.

Cabell’s career numbers in Detroit: .284 average, 7 homers, 83 RBI, .682 OPS.

Birthdays

Niko Goodrum, Chad Bell and the late Ron Samford and Lil Stoner

Today’s Grid

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 332 9/9 — Rarity: 9

I’m particularly proud of this one!

See you tomorrow.

The Weekend Fungo

From the Archives: Jason Thompson

On May 27, 1980, Sparky traded my favorite Tigers player — my first favorite Tiger — first baseman Jason Thompson, to the California Angels for outfielder Al Cowens. (For more on Cowens, check out this post from the archives.)

The Hollywood native joined the Tigers full time in 1976 and played 123 games that year, hitting .218, with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. Two of the homers cleared the rightfield roof at Tiger Stadium. It was in 1977, though, that he made his mark: .270, 31 homers and 105 RBI, and an All Star Game selection.

In 1980, Thompson got off to a slow start: .214/4/20 in 36 games, and Sparky invoked his My Way or the Highway clause and sent his first baseman to Orange County.

As I’ve said before, Thompson’s replacement, Richie Hebner, was a favorite of mine too. But, who were the Tigers kidding? Hebner over Jason Thompson?

You can read the full post in the Archives.

Random Game: May 8, 1988

Tigers 9 – Mariners 3

  • Sunday, May 8, 1988
  • Start Time: 1:35 p.m. Local
  • Attendance: 12,695
  • Venue: Kingdome
  • Game Duration: 2:50
  • Day Game, on turf
  • Boxscore

    Birthdays

    Feb. 24: Bryan Kelly and the late Bubba Phillips, Pinky Pittinger, Lynn Nelson, Wilbur Cooper, Bugs Raymond, Monte Beville

    Feb. 25: Rich Rowland and Ken Szotkiewicz

    Weekend Grids

    Yesterday  

    ⚾️ Immaculate Grid 328 7/9 — Rarity: 239
    Today  

    ⚾️ Immaculate Grid 329 9/9 — Rarity: 12

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend. See you tomorrow.

    Sept. 18, 1984: Tigers Clinch American League East Title

    On this date in 1984, the Tigers clinched the American League East title, beating the Brewers 3-0.

    Randy O’Neal pitched seven shutout innings, allowing four hits, one walk and striking out six. As he often did, Willie Hernandez earned a two-inning save, his 30th of the year.

    Tom Brookens hit a solo homer off Brewers’ starter Bob McClure. Lance Parrish drove in Detroit’s other two runs.

    If you want to take a deep dive into the ’84 club, pickup a copy of Detroit Tigers 1984: What a Start! What a Finish! from Amazon.com. (Disclosure: I wrote the bios of Rusty Kuntz, Johnny Grubb, Chet Lemon and Carl Willis that appear in the book.)

    Valverde Another in Long Line of Infuriating Tigers Closers

    I’m sick of hearing about Jose Valverde‘s 49-for-49 save streak last season. We all know how that was constructed: with far too many saves that looked like Saturday afternoon’s harrowing win against the Royals.

    A lot has been written about Valverde’s intensity being dialed down a notch – or, apparently, disconnected altogether – when he’s in non-save situations. After the Tigers escaped with an 8-7 victory which should’ve been an 8-4 W, Valverde told reporters, “I wasn’t throwing my fastball for strikes. I don’t know what’s going on.”

    [callout title=WHIP Posted by Recent Tigers Closers]
    2001: Matt Anderson. 1.32 WHIP, 22 saves

    2002: Juan Acevedo. 1.22 WHIP, 28 saves

    2004: Ugueth Urbina. 1.29 WHIP, 21 saves

    2005: Fernando Rodney. 1.27 WHIP, 9 saves

    2009 Rodney. 1.46 WHIP, 37 saves

    2010 Valverde. 1.16 WHIP, 26 saves

    2011 Valverde. 1.18 WHIP, 49 saves

    And in case you were wondering, Todd Jones posted his best WHIP (1.26) in his eight seasons with the Tigers in 2006. And for his part, Valverde amassed his best WHIP (1.16) in 2010, his first in Detroit.[/callout]
    Whatever the man’s excuse, it got me thinking again about how the Tigers, unlike other A.L. Central clubs, haven’t had a lights-out closer in the same realm as Joe Nathan and, for a shorter but no less irritating stretch, Bobby Jenks.

