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Detroit Tigers Team Notes Over 4 Million Views!!!! Thankyou!

November 7 in Tigers and mlb history:

1889: The Brotherhood and its backers meet to begin preliminary work on the organization of a Players League. The players believe "that the game can be played more fairly and its business conducted more intelligently under a plan which excludes everything arbitrary and un-American."

1928: The Boston Braves trade National League batting champion Rogers Hornsby to the Chicago Cubs for $200,000 and players Freddie Maguire (IF), Percy Jones (P), Lou Legett (C), Socks Seibold and P Bruce Cunningham. The hard-hitting Hornsby, who posted a .387 batting average with 21 home runs for the Braves, will enjoy another spectacular season in 1929 for his new club. He will compile a .380 average with 39 home runs and 149 RBI. Braves owner-president Emil Fuchs also decides to be his own manager.

1938: Happy Birthday Jim Kaat. The Baseball Hall of Famer was born in Zeeland, Michigan on this day.


1943: The Giants and Lions play to a 0-0 tie at Briggs (Tiger) Stadium. The NFL hasn't had a scoreless tie since.

1951: Representative Emanuel Celler's committee issues financial data from 1945-1949 that differs with Walter O'Malley's numbers. According to Celler, the Brooklyn Dodgers made a profit of 2.364 million dollars in the five-year period. The Dodgers' "loss" of $129,318 in 1950 included a $167,000 loss due to the promotion of the Brooklyn Dodgers professional football team. In his continuing investigation into antitrust violations, Celler says that evidence in his committee suggests altering the reserve clause in that it does limit players.

1951: New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra is named the American League MVP! Fun Fact: Yogi hit 27 HR's but struck out only 20 times in 594 plate appearances that season.

1963: New York Yankees catcher Elston Howard becomes the first black player to win the American League MVP Award. Howard beats out Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers by 248 votes to 148 in the balloting. Kaline however does Win the prestigious Sporting News American League Player of the League Award for the second time in his illustrious career, also Winning in 1955 after finishing second in the MVP Award to another Yankee's catcher Yogi Berra.

1964: The National League approves the move of the Milwaukee Braves to Atlanta but orders them to stay in Milwaukee for the 1965 season, in spite of poor attendance over the last two years. The Braves will eventually move to Atlanta in 1966.

1967: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Orlando Cepeda becomes only the second National League player to unanimously win the MVP Award. Cepeda batted .325 with 25 home runs and 111 RBI in leading the Cardinals to the pennant. New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell swept the National League MVP voting in 1936.

1972: Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench, who posted a .270 average with 40 home runs and 125 RBI, wins the National League MVP Award for the second time in three years.

1973: New Jersey becomes the first state which allows girls to play on Little League baseball teams.

1978: In a controversial selection, Boston Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice is named American League Most Valuable Player over New York Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry. Rice led the AL in home runs (46), RBI (139), hits (213), triples and slugging percentage (.600), and became the first AL player to accumulate 400 total bases in a season since Joe DiMaggio in 1937, while Guidry posted a 25-3 record with 248 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA for the pennant-winning Yankees.

1983: Doug Bair of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
1983: Enos Cabell of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
1983: Milt Wilcox of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.

1993: Joe Boever of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
1993: The Detroit Tigers signed Joe Boever as a free agent.

1995: MLB signs a $1.7 billion, five-year deal with FOX, NBC, ESPN and Liberty Media.

1995: Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.

2000: Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations in the Commissioner's office, announces that baseball will try to bring back the high strike next season.

2001: Commissioner Bud Selig announces that Major League Baseball will undergo a contraction of two teams, after a 28-2 vote by the owners. Montreal is one of the dissenting franchises.

2001: The Detroit Tigers signed Dave Borkowski as a free agent.
2001: The Detroit Tigers signed Craig Wilson as a free agent.

2003: The Detroit Tigers signed Danny Klassen as a free agent.

2005: The Detroit Tigers signed Kevin Hooper as a free agent.

2016: Drake Britton of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: Pedro Ciriaco of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: Preston Guilmet of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: Chad Huffman of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: David Martinez of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: Dustin Molleken of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: Cesar Ramos of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: Jordany Valdespin of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2016: Thad Weber of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.

2019: Winners of the Silver Slugger Awards are announced. The Atlanta Braves have the most winners at three positions: Freddie Freeman (1B); Ozzie Albies (2B); and Ronald Acuna (OF). All three are first-time winners; on the other end of the spectrum, OF Mike Trout wins the award for the 7th time.

2021: Juan Centeno of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2021: Drew Hutchison of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2021: Mark Leiter Jr. of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2021: Pedro Payano of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2021: Ricardo Pinto of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
2021: Christin Stewart of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.

Tigers players birthdays:

Joe Niekro 1970-1972.

Tom Walker 1975.

Orlando Mercado 1987.

Andy Tomberlin 1998.

