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

Gio Urshela's clutch hit lifts Tigers in a tight home opener.
Tigers official site

Tigers 5 - a's 4.
Boxscore.

Tigers videos from today's 5 - 4 win over the a's

Tigers 5, A’s 4: Welcome Home Win.
The A’s kept it interesting, though.
BYBTB

Matt Vierling rudely interrupts pizza delivery with Tigers' first Comerica home run of 2024.
The timing couldn't have been better for the Tigers' first home run at Comerica Park this year.
MCBTB

Tigers pull out another late win on Opening Day, 5-4, over A's.
Detnews

Detroit Tigers pick up Tarik Skubal in 5-4 win over A's at Comerica Park Opening Day.
Freep

Tigers beat A’s in home opener with another down-to-the-wire finish.
Mlive
 
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April 6 in Tigers and mlb history:

1903: Gordon (Mickey) Cochrane is born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Cochrane will make his ML debut in 1925, when he bats .331 for the Philadelphia Athletics. A standout defensive catcher, Cochrane will bat .320 over a 13-year career. He will gain Hall of Fame honors in 1947.
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1908: Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi was born this day in Oakland, CA.
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1928: Playing in the Philadelphia city series between the A's and the Phillies? Ty Cobb makes an unassisted double play.

1938: The Detroit Tigers released Izzy Goldstein.

1939: A howling windstorm of 50 mph does not deter the Red Sox and Reds from playing an exhibition game in Florence? SC, but the weather and the rock-hard infield results in the game being called in the 9th inning when all 54 baseballs have disappeared. "Grounders were actually blown off the ground and over the outfield fences?" observed Lou Smith in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The score is 18 - 18 when the game ends with both teams covered with grime.

1951: Happy Birthday to hall of famer Bert Blyleven, born this day in Zeist, Netherlands.
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1970: Mickey Lolich strikes out 10 in an Opening Day 5 - 0 shutout win in Washington.

1971: Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants hits a home run on Opening Day, marking the start of a historic streak. Mays will hit home runs in each of the Giants' first four games, setting a major league record that will later be tied.

1971: A Tiger Stadium record Opening Day crowd of 54,089 watches Mickey Lolich fan 8 in a 8 - 2 win over Cleveland.

1971: Before 41,121 at Chicago Billy Williams clubs a 10th-inning homer off Bob Gibson to give the Cubs a 2 - 1 win over the Cards. Joe Torre's homer off Fergie Jenkins is the only Cardinal score.

1971: The Mets win their first opener ever at Shea Stadium beating the Expos 4 - 2 in 5 innings. Heavy rain and wind cuts the contest short. Tom Seaver is the winner over Carl Morton.

1972: The first general strike in the history of the major leagues officially begins with the cancellation of Opening Day games in both leagues. The strike will be settled seven days later when the players and owners come to agreement on pension fund payments. The two sides agree not to make up the 86 missed games.

1973: The Pittsburgh Pirates retire Roberto Clemente's uniform number 21 in a moving pre-game ceremony before 51,695 fans at Three Rivers Stadium. The 38-year-old Clemente died in a plane crash the previous New Year's Eve.
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1973: At Fenway Park, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees becomes the first designated hitter in major league history. In his first plate appearance, Blomberg walks with the bases loaded against Luis Tiant. He will end up with one hit in three at-bats. Meanwhile, Carlton Fisk hits two home runs (one a grand slam) to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 15 - 5 victory over New York.
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1973: At Baltimore Dave McNally fires a three-hitter as the Orioles roll over the Brewers 10 - 0. Don Baylor has three doubles a homer and 4 RBIs while Brooks Robinson bangs two homers for 4 RBIs.

1974: The Royals set a team record for runs rolling over the Twins 23 - 6. The 20th Kansas City run comes on Frank White's first major league homer.

1975: The Detroit Tigers released Luke Walker.

1979: At Baltimore manager Earl Weaver wins his 1000th game as a skipper as the O's open with a 5 - 3 win over the White Sox. Jim Palmer allows 3 hits to win.

