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Detroit Tigers Team Notes Over 3 Million Views!!! Thankyou!

December 30 in Tigers and mlb history:

1907: The Mills Commission on the origins of baseball reports that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. The Commission is convinced by the testimony of Abner Graves, who claimed to be a childhood companion of Doubleday's. Grave's story is later "verified" when an old, rotting ball is found among his personal effects; the ball is now in the Hall of Fame. The Commission ignores the fact that Doubleday did not graduate from West Point until 1842.

1926: The Chicago Tribune breaks a story that the Detroit Tigers have thrown a four-game series to the Chicago White Sox in 1917 to help Chicago win the pennant. Responding to the publicity, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis convenes a hearing on the matter, but dismisses all charges. Landis can find no witnesses to confirm any part of Swede Risberg's claim.

1935: Sandy Koufax, one of the most dominant pitchers in history, is born in Brooklyn, NY. He will go on to pitch for the hometown Dodgers, but his career really takes off when the team moves to Los Angeles. Koufax will post a 129-47 record and capture three Cy Young Awards. He will win all three when only one award is given annually for the two leagues.
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1955: The Detroit Tigers traded Leo Cristante and cash to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Pete Wojey.

1987: The Detroit Tigers signed Mike Brown as a free agent.

2003: The Detroit Tigers signed Jason Johnson as a free agent.

2004: Aid originally destined for Nicaragua in memory of the anniversary of Roberto Clemente's tragic flight 32 years ago, will be sent instead to the earthquake and tsunami victims of Southern Asia. Roberto Clemente Jr., who with the help of the Project Club Clemente, collected two tons of supplies and raised nearly $20,000 dollars in efforts to reenact his father's unfinished mission, decides to postpone the ceremonial flight and divert the relief to help those in most desperate need right now.

2005: The Detroit Tigers signed Mike Bynum as a free agent.

2015: The Detroit Tigers signed Michael Crotta as a free agent.
2015: The Detroit Tigers signed Chad Huffman as a free agent.

2015: The Dodgers sign free agent pitcher Scott Kazmir to a three-year $48 million contract. The signing gives the Dodgers a potential all-lefthanded starting rotation as Kazmir joins Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Hyun-jin Ryu and Alex Wood.

Tigers players birthdays:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/taylobi03.shtml
Bill Taylor 1957-1958.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blomdbe01.shtml
Ben Blomdahl 1995.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Derek_Hill
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hillde01.shtml
Derek Hill 2020-2022.

Tigers players who passed away:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Pat_McGehee
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgehpa01.shtml
Pat McGehee 1912.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dick_Marlowe
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marlodi01.shtml
Dick Marlowe 1951-1956.

Baseball Reference
 
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https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2023/12/30/saturday-survey-109/
SATURDAY SURVEY.
Totally Tigers

Several days ago, a national survey ranked all 30 starting shortstops. Tiger fans will not be surprised to find that Javier Baez ranked in the bottom 3. There were 6 categories and the bottom classification was ?trash? ? just 1 level under ?below average.?

We know about Baez?s struggles at the plate and his comments about being unable to see fastballs. Defensively, he remains a plus defender, but just barely. In his first year with the Tigers, he put up a -4 DRS. In 2023, it was +2 DRS.

But earlier in his career, he was often a double-digit plus defender. One year, he put up +31 DRS.

We know that the Tigers tried to sign Carlos Correa but he held out for a larger contract. He, too, had problems finding a new home for 2 years in a row due to significant health concerns. Eventually, he signed a 6-year/$200 mill contract that averages $33+ mill/year with 1 year reaching $37 mill.

In the national survey, Correa ranks as ?good?, the third best category.

Javy Baez has 4 years remaining on his contract and the Tigers still owe him $98 mill. The Tigers are paying him more than double what he was making as a Cub. He was signed by former GM Al Avila.

