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Days of Roar Tigers Podcast : Detroit Tigers sign 3B Gio Urshela, but how much will he play? 61 minutes.
Freep

On this episode: Our coverage of spring training continues with Evan still reporting from Lakeland. Evan joins Mark remotely to discuss the recent signing of Gio Urshela. The guys break down if Urshela is likely to be the everyday third baseman, analyze how the deal could benefit the Tigers, and bring up some questions on his health history. The "Days of Roar" crew also go over Evan's roster prediction 3.0. Later, the guys discuss the upsides to this lineup, the possibility of Báez hitting left-handed, how Casey Mize has looked so far and more.
 
February 27 in Tigers and mlb history:

1901: The National League Rules Committee decrees that all foul balls are to count as strikes, except after two strikes. To cut the cost of lost foul balls, the committee urges that batsmen who foul off good strikes are to be disciplined. The American League will not adopt this rule for several years.
Other new rules: catchers must play within 10 feet of the batter; a ball will be called if the pitcher does not throw to a ready and waiting batter within 20 seconds, and players using indecent or improper language will be banished by the umpire. A ball will be called when a batter is hit by a pitch, but, in a mail vote, the owners will rescind this in April, and a HBP will earn a batter first base.

1908: The sacrifice fly rule is adopted. No time at bat is charged if a run scores after the catch of a fly ball. The rule will be repealed in 1931, then reinstated (or changed) several times before gaining permanent acceptance in 1954.

1908: In Fullerton, California, Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson is operated on for an infection of the mastoid area behind the right ear. The doctors remove a section of the bone, and the recuperation will keep Johnson sidelined until late May.

1909: The New York Giants release pitcher "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity, despite his 11-7 record in 1908. The move ends his 10-year major league career. McGinnity finishes with a 246-142 record and 2.66 ERA. In 1946, McGinnity will win election to the Hall of Fame.

1931: Finally cut loose by the New York Giants, for whom he refused to play in 1930 in a season-long holdout over salary terms, two-time National League batting champ Edd Roush returns to the Cincinnati Reds.

1935: Babe Ruth signs a contract with the Boston Braves. Released by the New York Yankees only one day earlier, Ruth will serve the Braves as a player, coach, and team vice-president.

1937: The Negro American League announces the schedule for its inaugural season.

1948: Newly elected to the Hall of Fame are Herb Pennock and Pie Traynor. Needing 91 votes for selection, Pennock, who died a month before, gets 94 votes, Traynor 93. Just missing are Al Simmons, Charlie Gehringer and Bill Terry.

1962: An architect offers a proposal to encase Candlestick Park in a plastic screen "saran cloth" to shield it from the wind.

1973: Chicago White Sox first baseman Dick Allen signs a three-year deal worth $250,000 per season, the richest contract in major league history. Allen won the American League MVP Award in 1972 after leading the league in home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage.
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1988: The Baltimore Orioles trade third baseman Ray Knight to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitcher Mark Thurmond.

1990: The Special Veterans Committee fails to elect a single player to the Hall of Fame for the second time in three years.

2002: The sale of the Boston Red Sox to a group headed by John Henry becomes official.

2003: The new Hall of Fame Veterans selection committee, made up of mostly Hall of Famers, fails to select any of the 41 players, executives and umpires being considered. Former Dodgers first baseman Gil Hodges is 11 votes shy of the 75 percent needed for induction receiving 50 votes of 81 cast (61.7%).

2006: Effa Manley is the first woman to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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2011: The "Duke of Flatbush", Hall of Famer Duke Snider dies in Escondido, CA at age 84. Snider was a power-hitting centerfielder for the great Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the 1950s and is immortalized in Terry Cashman's song "Willie, Mickey and the Duke". Snider led the N.L. in various offensive categories through out his career in runs, hits, home runs which included 5 straight seasons of 40 or more Home runs, RBI, Slugging%, OPS, OPS+, and Total Bases.

2018: The MLBPA files a grievance against four teams - the Marlins, Rays, Pirates and A's - accusing them of not investing the money they are obtaining through revenue sharing in the on-field product, as is specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This action is the latest salvo in a war of words between players and ownership that was started by the slow free agent market, resulting in over 100 players still being unsigned when spring training opened two weeks ago.

2020: Major League Baseball announced that veteran umpire Kerwin Danley has been appointed a crew chief, becoming the first African-American to hold such a position.