    Nathan has owned the Tigers since 2004 when he came to the Twins from the Giants. In 59 games against Detroit, Nathan is 2-1 with a 1.48 ERA and 35 saves in 59 appearances; plus, he has 74 strikeouts in 60.2 IP and a 0.907 WHIP. (He’s saved more games against one other club, 37 versus the Royals in just an inning less.) In his A.L. career, including his time with the Rangers this year, his WHIP is 0.952, not to mention a 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

    Now, on to Jenks. The Tigers mustered a bit more offense against him from 2005-10: 2-1, 2.68 ERA, 22 saves in 39 appearances; 44 strikeouts in 40.1 IP and a 1.091 WHIP. No, he wasn’t automatic, but darn close.

    So I decided to look up Tigers closers with the best – or most Nathanesque – WHIP over the past 40 years, trying to find somebody – anybody – who came close to scaring opposing hitters late in the game.

    Here’s what I found on Baseball-Reference.com: only two Detroit closers finished with a WHIP under 1.0 since 1972:

    • 1981: Kevin Saucier. 0.959 WHIP – 13 saves, 49 IP, 23 K
    • 1984: Willie Hernandez. 0.941 WHIP – 32 saves, 140.1 IP, 112 K
    • 1985: Hernandez. 0.90 WHIP – 31 saves, 106.2 IP, 76 K

    That’s it for the shutdown closers.* Of course, Tigers relievers have posted stellar if not Nathan-
    like performances in the past 40 seasons. Here are a few notable examples:

    • 1973: John Hiller. 1.021 WHIP, 38 saves, 125.1 IP, 124 K
    • 1977: Steve Foucault. 1.090 WHIP, 13 saves, 74.1 IP, 58 K
    • 1978: Hiller. 1.072 WHIP, 15 saves, 92.1 IP, 74 K
    • 1988: Mike Henneman. 1.05 WHIP, 22 saves, 91.1 IP, 58 K, 1.05 WHIP

    *In the case of Hiller and Foucault, those were the days when closers routinely pitched two or three innings (sometimes more), so it’s clearly not apples-to-apples with today’s one-inning specialists.

    All this is to say, outside of Hernandez in 1984 and ’85 and Hiller in 1973, the Tigers have not had an automatic guy in the ninth inning.

    I think it’s safe to say we expected Joel Zumaya to be in the Joe Nathan/Mariano Rivera galaxy by this point of his career. Now we’ll have to wait and see if Bruce Rondon is the hammer we’ve been wait for.

    In the meantime we’ll have ride the ninth-inning rapids with Valverde and hope that near-disasters like Saturday’s are the exception, not the rule.

    Yeah right.

    The Non-Sequiturs: Trick or Treat Edition

    pumpkin.jpgEach October, I’m astounded to learn that Halloween is the second-largest retail holiday of the year. I’m not a fan of Halloween, though I do like the occasional, or frequent, Kit Kat.

    It’s a treat to be able to watch the World Series on Halloween, though the Aubrey Huff and Edgar Renteria sightings are undoubtedly the “trick” part of the equation.

    • In our highest vote-gettin’ poll of the season, Fungo readers were emphatic on what the Tigers’ next offseason move should be: target Nationals’ slugger and free-agent-to-be Adam Dunn.

      Twenty-four percent (148 voters) of the 628 readers casting votes selected Dunn as their top choice. Here are the runners up:

      • Sign Jason Werth (16%, 103 Votes)
      • Sign Victor Martinez (15%, 97 Votes)
      • Trade for a starting pitcher (14%, 88 Votes)
      • Pickup Jhonny Peralta’s option (14%, 88 Votes)
      • Sign Magglio Ordonez (12%, 73 Votes)
      • Other (5%, 31 Votes)

      Thanks to everyone who voted and a special thanks for those that left comments. It was a great discussion. Keep those comments rolling in.