As you look at his record, both his offensive and defensive stats have been trending downward since 2020. He joined the Tigers in 2022.

Most agree that this was a bad signing. But what was the driving force behind it?

Which factor was most responsible for the Tigers signing Javy Baez?

Which factor was most responsible for the signing of Javier Baez?

1. Incompetent Front Office.

2. Inability to develop shortstops in the farm system.

3. Limited choice in players wanting to come to Detroit.

VOTE
 
December 31 in Tigers and mlb history:

1857: Hall of Famer King Kelly was born this day in Troy, NY.
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1878: A reported eight million bats have been sold in the United States this year.

1897: At the age of 38, Charles Ebbets, who "has handled every dollar" entering the Brooklyn Dodgers club's treasury for the past 15 years, gains a controlling 80 percent interest in the team.

1914: Ban Johnson's efforts to strengthen the New York Yankees succeed when he arranges the purchase of the team by Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston for $460,000 from Bill Devery and Frank Farrell.

1914: After Detroit Tigers owner Frank Navin refuses to let manager Hugh Jennings go, the new New York owners will name longtime Detroit pitcher Bill Donovan to manage the team. Under the new regime, the Yankees will make the most important trade in franchise history when they purchase Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox in 1920.

1949: The 1940s is the only decade in Major League Baseball history in which no new stadiums are built. After the Cleveland Indians opened Cleveland Stadium in 1932, no new ballpark will be opened until Milwaukee County Stadium is unveiled by the Braves in 1953. The decade also will end with eight black players on major league rosters: three each on the Brooklyn Dodgers and Indians rosters, and two with the New York Giants.
Although it will be another decade before all major league teams will be integrated, most teams will be playing blacks in the next two years. Finally, all but the St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds set attendance records in the 1940s.

1949: There were 81 scheduled night games in 1940 and 384 in 1949. The change to playing under the lights is underscored by the release of the 1950 schedule: the St. Louis Cardinals have permission to open the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates in a night game.

1966: After 15 seasons with the Braves in three different cities, Eddie Mathews is traded to the Houston Astros.
The future Hall of Fame third baseman is the only person to play for the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves.
In August of 1967, Mathews will be traded to the Detroit Tigers and win a World Series Championship with the team in 1968.

1972: Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente dies in the crash of a four-engine plane over the Atlantic Ocean. The 38-year-old Clemente was supervising the delivery of relief supplies to the earthquake victims of Managua, Nicaragua. The cargo plane, a DC-7 that departed from San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico, crashes shortly after takeoff.
In 18 major league seasons, Clemente batted .317, won the 1966 MVP Award, and led the Pirates to World Championships in 1960 and 1971. Shortly after his death, the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors votes to waive the usual five-year waiting period for Clemente, paving the way for his election to Cooperstown in 1973.

1974: Free agent pitcher Catfish Hunter, who posted a 25-12 record with the Oakland Athletics, signs with the New York Yankees ending an unprecedented bidding war when he inks a five-year, $3.75 million dollar contract. This is triple the salary of any other major league player.

1979: The Basic Agreement between players and owners expires, precipitating more than 19 months of bitter negotiations, that will culminate in the 1981 player strike.

1984: Despite six weeks of negotiations, the Basic Agreement between the players and owners that was reached after the 1981 strike expires. The players are now seeking increased contributions to their pension plan from the clubs' additional television revenues, while the owners are hoping to slow the rapid growth of player salaries.

1993: Baseball's collective bargaining agreement runs out with no new agreement yet signed.

2004: The Detroit Tigers signed Kevin Hooper as a free agent.

2005: Today, Roberto Clemente Jr. will head to Nicaragua to distribute humanitarian aid, mirroring a trip that claimed the life of his father 33 years ago. He had planned a similar effort last year, but the December 26th tsunami convinced him to direct the relief supplies collected to affected areas of the Pacific Rim.