1982: A freak heavy spring snow storm brings sub-freezing temperatures across the northeast and midwest and causes the postponement of home openers for the Yankees, Tigers, White Sox, Brewers, Indians, Phillies and Pirates.

1984: Tigers score 3 in the first inning & hang on to beat the White Sox 3-2 at Comiskey Park. Dave Bergman's 2-run single made it 3-0. Willie Hernandez retires the White Sox in order in the bottom of the 9th for his first save #Relive84

1989: The consecutive scoreless innings streak of Los Angeles Dodgers ace Orel Hershiser comes to an end. Hershiser gives up a run in the 1st inning of a loss to the Cincinnati Reds, ending his scoreless innings streak at 59.

1992: Toronto's Jack Morris sets a record with his 13th consecutive Opening Day start as he goes all the way in defeating the Tigers 4 - 2.

1992: The Detroit Tigers signed Les Lancaster as a free agent.

1993: Jack Morris sets an MLB record with his 14th straight Opening Day start, for the Blue Jays. 11 of those came with the Tigers.

1996: Tiger CF Melvin Nieves bangs two doubles a triple and a homer as the Tigers top the A's 6 - 1. Nieves was acquired from the Padres in a spring training trade.

1999: The U.S. government garnishes Denny McLain's pension in order to reimburse the pension fund that he was convicted of laundering money from. McLain was recently divorced and under the terms of the settlement all of his assets went to his wife? including his pension while McLain got all of the debts. But a federal judge overruled that and ordered that all of McLain's pension benefits be used to reimburse his victims.

2001: On Opening Day at Veterans Stadium, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning's number 14 jersey is retired. Bunning, who compiled a 224-184 record in his 17-year career pitching for the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers, joins Richie Ashburn (1), Robin Roberts (36), Steve Carlton (32) and Mike Schmidt (20) as the fifth player to have his number retired by the Phillies.

2003: Tigers become the 1st team since the 1962-63 Mets to go 0-6 in 2 straight seasons. White Sox score 9 in the 8th to win 10-2.

2005: The Detroit Tigers signed C.J. Nitkowski as a free agent.

2006: Using his newly-perfected knuckleball, Texas P R.A. Dickey ties a post-1900 major league record by surrendering six homers to the Tigers in a 10 - 6 Detroit victory. The only major league pitcher to give up more homers was Charlie Sweeney of the St. Louis Maroons, who allowed seven to the Detroit Wolverines on June 12, 1886.
Detroit clouts 7 round-trippers in the contest, and sets a major league record with 15 homers in their first three games, breaking the mark of 10 set by the 1998 Mariners. The Tigers set a team record for any three-game span, breaking the mark of 14, set in 1997.

2006: The Detroit Tigers signed John Ennis as a free agent.

2016: Jerrod Saltalamacchia hits a 2-run home run and 2-run double to lead Tigers over the marlins his former team.

2020: The Perfect Baseball Player, 5 Tool All-Time Great Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers passes away at age 85. Signed right out of Southern High School in Baltimore, Maryland, Kaline went straight to the Tigers as a Bonus Baby with the 2 year rule, and played like an All-Star Seasoned Veteran.
Kaline was a Lifetime Tiger for 67 years as one of the greatest Right Fielders in MLB History, A Tigers broadcaster with Hall Of Fame Player and announcer George Kell, A spring Training Coach every year after he retired, and an Adviser to the Tigers front office.
Kaline was the embodiment of Class and Integrity on and off the playing field, a Member of the 3000 Hit Club and Winner of 10 Gold Gloves for Fielding Excellence, and named to 18 All-Star Games, Mr Tiger was Known as the Outfielder with the Most Accurate Throwing Arm of All-Time.
Kaline was one of 7 Hall of Fame Players who went to the baseball heavens in 2020.

2021: A few days after withdrawing the organization of the 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta, GA, Major League Baseball identifies Denver, CO's Coors Field as the game's new site. The 2021 amateur draft will be held concurrently.