Tigers players and coaches who passed away:

Sam Thompson Detroit Wolverines NL 1885-1888, Tigers 1906.

Chick Galloway 1928.

Johnny Sain Pitching Coach 1967-1969.

Baseball Reference
 
FIVE FOR FRIDAY.
Totally Tigers

You shouldn’t be surprised that the Detroit Tigers continue to shake up their Front Office. I have often written of Theo Epstein’s philosophies including how long it takes to edit an organization to the PoBO’s/GM’s liking. A minimum of 3 years according to the Yoda of baseball.
The Tigers now are in their 4th year.
Here are the 5 (really 6) new names you need to know. All hired within the past couple of months.
 
The Tigers today claimed RHP Jack Little off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Additionally, the Tigers have Declined the following 2026 contract options:
RHP Randy Dobnak (club), RHP Paul Sewald (mutual) and RHP Jose Urquidy (club).

Finally, the Tigers activated the following six players off the 60-day injured list:
RHP Beau Brieske, RHP Jason Foley, LHP Sean Guenther, RHP Jackson Jobe,
RHP Ty Madden and RHP Reese Olson.

The club’s 40-man roster now stands at 40 players.
 
November 8 in Tigers and mlb history:

1920: At a meeting to depose Ban Johnson as the American League president, a new 12-team National League, made up of the dissenting 11 teams plus one of the five teams loyal to Johnson, is agreed to. John Heydler will be its president and federal judge Kenesaw Landis the proposed chairman of the new commission. This revolutionary plan for a new senior circuit will be discarded a few days later, after four of the five American League clubs still backing Johnson agree to a joint meeting November 12th in Chicago, IL.

1928: Rick Ferrell of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.

1934: Ford Frick, National League publicity director, is named league president. He will eventually become Commissioner.

1945: For the second consecutive season, Detroit?s Hal Newhouser is named American League Most Valuable Player.
"Prince" Hal leads the league in Wins 25, ERA 1.81 CG 29, Shutouts 8, IP 313.1 Strikeouts 212, ERA+ 195, and FIP 2.45

1950: Commissioner Happy Chandler and players' representatives agree on the split of the TV and radio rights from the World Series.

1950: The Baseball Writers Association of America announces that slugging first baseman Walt Dropo of the Boston Red Sox is the Rookie of the Year in the American League. Dropo led the league with 144 RBI.
In June of 1952 Dropo is part of a 9 player trade and goes to the Tigers and a month later on July 14 and 15 puts himself in the record books with 12 consecutive hits over 3 games.

1951: New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra wins the first of his three Most Valuable Player awards.

1954: American League owners approve the move of the Philadelphia Athletics to Kansas City. The vote is 6-2 in favor. The transplanted Athletics will play home games at Municipal Stadium, which will be expanded from 17,000 to 36,000 seats.

1955: In a nine-player trade, first baseman Mickey Vernon is sent by the Washington Senators to the Boston Red Sox.

1961: With only one Cy Young Award given for the two leagues, Whitey Ford, the American League leader in wins (25) and innings pitched (283), wins the honor ahead of Warren Spahn, who led the National League in wins (21) and ERA (3.02). In one of the closest votes in Award history, future Hall of Famers Ford and Spahn total nine and six points respectively.

1966: Triple Crown winner Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles is the unanimous choice as American League MVP. He becomes the first major league player to win the award in both leagues.

1977: Hall of Fame manager Bucky Harris dies on his 81st birthday. Harris won two World Championships and three American League pennants over a 29-year career with the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, and Detroit Tigers among other teams.

1983: Atlanta Braves outfielder Dale Murphy, who hit .302 with 36 home runs, 121 RBI and 30 stolen bases in the National League, joins Ernie Banks, Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt as one of the players who has won the MVP Award in consecutive years. Murphy receives 21 of the 24 first-place votes cast.

1984: Johnny Grubb of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
1984: Ruppert Jones of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.
1984: Dave Rozema of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.

1988: Geography professor Dan Dillman (left) featured for organizing Geography Awareness Week at Northern Illinois University. Dillman was a Tigers batboy in 1940s and wrote a memoir about his experiences.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOIg_acWAAkTpMN.jpg

1990: Free agent slugger Darryl Strawberry signs a five-year contract with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers, formally ending his eight-year stay with the New York Mets. He is the all-time home run leader for the Mets with 252.

1991: Dave Bergman of the Detroit Tigers granted free agency.

1991: Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles is named the American League MVP, beating out Cecil Fielder of Detroit. Second straight season that Fielder finished second in MVP vote.

1996: The Detroit Tigers released Phil Hiatt.