Tigers players birthdays:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnssy01.shtml
Syl Johnson 1922-1925.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lakemal01.shtml
Al Lakeman 1954.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ted_Gray
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grayte01.shtml
Ted Gray 1946, 1948-1954.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/moehlbr01.shtml
Brian Moehler 1996-2002.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reedev01.shtml
Evan Reed 2013-2014.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lugoda01.shtml
Dawel Lugo 2018-2020.

Tigers players who passed away:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/caseydo01.shtml
Doc Casey 1901-1902.

Baseball Reference
 
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Who's not in the Baseball Hall of Fame but should be?

That's an easy one Detroit Tigers' Lou Whitaker. And all the stats and rankings back it up.

Bill James ranked Sweet Lou as the 2nd best player not in the Hall based on WAR. James also put Whitaker as the 13th best 2Ber of all time. He also ranks in the top 12 in HRs and runs scored by 2Bers.

Lou also leads all 2Bers in range factor and his double plays rank 4th in history by 2Bers. We could go on but you get the point. It's time for the Tigers to step up and organize a campaign to promote his candidacy.
 
Which of Bill Freehan, Thurman Munson, and Yadier Molina is most Hall of Fame-worthy? I asked that question regarding the three former catchers in a Twitter poll on Friday, and the results were more or less what I expected them to be. Along with being recency-biased, they were very much debatable.

Molina won the poll easily, garnering a healthy 57.3% of the 1,293 votes cast while Munson finished second with 31.9% and Freehan received a mere 10.8%.

Here is a snapshot of their respective numbers and awards:

Freehan: 1,591 hits, 200 HRs, 113 wRC+, 44.8 bWAR, five Gold Gloves, 11 All-Star appearances.

Molina: 2,168 hits, 176 HRs, 97 wRC+, 42.3 bWAR, nine Gold Gloves,10 All-Star appearances.

Munson: 1,558 hits, 113 HRs, 116 wRC+, 46.1 bWAR, three Gold Gloves, seven All-Star appearances.

Note that the above WAR totals are bWAR and fWAR. The latter includes framing ? a Molina strength ? whereas both Freehan (1961-1976) and Munson (1969-1979) played prior to framing being measured. By and large, comparing catcher WAR over eras is a tenuous exercise. That said, Molina?s edge in fWAR is clear, 55.6 to Freehan?s 44.8 and Munson?s 40.9. Make of it what you will.

Given the dearth of catchers in Cooperstown, one could reasonably argue that all three merit enshrinement. As for which of them is most deserving of the honor? let?s just say I?m not convinced that it is the longtime St. Louis Cardinal. The late Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees stalwarts ? themselves one-franchise players ? were every bit as good.

Fangraphs
 
January 1 in Tigers and mlb history:

1857: Future Hall of Fame pitcher Tim Keefe is born in Cambridge, MA. In a 14-season major league career, Keefe will post a 342-225 record with 2562 strikeouts and a 2.62 ERA.

1911: Hank Greenberg is born in New York, NY. After a splendid career as a slugging first baseman and left fielder for the Tigers and as a baseball executive, Greenberg will gain Hall of Fame honors in 1956, and eventually have his legendary uniform number 5 retired by the Tigers.
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1916: Happy New Year from Ty Cobb! "I wish to express through the columns of the Free Press my New Year's greetings to the good fans of Detroit. ... I feel that the Tigers are going to reward Detroit fans with a pennant in 1916".
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1923: Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Keeler dies in Brooklyn, NY, at the age of 50. In 19 major league seasons, Keller hit .341, amassed 2,932 hits, and won consecutive batting titles in 1897 and 1898.

1927: The press is informed that outfielder Zack Wheat, after 18 consecutive seasons with the Brooklyn Robins teams, has been released. Wheat, who led the National League in hitting in 1918 with a .335 batting average, will hit .324 in 88 games for the Philadelphia Athletics in his final major league season in 1927, completing a distinguished Hall of Fame career with a lifetime mark of .318.