Tigers players and managers birthdays:

Mickey Cochrane 1934-1937, manager 1934-1938.

Phil Regan 1960-1965.

Ken Williams 1989-1990.

Tigers players who passed away:

Rudy Kallio 1918-1919.

Rudy Kneisch 1926.

Ken Johnson 1952.

Lou Berberet 1959-1960.

John Wyatt 1968.

Al Kaline 1953-1974, announcer 1975-2001, spring training coach 1975-2020, executive 2002-2020.

Baseball Reference
 
Four years ago my baseball heart was broken on this day April 6, 2020.

The Glory Days: Kaline the Selfless Star.
Seamheads

Al Kaline 1953-1974, announcer 1975-2001, spring training coach 1975-2020, executive 2002-2020.
 
SATURDAY SURVEY.
Totally Tigers

The Detroit Tigers just finished their home opener, which they won in an exciting back-and-forth game. They are now 6-1.
There were lots of memorable moments, but which one was your favorite?

What was your favorite moment from the home opener?

1. Mark Canha's bat flip/long stare into his former team's dugout after hitting HR.

2. Spencer Torkelson driving in 2 runs.

3. Alex Lange not choking under high pressure and earning a save.

VOTE
 
Ranking the best off-field moments from the Tigers' Opening Day broadcast.
The Tigers beat the A's 5-4 in their home opener. The broadcast was a lot of fun beyond the game action, too.
MCBTB
 
Walks, one big swing mar solid start for Maeda.
Tigers official site

Athletics 4 - Tigers 0: Wait a minute, that’s not a one-run win.
Tigers hitters either hit the ball right at Athletics defenders, or barely hit the ball at all.
BYBTB

Athletics pitching shuts down Tigers, hands them second loss.
Detnews

Offense, not Kenta Maeda, to blame in Detroit Tigers' 4-0 loss to Oakland Athletics.
Freep

Tigers’ bats go cold in shutout loss to Athletics.
Mlive
 
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April 7 in Tigers and mlb history:

1873: John McGraw is born in Truxton, New York. A fiery third baseman for the 1890s Baltimore Orioles, McGraw will achieve much more recognition as an innovative, autocratic field manager. In his 31 years at the helm of the New York Giants, McGraw's teams will gain 10 National League pennants, finish second 11 times and take home three World Series trophies. He ranks second all-time with 2,840 wins as a manager. In 1933, he will return from retirement to manage the National League in the very first major league All-Star Game. As a player, he was credited with helping to develop the hit-and-run, the squeeze play and other strategic moves. McGraw will be elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee in 1937.

1918: Bobby Doerr is born in Los Angeles, California. A hard-hitting second baseman, Doerr will bat .288 in 14 seasons with the Boston Red Sox and reach the 100-RBI mark six times during his career. Doerr will gain Hall of Fame honors in 1986.
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1926: The Boston Red Sox purchased Topper Rigney from the Detroit Tigers.

1953: The Detroit Tigers purchased George Freese from the St. Louis Browns.

1958: The newly transplanted Los Angeles Dodgers erect a 42-foot screen at the Los Angeles Coliseum as part of an effort to cut down on home runs to left field, which is only 250 feet from home plate.

1967: The Detroit Tigers purchased Jim Price from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1969: Ted Williams makes his managerial debut for the Washington Senators. Williams loses his first game to the New York Yankees, 8 - 4, on Opening Day at RFK Stadium. Williams will manage the Senators for three seasons, before moving with the team to Texas in 1972.
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1969: Pitcher Bill Singer of the Los Angeles Dodgers earns the first official save in major league history. Making his only relief appearance of the season, Singer finishes off Don Drysdale's 3 - 2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Thanks to the efforts of sportswriter Jerome Holtzman, the save became an official statistic this off-season.
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1969: After a long recovery following a 1967 beaning, Tony Conigliaro starts his first game for the Red Sox. His dramatic two-run 10th-inning home run gives the Red Sox a brief lead, and his 12th-inning run wins it.
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1971: The dismissal of Curt Flood's suit against Major League Baseball is upheld by a three-judge U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The verdict will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