2021: The Detroit Tigers signed Drew Hutchison as a free agent.

Tigers players, coaches, and executives birthdays:

Walter Briggs co-owner and sole owner 1920-1952.

Cy Perkins 1934.

Johnny Pesky 1952-1954.

John Wockenfuss 1974-1983.

Greg Cadaret 1994.

Matt Stairs 2006.

Craig Monroe 2002-2007.

Anibal Sanchez 2012-2017.

Tigers players who passed away:

Fred Lasher Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com
Fred Lasher 1967-1970.

Baseball Reference
 
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THE END OF AN ERA?
Totally Tigers

I give props today to a loyal reader, Motorcitytiger, who planted the seed that I should write about the Cody Bellinger deal. His suggestion helped to crystalize a blog I had been developing about free agency, Scott Boras and a certain former Tiger.
To start, it’s been noticed everywhere that the top 4 remaining free agents – Bellinger, Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell – are all Scott Boras clients. This agent has been known to work out deals at the last moment but we are now into the 2nd week of spring training and it’s already a little late for the remaining 3 to catch up with players already well into their seasonal prep.
Now we have Bellinger who just returned to the Cubs. His new contract is for $80 mill dollars for 3 years ($30/$30/$20) with an opt out after each year. Consider this to be the equivalent of 3 1-year pillow contracts.

This contract is so very surprising given that Cody slashed .307/.356/.525 (.881 OPS) with 26 home runs and earned Comeback Player of the Year in 2023.
The top 4 analysts who predict such contracts estimated that Bellinger would receive a contract of 6-12 years ranging from $150 mill to $264 mill. He ended up getting half of the lowest contract estimate in both years and salary.
So why the huge disconnect? All the experts are still trying to figure it out.
 
Tigers injury update: Dillon Dingler cleared to catch, Kerry Carpenter close to return.
Freep

Kerry Carpenter (left hamstring) is completing a running progression and will face live pitching today according to Tigers injury report.
Brendan White (elbow) threw a 30-pitch bullpen Monday. He'll throw another Thursday.
Dillon Dingler (elbow) will catch in a game this week.
 
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February 28 in Tigers and mlb history:

1900: John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson sign contracts with the Baltimore Orioles of the National League. When the long-rumored move by Baltimore to disband occurs, the two players are assigned to the Brooklyn Superbas, but they will refuse and sit out the first third of the season instead. Finally, McGraw and Robinson are sold to the St. Louis Cardinals.

1903: A syndicate headed by Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss and James Potter buys the Philadelphia Phillies from John Rogers and A. J. Reach for $170,000. It will be another seven years before ownership interest in more than one team is prohibited.

1904: The Detroit Tigers purchased Frank McManus from the Brooklyn Superbas.

1916: Future HOFer Sam Crawford on the cover of Baseball magazine.
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1931: Ban Johnson dies in St. Louis, at age 57. Johnson had served as the founder and first president of the American League from 1901 to 1927. He was a dynamic and dictatorial leader until subdued by the advent of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who took office as the first Baseball commissioner in January 1921. Johnson will gain election to the Hall of Fame in 1937.

1955: The National League fines the Milwaukee Braves $500 for opening their spring training camp before the official March 1st date.

1959: Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees ends his holdout after one day. Mantle agrees to a salary of $72,000 and a bonus of $2,000. He had been asking the Yankees for $85,000 after batting .304 with 42 home runs and 97 RBI in 1958.

1962: Mickey Mantle & Roger Maris pose with manager Ralph Houk at New York #Yankees training camp in Florida.
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1966: Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale refuse to report to #Dodgers spring training, beginning their joint holdout for a new contract. They ask for a 3-yr. deal totaling $1,000,000 to be divided equally between them.
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1968: Lena Blackburne dies in Riverside, New Jersey, at age 81. A former major league infielder and manager, Blackburne has been the source for his eponymous rubbing mud, used by umpires in both leagues to rub down new balls. He leaves the mud business to his boyhood friend, John Haas.

1969: Mickey Mantle announces his retirement.
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1986: In Major League Baseball's sternest disciplinary move since the 1919 Black Sox were banished for life, 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. Joaquin And?jar, Dale Berra, Enos Cabell, Keith Hernandez, Jeffrey Leonard, Dave Parker, and Lonnie Smith will be fined 10 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.

1989: The Veterans Committee elects Red Schoendienst and Al Barlick to the Hall of Fame. Schoendienst served as a second baseman and manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Barlick was a major league umpire for over 29 seasons.

