Welcome to Detroit Sports Forum!

By joining our community, you'll be able to connect with fellow fans that live and breathe Detroit sports just like you!

Get Started
  • If you are no longer able to access your account since our recent switch from vBulletin to XenForo, you may need to reset your password via email. If you no longer have access to the email attached to your account, please fill out our contact form and we will assist you ASAP. Thanks for your continued support of DSF.

Detroit Tigers Team Notes Over 3 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
 
GRADING THE TIGERS: THE FRANCHISE.
Totally Tigers

Now that the season – and the playoffs – are over, this is the perfect time to reflect upon the 2024 year and grade players, management and Front Office. We’re going to divide the roster down by position in order to foster careful reflection and comments. Every day you’ll be asked to evaluate a small group of Tigers.
In most of the forthcoming blogs, there will be multiple opportunities to vote so please cast a vote for every poll you see on this page.
You will not be asked to grade players who have been traded or those with a very small sample size. We are also not offering a letter grade of E for the reason that anyone playing that poorly would have been released or sent down to the minors.
As you consider each player, we ask that you look at their entire skill set, not just hitting. Consider defense, speed, the ability to call a game and clutch ability.
Consider that the slash line is a more valuable indicator instead of just batting average and that a player’s role and position in the lineup are also factors. That defensive range and defensive runs saved (DRS) are better gauges than fielding percentage. And that ERA and WHIP tell more about a pitcher than wins and losses.
To facilitate your grading, here is a handy link to the team’s stats: 2024 Detroit Tigers Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com

Today, it’s the final grade of the season. What do you think of the Detroit Tigers organization as a whole?
Consider these factors in your grade:
roster
manager and coaches
Front Office leaders and department heads
2024 performance
farm system, player development, analytics, trainers and other medical/physical staff, other major departments
(Given that we still don’t know enough about the intentions of ownership, do not factor Ilitch Holdings (trust) into your considerations.)
After voting, you may leave your rationale in the comment section. Three sentences only please.

What grade would you give the entire Tigers' organization for the 2024 season?
A
B
C
D
VOTE
 
Jake Miller knows how to deliver. The Tigers southpaw prospect strikes out 8 over 4 innings, the most K's in an outing this AFL season.
 
Ha-Seong Kim is an ideal free agent for the Tigers.
The skills would be a great addition to the Tigers. It remains to be seen if he might fit their budget and timetables.
BYBTB
 
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.

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
 
THE FANS HAVE SPOKEN.
Totally Tigers

The dust has settled on the Detroit Tigers’ season and those in the media who cover the team have put out their grades for most of the players.
But really, how unbiased are their evaluations? We know that there is a sensitivity when it comes to criticizing players. In the past, the team has been known to “punish” some who speak the unvarnished truth. And of course, these same reporters are dependent upon player access and giving bad grades is not conducive to forming positive relationships with those players.
So what is better?
Asking fans. Serious fans. Knowledgeable fans. Lots of fans.
Like those of you reading this blog right now.
Who better than you?
Why work with 1 person’s opinion when you can have hundreds weighing in who have no ties to the organization and aren’t dependent upon others for their careers.
Isn’t that better?
Sure, there are fans who play their favorites. Some who just have never warmed up to a player. But when you have hundreds weighing in, you get a pattern. And if you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know how I love patterns.
The polls we’ve asked you to complete for the last week+ have served to emphasize the common beliefs and minimize the outliers. The results are, for the most part, a very accurate representation of how fans feel overall.
Below, I’ve divided the grading to show groups, followed by the percentage of fans who assigned that grade.
And the results are telling.
Overall, you’re tough on the players. There’s no grade inflation here. Quite the opposite.
Look at each grade and how many or how few players are listed for each.
Look at which category has the most players.
What does this all say about the team and what needs to be done to the roster?
After each category, read my quick observations about what each one says.
 
Back
Top