1929: Cool Papa Bell, playing for Cienfuegos, becomes the first slugger to connect for three home runs in a single game during Cuban professional play. A Negro Leaguer and future Hall of Fame member, Bell accomplishes his feat at Aida Park during the 15 - 11 slugfest victory over Habana. All three are inside-the-park efforts. Oscar Levis, Cliff Bell and Martin Dihigo surrender the homers.

1943: Negro League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown and is admitted to St. Francis hospital for rest and treatment. He will be released in time to go to Hot Springs, AR, to get in shape for the baseball season.

1961: Briggs Stadium, home of the Detroit Tigers, is officially renamed "Tiger Stadium".
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1974: Lee MacPhail takes over as American League president, succeeding Joe Cronin, who retires. MacPhail will serve in this role until 1984.
He will join his father, Larry MacPhail, as a member of the Hall of Fame in 1998.

2006: The Detroit Tigers signed Tony Fiore as a free agent.

2009: Major League Baseball launches MLB Network, a cable and satellite television channel based out of Secaucus, NJ. The channel debuts in nearly 50 million cable and satellite homes - the largest debut in cable television history, exceeding any other cable television launch by approximately 20 million homes.

2009: The friendly confines of Wrigley Field see a different type of action as the ballpark is fitted with an outdoor hockey rink to welcome an afternoon game between the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings. The event is a huge success with 40,818 in attendance and a huge television audience in place to watch the Wings beat the Hawks, 6 - 4. Other ballparks are lining up to host future editions of what is set to become an annual New Year's Day event.

2010: Boston's historic Fenway Park is host to a National Hockey League game for the first time, as the Boston Bruins defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2 - 1 in overtime in the league's annual New Year's Day outdoor game.

2020: Don Larsen, who threw the only perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 in 1956, dies at age 90.

2023: The Detroit Tigers purchased Tyler Nevin from the Baltimore Orioles.

Tigers players birthdays:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bruckan01.shtml
Andy Bruckmiller 1905.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fullefr01.shtml
Frank Fuller 1915-1916.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Hank_Greenberg
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/greenha01.shtml
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Hank-Greenberg/
Hank Greenberg 1930, 1933-1941, 1945-1946.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Earl_Torgeson
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/torgeea01.shtml
Earl Torgeson 1955-1957.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Gene_Host
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hostge01.shtml
Gene Host 1956.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Lynn_Jones
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jonesly01.shtml
Lynn Jones 1979-1983.

Tigers players who passed away:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riceha01.shtml
Harry Rice 1928-1930.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/daniech02.shtml
Chuck Daniel 1957.

Baseball Reference
 
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https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/01/01/open-mike-118/
OPEN MIKE.
Totally Tigers

Happy New Year! On this long holiday weekend, we welcome readers to share their thoughts about the Tigers or baseball in general. Your observations, comments and questions. Extra credit to those who create topics or questions that generate thoughtful dialog threads.

For this day only, a maximum of 6 sentences please.
 
January 2 in Tigers and mlb history:

1912: Brooklyn Superbas president Charles Ebbets announces the purchase of 4.5 acres to build a 23,000-seat concrete and steel stadium in the Pigtown section of Brooklyn. Construction on the ballpark will start on March 14th. Ebbets decides to name the ballpark after himself, thus it is called Ebbets Field. Completed in just over a year, opening day will be on April 9, 1913.

1946: The Chicago White Sox buy pitcher Alex Carrasquel and shortstop Fred Vaughn from the Washington Senators. Carrasquel will make only three appearances for the White Sox before being farmed out. When Chicago acquires his nephew Chico Carrasquel in 1949, Alex is traded for reliever Luis Aloma, who will act as an interpreter for the young Venezuelan shortstop.

1963: Happy Birthday to Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez, born this day in New York, NY.
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1965: The Detroit Tigers traded Dick Egan to the St. Louis Cardinals for Glen Hobbie and Bob Lipski.