1992: The Detroit Tigers signed Steve Ontiveros as a free agent.

2000: American League umpire John Hirschbeck is elected as the first president of the World Umpires Association, which was recognized by the National Labor Relations Board a few days ago.

2002: Major League Baseball announces it has rehired five umpires who had resigned during the 1999 season as part of the ill-fated strategy concocted by Richie Phillips and the Major League Umpires Association. They are Gary Darling, Bill Hohn, Larry Poncino, Larry Vanover and Joe West. Four other umpires, Drew Coble, Greg Kosc, Terry Tata, and Frank Pulli, are allowed to retire.

2005: The Detroit Tigers signed Dewayne Wise as a free agent.

2011: Miguel Cabrera makes his first appearance since his drunk driving arrest and goes 0 for 2 with a walk in a Tigers victory.

2018: Boston Red Sox owner John Henry officially petitions the city of Boston, MA to rename Yawkey Way, which is located just outside Fenway Park. The street was named after former owner and Hall of Fame member Tom Yawkey, but history has not been kind to its namesake's memory, as he is widely blamed for delaying the integration of the team, making them the last major league franchise to have an African-American player in its line-up, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line.

2019: The Philadelphia Phillies appear to have won the Bryce Harper sweepstakes, finalizing a 13-year, $330 million deal with the free-agent outfielder.
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2021: The first games of spring training are played today, a glimpse of normality after one year of upheavals caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. MLB is planning to play a full season this year, and there are some spectators present, with crowds limited to 25% of ballpark capacity.

2022: In a surprise announcement, Miami Marlins President Derek Jeter steps down from his position and also gives up his ownership share in the team, after four seasons at the helm. He explains that: "the future of the franchise is different than the one I signed up to lead." This leaves day-to-day operations in the hands of two women, General Manager Kim Ng for baseball dealings, and Caroline O'Connor for all business matters.

2022: On what was supposed to be the deadline imposed by MLB for the two sides to reach a settlement to the 2021-2022 lockout that would preserve the integrity of the upcoming season, the parties meet for the 8th straight day without success. However, there is enough progress that after 16 hours of talk, the two sides agree to resume these tomorrow and give themselves a further five hours to reach an agreement.

2022: WBSC Europe announces that all Russian and Belarussian teams are banned from competitions in 2022 due to the two countries' invasion of Ukraine. Belarus was slated to play in the 2023 European Championship Qualifiers and teams from those countries have played in the CEB Cup and Federations Cup in recent years. Should the ban continue, Russia will also lose its spot in the 2023 European Championship.

Tigers players birthdays:

Lil Stoner 1922, 1924-1929.

Ron Samford 1955, 1957.

Chad Bell 2017-2018.

Niko Goodrum 2018-2021.

Tigers players who passed away:

Dizzy Trout 1939-1952.

Harvey Kuenn 1952-1959.

Tom Sturdivant 1963.

Alex Johnson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com
Alex Johnson 1976.

Baseball Reference
 
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WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY.
Totally Tigers

In the very first spring training game of the year, the Tigers got thrashed by the NY Yankees with a score resembling that of a football game. In the 2nd game, they lost a significant lead. It all started some angst among fans.
But how important really are winning spring training games? Is that the top priority?
Is the primary purpose different for teams depending upon where they are in roster building and in their competitive level?
Or is the primary purpose for a team to really test their newest players and try a lot of new strategies and experiments when the games don’t officially count?
What should the primary purpose of spring training for the Tigers be?

What should the primary purpose of spring training be for the Tigers?

1. Winning as many games as possible.

2. Allowing new players to learn/testing prospects.

VOTE
 
Tigers pitching schedule:-
Thursday (at Red Sox): Reese Olson-
Friday (vs. Phillies): Kenta Maeda-
Saturday (vs. Pirates): Jack Flaherty-
Sunday (at Yankees): Casey Mize-Matt Manning**Mize-Manning will piggyback against the Yankees, but the starter hasn't been determined.
 
Here's an early prediction of the Tigers' Opening Day roster.
Tigers official site
 
Detroit Tigers prospect is looking to hit his way onto the big-league roster.
Detroit Tigers prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy is looking to hit his way onto the big-league roster this spring. He's taken some quality at-bats this spring and looks like he is going to push for a roster spot when the team heads north.
MCBTB
 
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