1999: The U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution calling for Shoeless Joe Jackson to be honored. The resolution stops short of calling for his induction into the Hall of Fame. "It is worthy for this body to take a few minutes to stand up for fairness and right an old wrong," said Rep. Jim DeMint, the author of the resolution who represents Jackson's hometown of Greenville, SC Jackson was eligible for the Hall of Fame until 1991 but was never voted in either by the Baseball Writers Association of America or the Veterans Committee. In 1991, the Hall's board adopted a resolution prohibiting players on the permanently banned list. The resolution will now go to the US Senate.

2005: Commissioner Bud Selig has made it clear he doesn't want instant replay. Even Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who had a dreadful call go against his team in the American League Championship Series, says to leave calls to the human element of umpiring. That, however, won't stop general managers from debating the issue this week.

2010: The Detroit Tigers signed Jhonny Peralta as a free agent.
2010: The Detroit Tigers signed Max St. Pierre as a free agent.

2012: The Detroit Tigers signed Jose Alvarez as a free agent.

2012: The 2012 Silver Slugger Awards are announced. Leading the field in the American League is 3B Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, winner of the Triple Crown, alongside veteran SS Derek Jeter and Cabrera's main rival for the MVP Award, Angels rookie OF Mike Trout.

2016: The New York Yankees selected Joe Mantiply off waivers from the Detroit Tigers.

2016: Winners of the Gold Glove are announced in both leagues. First-time winners include SS Francisco Lindor and 2B Ian Kinsler in the AL, and 1B Anthony Rizzo and C Buster Posey in the NL.

2018: The Silver Slugger Awards are handed out today and J.D. Martinez does something unprecedented, winning the award in the American League both as a designated hitter and as an outfielder.

2024: The Detroit Tigers signed Bligh Madris as a free agent.

Tigers players, coaches, and managers birthdays:

Bucky Harris 1929, 1931, manager 1929-1933, 1955-1956.

Tony Cuccinello coach 1967-1968.

Mike Roarke 1961-1964, coach 1965-1966, 1970.

Shane Halter 2000-2003.

Tigers players and managers who passed away:

Bucky Harris 1929, 1931, manager 1929-1933, 1955-1956.

Earl Torgeson 1955-1957.

Baseball Reference
 
SATURDAY SURVEY.
Totally Tigers

Starting pitcher Jack Flaherty exercised his player option and will remain with the Tigers for the 2026 season. When the Tigers first signed him for the 2024 season, he pitched very well with a winning record, 2.95 ERA and 0.956 WHIP.
He returned to the club last year and struggled for much of it. A 4.64 ERA and a 1.280 WHIP. His last 5 regular season starts looked much better but there was still some inconsistency. Jack blamed his 2025 struggles on mechanical issues that allowed his hard hit rate to go up.
How do you feel about Flaherty’s return to the team? He did pitch a full season, starting 31 games and only the 2nd to do that after Tarik Skubal. Can he recover his mechanics and pitch better in 2026?
What is his value for the rotation next season? He is only 1 of 2 veteran pitchers and if Skubal gets traded, he’ll be the only one.
The 2026 rotation may or may not include Skubal. The other starting pitchers would be Flaherty, Olson and Mize. Troy Melton is considered to make the rotation and it’s still unknown if Keider Montero will continue to be the #5 starter. Beyond them, the Tigers are hard-pressed to find more pitchers within their system to help.
They used 11 different starting pitchers and 4 “openers” in 2025.
How do you view Flaherty staying with the Tigers?

How do you view Flaherty staying with the Tigers?

1. Good. The team needs the experience he provides.

2. OK. There aren't really any better options.

3. Disappointed. I don't think he'll recover his form.

VOTE
 
Kevin McGonigle 2-run HOME RUN! This is McGonigle's 5th HR in 17 AFL games.
The Tigers’ No. 1 prospect crushes his 5th homer for Scottsdale, upping his average to .397 and OPS to 1.284.


 
Many long-time Tigers minor leaguers elected free agency yesterday, including:
C Eliezer Alfonzo, RHP Austin Bergner, RHP Wilkel Hernandez, 1B Jake Holton,
LHP Andrew Magno, 2B Carlos Mendoza, SS Andrew Navigato, LHP Carlos Peña.

Others to elect free agency: RHP Jordan Balazovic RHP Ryan Boyer
RHP Blair Calvo RHP Jhoan De Los Santos RHP Randy Dobnak RHP Woo-Suk Go
RHP Richard Guasch LHP Nick Margevicius RHP Jesus Mejia 3B Kevin Newman
RHP Freddy Pacheco RHP Esmerlin Peguero RHP Erinson Reyes C Brian Serven
RHP Nick Starr 2B Riley Unroe
 
Hank Greenberg, Goose Goslin, Charlie Gehringer, and Pete Fox on the steps of the Fenway Park dugout, 1935. These players were core members of the Tigers' lineup during this era. Hank Greenberg was a star power hitter, Goose Goslin was a veteran outfielder with a clutch reputation, Charlie Gehringer was a Hall of Fame second baseman, and Pete Fox was a reliable outfielder.
 
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