      Continue reading “The Non-Sequiturs: Trick or Treat Edition” →

    October Surprise Part 3: Game 2 Skips Away

    As the Tigers and Twins square off for the biggest series of the year with the division title hanging in the balance, we continue our look back on the last great race in Tigers history: 1987 and the seven games against the Toronto Blue Jays. Today: Game 2.

    Part 1 – October Surprise: Tigers and Jays Battle for ’87 Division Title
    Part 2 – Showdown in Toronto, Game 1

    American League East Standings

    September 25, 1987

    Team Record Pct. GB
    Toronto 94-59 .614 –
    Detroit 92-60 .605 1.5

    Tigers left hander Frank Tanana had been in one divisional race in his 14-year career: in 1979 when he helped the California Angels win their first American League West title. In 1987, Tanana approached the twilight of his career but Toronto starter Jimmy Key’s best days were just dawning. Key had won 14 games in each of his first two years as a starter and in 1987 he would finish second in A.L. Cy Young voting, posting a 17-8 record and 2.76 ERA.
    BallBatGrass.jpg

    For the second straight night, the Tigers produced a two-run lead. In the Tigers’ second, Chet Lemon doubled and Darrell Evans singled him home. Later, in the sixth, Kirk Gibson bunted for a base hit and took second on Key’s wild throw to first. Larry Herndon followed with a single to left scoring Gibson and giving Tanana a two-run cushion.

    Tanana pitched one of his best games of the season throwing seven scoreless innings, yielding just five hits and a walk. Key was equally masterful in his 8.1 innings pitched. He scattered nine hits, allowing only one earned run and walking a single hitter. Going into the ninth inning the Tigers maintained a 2-0 lead.

    Continue reading “October Surprise Part 3: Game 2 Skips Away” →

    The Trade, 25 Years Later

    Want to feel old? Try this on for size:

    It was a quarter-century ago — March 24, 1984 — that the Tigers acquired relief pitcher Willie Hernandez and first baseman Dave Bergman from the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher John Wockenfuss and outfielder Glenn Wilson.

    And the insanity that was the Summer of ’84 began.

    In case you’ve forgotten, Hernandez won the American League MVP and Cy Young awards after saving 32 games with an 1.92 ERA and 140.1 innings in 80 pitching appearances.

    Good times.

    Talking with Johnny Grubb, Part II

    JohnnyGrubb2.jpgThis is the second and final installment of my conversation with former Tigers outfielder and pinch-hitter extraordinaire, Johnny Grubb. You can find the first installment here.

    Mike McClary: Heading into the 1984 season, was it a long off-season? It would seem like you would be chomping at the bit to get back on the field shortly after a little break. Was everyone coming into spring training raring to go?

    Johnny Grubb: Yeah, I think so. I remember us getting Dave Bergman and Willie [Hernandez]. So they came over, and they fit right in with the team, too. I mean, we just had a good group of guys that got along, and Dave Bergman is a heck of a guy and so was Willie. So it worked out great.

    MMc: Let’s talk about the ’84 season in general. Obviously, you got off to a great start, 9-0, and in the middle of that, Jack Morris throws a no-hitter. As you were getting older and becoming the seasoned veteran, were you really just enjoying about every moment of that season?

    JG: Oh, gosh, yeah. It was fun to watch those guys play and every once in a while to jump in and do something myself. But it was a lot of fun watching Gibby and Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker and Darrell [Evans] — and Lance did a great job. And Howard Johnson had the great season for us. I thought he did a great job. And Larry Herndon and all those guys really did well in the pitching.

    So really what I remember most about it is that I never really felt like we were out of any ballgame. Any lead a team could get, we felt like we could have a big inning and jump right back in the game. And we had real good pitching, so if we had the lead, we had Willie and [Aurelio] Lopez coming in to shut the door on them. The pitchers did their job, and the hitters did their job. And we just felt like we could win any game.

    That 35-5 start really helped a lot, too. But I think that pretty much was an indicator of how strong we were because that’s pretty phenomenal when you think about a 35-5 start in the major leagues. That’s pretty good.

    Continue reading “Talking with Johnny Grubb, Part II” →