1977: Frank Sinatra sings the National Anthem at Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.
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1978: The Detroit Tigers started a pair of 20-year-old infielders on Opening Day. Alan Trammell was at short, Lou Whitaker was at second.
Mark Fidrych takes a curtain call at Tiger Stadium after pitching a 5-hit complete game on Opening Day in 1978.
Phil Mankowski hits a 3-run home run for the Tigers in a 6-2 win. Rookie Lou Whitaker has a double and a stolen base.
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1979: In the earliest no-hitter in major league history until then, Ken Forsch of the Houston Astros shuts downs the Atlanta Braves, 6 - 0. Forsch and his brother Bob, who hurled a no-hitter in 1978, become the first brothers to pitch no-hit no-run games. In 1984, Jack Morris will match Forsch's feat, and in 2001, Hideo Nomo will pitch a no-hitter on an earlier date, April 4th.

1983: The Detroit Tigers traded Eddie Miller to the Philadelphia Phillies for Raymond Borucki (minors).

1983: Major League Baseball, ABC, and NBC agree to terms on a six-year television package worth $1.2 billion. The two TV networks will continue to alternate coverage of the playoffs, World Series, and All-Star Game through the 1989 season with each of the 26 clubs receiving $7 million per year in return. The last package gave each club $1.9 million per annum.

1984: Jack Morris of the Detroit Tigers pitches a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox. Morris strikes out eight and walks six in shutting down the Sox at Comiskey Park. Morris becomes the first Tiger since Jim Bunning, who accomplished the feat in 1958, to toss a no-hitter.


1986: At Tiger Stadium, Boston Red Sox outfielder Dwight Evans becomes the first player to hit the first pitch on Opening Day for a home run. Jack Morris throws the gopher ball but gets the victory as Detroit edges Boston, 6 - 5, behind two home runs by Kirk Gibson.

1991: The Detroit Tigers signed Pete Incaviglia as a free agent.

1995: The Detroit Tigers signed Joe Boever as a free agent.
1995: The Detroit Tigers signed Kirk Gibson as a free agent.

1998: On the same day that Major League Baseball returned to Wisconsin 28 years earlier, National League baseball returns to Milwaukee for the first time in 32 years. It's a complicated story with a happy ending: The Milwaukee Braves were a National League team that moved to Atlanta in 1966, and the Seattle Pilots, who were formed as an American League expansion team in 1969, moved to Milwaukee and played their first game as the Brewers on this day in 1970. Five years after their team owner, Bud Selig, became Commissioner of baseball, the Brewers became a National League club, as part of the shuffle created by this year's expansion. And on this day they are 6 - 4 winners over the Expos in their home opener.

2000: The Astros play a regular-season game outdoors in Houston for the first time since 1965 as the team opens Enron Field with a 6 - 1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

2000: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays retire uniform number 12 in honor of Wade Boggs. Although the former Red Sox and Yankees third baseman only spent two seasons with Tampa Bay, he hit the franchise's first home run and became the 23rd member of the 3,000-Hit Club as a member of the team.

2010: The Detroit Tigers released Sam Narron.

2012: Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder each hit 2 home runs in a 10-0 rout of the Red Sox. In his Tigers debut, Octavio Dotel sets a record by playing for his 13th MLB team.

2017: Mike Illitch honored before the Tigers' home opener. A tribute to an owner who gave so much of himself to a franchise he loved so dearly.
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2019: Shane Greene becomes the first major league pitcher to get 7 saves in his first 10 games. The Tigers win their 5th straight to take over first place in the AL Central.