1977: Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspends Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner for one year as a result of tampering charges in the Gary Matthews free agent signing. However, the Braves are permitted to keep the outfielder.

1986: Bill Veeck dies in Chicago, IL at age 71. Veeck was known for his flamboyant publicity stunts and the innovations he brought to the major leagues during his ownership of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox. He was the last owner to purchase a baseball franchise without an independent fortune, and is responsible for many significant contributions to baseball.

1992: The Detroit Tigers signed Chad Kreuter as a free agent.

1996: The Detroit Tigers signed Eddie Williams as a free agent.

2003: Due a conflict with the major league schedule, the annual Hall of Fame Game which has been held the day after Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will take place on a different weekend for the first time in the Hall's history. The game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Devil Rays is scheduled for June 16th, with the Hall of Fame induction taking place on July 27th.

2006: The Detroit Tigers signed Lance Davis as a free agent.

2014: The Detroit Tigers signed Trevor Crowe as a free agent.

2022: Major League Baseball issues its ruling in the domestic violence allegations against Yankees pitcher Domingo German, who was placed on administrative leave towards the end of last season, also missing the postseason. He is handed a suspension of 81 games for hitting his girlfriend; with the games already missed, he will sit out the first 63 games of the upcoming season and will not be paid during the time missed. It is the longest ban levied by MLB under its domestic violence policy for a player not facing criminal charges. '

2022: The NHL returns to Fenway Park for the second time as it hosts the annual Winter Classic, with over 39,000 spectators present for the outdoor hockey game. Both teams pay homage to the site's roots by wearing baseball-themed uniforms for the warm-up skate, the Boston Bruins inspired by those worn by the Boston Red Sox in the 1930s, while the Pittsburgh Penguins pay tribute to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Roberto Clemente. On the ice, the Bruins win, 2-1, in an exciting game that goes down to the final buzzer.

Tigers players and coaches birthdays:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cranesa01.shtml
Sam Crane Detroit Wolverines N.L. 1885-1886.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boehlge01.shtml
George Boehler 1912-1916.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Red_Kress
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kressre01.shtml
Red Kress 1939-1940, coach 1940.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garrere01.shtml
Reed Garrett 2019.

Tigers players who passed away:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Kid_Gleason
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gleaski01.shtml
Kid Gleason 1901-1902.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Gerry_Staley
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stalege01.shtml
Gerry Staley 1961.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Howie_Koplitz
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kopliho01.shtml
Howie Koplitz 1961-1962.

Baseball Reference
 
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https://totallytigers.wordpress.com/2024/01/01/kicking-off-the-new-year/
KICKING OFF THE NEW YEAR.
Totally Tigers

It?s the start of the New Year and what better way to kick things off than to envision what we want the Tigers? 2024 season to look like.

Your assignment is simple. As Curly (Jack Palance) said in City Slickers, we?re asking for ?One thing. Just one thing.?

We want you to complete the following sentence. Feel free to add 3 additional lines to explain your choice should you wish.Your answer must be based on the 2024 Tigers.

We?re not asking for the obvious.Don?t tell us that you want to see more wins.?Responses like that will get you put in the penalty room and forced to watch an endless loop of Brad Ausmus? post-game comments as manager.

?The one thing I?m most looking forward to watching this year will be?..?
 
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podca...cody-stavenhagen/id1557916983?i=1000640233453
Turning The Corner Tigers Podcast Episode 136: Detroit Tigers New Era. 52 minutes.

Happy New Year from Turning The Corner. Is 2024 the start of a new era for the Detroit Tigers? The Athletic's Cody Stavenhagen and co-host Kieran Steckley discuss. Topics include Scott Harris' sales pitch to free agents, Shelby Miller, Colt Keith, Riley Greene, A.J. Hinch, Casey Mize and more.
 
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