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

Holaday's game-winning bunt a rare feat.
Bryan Holaday's go-ahead bunt single Tuesday night wasn't just a rarity for a backup catcher. It was rare for anybody in a Tigers uniform.

According to research from Elias Sports Bureau, Holaday's go-ahead RBI was the first by a Tigers player on a bunt of any kind, single or sacrifice, in the ninth inning or later since June 4, 2000. That one, too, took place in Chicago, though on the other side of town.

Former Tigers utility great Shane Halter plated the Tigers' winning run that day at Wrigley Field, where he laid down a bunt single to third with two outs in the 12th inning to score Bobby Higginson. He put down the bunt against former Tigers pitcher Todd Van Poppel.

Halter, of course, had a more historic feat at the end of that season, when he played all nine positions Oct. 1 against the Twins at the Metrodome. He remains the last Tiger to do that in a game.
from the Tigers official site
 
V-Mart sees game as contact sport.
There is no K in Victor Martinez. There aren't very many in his stat line, either.
He went eight games and 37 plate appearances between strikeouts before finally swinging and missing at a Ronald Belisario pitch in his final time up Tuesday night. If that's not impressive enough for a Major League cleanup hitter, it's not even his longest streak of the season. He went 10 games and 40 plate appearances between strikeouts from April 2-18.

Granted, it's early, but Martinez entered Wednesday's series finale against the White Sox poised to end April as the toughest batter to fan in the American League, with just three strikeouts over 89 plate appearances. Only Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons, with three strikeouts spread out over 91 plate appearances, had a better rate in the Majors.

It could be written off as a small sample size if not for Martinez being the second-toughest hitter to strike out in the American League last year, fanning 62 times in 668 plate appearances, trailing only Alberto Callaspo. He was also the second-toughest in the AL to fan in 2011, the year before his season-ending knee injury.

It's not just strike three Martinez has been avoiding. He has swung and missed on just 7.5 percent of his swings on the season entering Wednesday, the best rate in baseball. He missed on just 10.5 percent of his swings in 2013, the fourth-lowest rate in the AL, and 9.3 percent of his swings in '11, also fourth-best.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has only been around to watch this season's swings, but even he has been in awe.

"I've never seen a hitter like Victor," Ausmus said. "His focus is on every single pitch. He does not give a pitch away. His focus is there every single pitch, and he's trying to get the barrel to the ball. It's amazing. He'll spoil a pitcher's pitch with the best of them."
from the Tigers official site
 
Tigers D not so Grrrreat
Last week we wrote about the defensive struggles of Torii Hunter, who currently has the worst Defensive Runs Saved total in the majors.
What we didn?t detail is how the Tigers have fared as a team. They?re currently at -21 DRS.
We bet you wouldn?t be able to guess the team leader in DRS. It?s none other than first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who has fared adequately in his move back to first. His three Defensive Runs Saved are tied for the second-most of any first baseman.
espn
 
May 1 in Tigers and mlb history:

1884 - In American Association action, Toledo Blue Stockings catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black to play in the major leagues during a game against the Louisville Eclipse team.

1901 - Herm McFarland of the Chicago White Sox hits the first grand slam in American League history in a 19 - 9 victory over the Detroit Tigers. His teammate Dummy Hoy also hits a grand slam, in a contest which features Detroit committing 12 errors, 10 by the infield, to set another AL record, which Chicago will tie on May 6, 1903, against the Tigers.

1925 17-year-old Jimmie Foxx makes his big league debut as a catcher for the A?s.

1926 - Legendary pitcher Satchel Paige makes his debut in the Negro Southern League. Paige, at 19 years of age, leads Chattanooga to a 5 - 4 win over Birmingham.

1951 - On Mother's Day, Mickey Mantle hits the first home run of his career off Randy Gumpert in an 8 - 3 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. In the same game, former Negro Leagues star Minnie Mi?oso becomes the first black player in the history of the White Sox franchise. Mi?oso belts a home run in his first at-bat for the team off Vic Raschi.

1955 - Cleveland Indians starters show up for a "pitching clinic" during a doubleheader sweep of the Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Stadium. Veteran Bob Feller pitches hitless ball for 6+ innings and hurls his major league record 12th one-hitter in a 2 - 0 victory in the opener, and in the nitecap rookie Herb Score strikes out the first nine batters (for a total of 16) en route to a 2 - 1 four-hit victory.

1959: At the age of 39, Early Wynn of the Chicago White Sox pitches a one-hit shutout, strikes out 14, and hits a double and home run for a 1 - 0 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Comiskey Park.

1965 - Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Tommy Davis breaks his ankle sliding into second base. Although Davis will go on to play another 11 seasons, he will never recapture the excellence he displayed prior to the injury. In 1962, Davis led the National League with a .346 batting average and 153 RBI.

1975 - Hank Aaron collects four hits and two RBI in the Brewers' 17 - 3 win over Detroit. This brings his career RBI total to 2,211, breaking Babe Ruth's published record of 2,209. On February 3, 1976, the Records Committee will revise Ruth's total to 2,204. In actuality, Aaron set the record with 2,205 on April 18th.

1991: Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics surpasses Lou Brock as the major league career stolen base leader with his 939th steal in a 7 - 4 victory over the New York Yankees. Henderson breaks the record in the 4th inning, when he steals third base against catcher Matt Nokes.

1995 - Major League Baseball owners and the Major League Umpires Association reach an agreement on a five-year contract, ending the walk-out. Regular umpires will return to work on May 3rd.

Tigers players birthdays:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harribo01.shtml
Bob Harris 1938-1939.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dan_Gakeler
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gakelda01.shtml
Dan Gakeler 1991.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hiattph01.shtml
Phil Hiatt 1996.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cruzfa01.shtml
Fausto Cruz 1996.

from Baseball Reference
 
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