2022: Opening Day of the 2022 season is finally here, having been delayed by a week by the 2021-2022 lockout. Two of the nine scheduled games are rained out, but the other seven provide plenty of interesting moments, including Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player to both throw the first pitch and take the first at-bat of the season for his team in the Angels' 3 - 1 loss to Houston.
In Kansas City, top prospect Bobby Witt Jr. drives in the go-ahead run in the 8th with his first career hit, a double off Triston McKenzie of the Guardians, who are playing their first-ever game under their new name.
In Arizona, Seth Beer hits a walk-off homer in a 4 - 2 win over the Padres on "National Beer Day".
However, the best moment comes in Atlanta where Joey Votto of the Reds, who uncharacteristically open their season on the road, is miked-up for a half inning on ESPN's national telecast, and provides riveting commentary on his career, the evolution of baseball and ongoing strategy, all while fielding his position.

Tigers players and coaches birthdays:

Ed Lafitte 1909, 1911-1912.

Ben Petrick 2003.

Eduardo Rodriguez 2022-2023.

Michael Brdar coach 2023-present.

Tigers and Detroit Wolverines N.L. players who passed away:

Charlie Ganzel Detroit Wolverines N.L. 1886-1888.

Frank Secory 1940.

Bob Kennedy 1956.

Jerry Davie 1959.

Jose Capellan 2007.

Baseball Reference
 
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DEEPER DISCUSSIONS.
Totally Tigers

Through Saturday’s games, the Detroit Tigers are 6-2. Five of those games were decided by 1 run.
In most of them, the winning runs came in the late innings and the leads changed hands throughout the games.

This is in contrast to previous years when the Tigers had a very hard time overcoming their opponents’ leads and found it difficult to score in the later innings.

A number of sports broadcasters have described the Tigers’ games as “white knucklers” given that they often weren’t won until the last innings.

How do you view the Tigers’ new scoring pattern?
Do you see the 1-run scoring difference more as a concern over offense?
Or do you see this team more as one with the talent and grit to fight back?

Today’s blog addresses this question and allows readers to share their thoughts in more detail. And hopefully, to actively engage with others by responding to their posts and creating back-and-forth discussion threads. The more the merrier!
For this one blog only, you’ve got 6 sentences max to share your thoughts. Of course, you can also respond to other readers.

TT will supply the ammunition. One thought-provoking question. Several options provided. One hard choice only to be selected. One vote.
Ready?

What is the primary reason for the Tigers' 1-run game results?

1. Problems with creating more offense.

2. An increase in talent/grit that keeps them in games.

VOTE
 
Time zones will be traversed following today’s games, with teams flying east-to-west, and vice versa, to begin series against new sets of opponents. This will continue throughout the course of the season, with teams on the west coast bearing the brunt of the travel. East coast clubs will have it somewhat easier, while those located in the central time zone will log significantly fewer frequent flier miles. The extremes are notable.
Per this chart on Baseball Savant, the Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers will travel roughly half as many miles as the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners this year.

I brought up the impact of seasonal travel distances to Detroit’s A.J. Hinch during spring training.

“It matters from a fatigue standpoint,” said the Tigers manager. “In performance science, and things we’ve looked into… jet lag is a real thing. We do have an advantage in-season when it comes to our travel schedule.”

How much of an advantage?

“There are a lot smarter people than me who know the exact difference between the amount of travel,” said Hinch.

Fangraphs
 
Tigers' young offense navigating first rough patch.
As Detroit drops 1st series, club working to thread the needle on patience, discipline at plate.
Tigers official site

Boxscore.

Athletics 7 - Tigers 1: At least we didn’t get shut out again, right, you guys?
Well that sucked, but at least Riley Greene put forth a strong effort.
BYBTB

Tigers bats struggle again, Athletics get to Jack Flaherty early to win series.
Detnews

Bats stay cold as Detroit Tigers drop first home series in 7-1 loss to Oakland Athletics.
Freep

Tigers’ bats stifled again as they lose series to A’s.
Mlive
 
Motor City Metrics Video Episode 080: The Tigers Lose A Series to Vowel. 24 minutes.
The guys recap the first week in Detroit Tigers baseball as the Tigers lose their first series of the season to the soon to be just the A's, a team without a city for the next three seasons.
 
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