Greatest Shortstops in AL History by team

Baltimore Orioles: Cal Ripken (1981-2001)
Boston Red Sox: Nomar Garciaparra (1996-2004)
New York Yankees: Derek Jeter (1995-2014)
Tampa Bay Rays: Julio Lugo (2003-06)
Toronto Blue Jays: Tony Fernandez (1983-90, 1993, 1998-9, 2001)
Chicago White Sox: Luke Appling (1930-50)
Cleveland Indians: Lou Boudreau (1938-50) and Omar Vizquel (1994-2004)
Detroit Tigers: Alan Trammell (1977-96)
Kansas City Royals: Freddie Patek (1971-79)
Minnesota Twins: Joe Cronin (via Washington) (1928-34)
Houston Astros: Dickie Thon (1981-87)
Los Angeles Angels:Jim Fregosi (1961-71)
Oakland A's: Miguel Tejada (1997-2003)
Seattle Mariners: Alex Rodriguez (1994-2000)
Texas Rangers: Elvis Andrus (2009-present)

Dave Rozema: Detroit Tigers timeline

Born: August 5, 1956

1974: Drafted by San Francisco Giants, but did not sign

1974: Grand Rapids Community College

1975: Drafted by Detroit Tigers

Debut: April 30, 1977 (Detroit Tigers)

First win: April 21, 1977 (shutout Toronto)

1977: 15-7, 4^th in Rookie of the Year and 8^th in Cy Young

1977: TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year

1982: Tore his knee ligaments delivering a karate kick during a bench clearing brawl

1982: Had an accident with a flask in his back pocket requiring stiches. During his Tiger career, Rozema also shoved a shot glass in  Alan Trammell’s face resulting in stitches, missed the team bus because he overslept after judging a wet t-shirt contest, and once used brillo pads to wash a brand new car.

1984: Tigers win World Series

1984: Signed with Texas Rangers

1985: He and teammate Kirk Gibson married sisters in a double ceremony

1986: Released by Rangers

1986: Signed by Chicago White Sox

1989-90: Pitched for St Petersburg Pelicans in the Senior League

2006: SI listed Rosey as one of the 10 Greatest Characters in Tiger history

2008: West Michigan White Caps had Dave Rozema Karate Kick Bobbleleg Day

Accomplishments:

1984 World Champion

60-53 Record

3.47 ERA

248 games/132 starts/36 CG

7 shutouts

17 saves

448 strikeouts

1106 IP

1.250 WHIP

15 wins (1977)

Sub 4 ERA: 7x

Sub 3.50 ERA: 3x

10+ CG: 2x

200+ IP: 2x

Lou Whitaker

A timeline...

Born: May 12, 1957

Debut: September 9, 1977

1978: Won Rookie of the Year

1983: Appeared in episode of Magnum P.I. with Alan Trammell

1983: Lou’s best season (.320, 12, 72, 94 runs, .380 OBP, .837 OPS)

1984: Tigers win World Series

1985: Cleared the Tiger Stadium roof with a homer

1985: Whitaker forgot his jersey for the ASG. He bought a replica and used a magic marker to fill in the #1 on the back. It currently resides in the Smithsonian.

1986: Homered in All Star Game

1986: Entire Tiger infield hit 20 homers

1987: Tigers win AL East (Lose ALCS to Minnesota)

1989: Hit career best 28 homers with 85 RBI

1992: 2000^th hit

1992: 200^th homer

1995: Whitaker and Trammell become longest running double play combination in history

1995: Retired

2001: Removed from HOF consideration after garnering 2.9% of the vote. 5% was needed to remain on the ballot.

2015: Eligible for review for HOF candidacy

Accomplishments:
1984 World Champion

1978 ROY

5x All Star

4x Silver Slugger

3x Gold Glove

.276 career average

Hit .300+: 2x

Led league in games played (109) in 1981

100+ Runs: 2x

1386 career runs scored

2369 career hits

206 hits (1983)

420 doubles

30+ doubles: 3x

40 doubles (1983)

244 home runs

20+ home runs: 4x

1084 RBI

20 steals (1979)

1197 walks-1099 strikeouts

.363 career OBP

.412 OBP (1993)

.518 slugging (1995)

Postseason: .204 with 1 HR and 1 RBI (2 postseasons)

All Time Detroit Tigers Shortstops

1. Alan Trammell (1977-1996): 1984 World Champ, 1984 WS MVP, All-Star, Gold Glove, The Real 1987 AL MVP


2. Billy Rogell (1930-39): 1935 World Champion, Gehringer said he was the best SS he played with, consider greatest Tiger SS until Tram

3. Harvey Kuenn (1952-59): All Star, 1953 ROY, 1959 Batting Champ, AL Hit Leader 4x

4. Carlos Guillen (2004-Present): All-Star, Hit .290 or better 4x (.300 or better 3x), injuries curtailed his career

5. Donie Bush (1908-21): Led league in walks 5x, .356 career OBP

6. Eddie Brinkman (1971-74): All-Star, Gold Glove, dropped f bomb on live TV

7. Johnny Lipon (1942, 1946-52): Hit .290 or better 3x

8. Charley O’Leary (1904-12): .226 career hitter

9. Topper Rigney (1922-25): Hit .300 twice; .288 career

10. Jackie Tavener (1921, 1925-8): #13 in 1927 MVP voting

Greatest Games of the 1990s: #21-25

Again, these are local Detroit/Michigan games...

21. Lions: 20 Dallas: 17 (September 19, 1994): On a Monday night, the Lions beat the two-time Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys. People went nuts and thought the Lions time had arrived.

22. Bulls: 115 Pistons: 94 (May 27, 1991): The two-time NBA Champion Pistons got old quick. The Bulls swept them in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals after being whipped by the Bad Boys every year. This game is notable for the controversy following the game. The Pistons walked off the court and did not congratulate the Bulls. The reason? Michael Jordan claimed he was doing the NBA a favor by knocking off the thuggish Pistons. Nowadays, people barely remember Michael.

23. Red Sox: 4 Tigers: 0 (September 18, 1996): In a lousy season for both Clemens and the Tigers, the Rocket came with his A game and whiffed 20. Alan Trammell would retire at the end of the year, Clemens moved on to Toronto and won two Cy Young Awards, and the Tigers finished under .500 for the next 10 years.

24. Spartans: 28 Wolverines: 27 (October 13, 1990): Michigan scored late to make it 28-27 and went for 2. Spartan defender Eddie Brown mugged Desmond Howard, but no call was made. State wins and Michigan loses the #1 ranking.

25. CMU: 24 MSU: 20 (September 12,1992): Just to prove a point, CMU beat MSU for the second year in a row. What a night in Mt. Pleasant that was!