Greatest RHP in AL history by team

Baltimore: Jim Palmer (1965-84)
Boston: Roger Clemens (1984-96) and Cy Young (1901-08)
New York Yankees: Red Ruffing (1930-46)
Tampa Bay Rays: James Shields (2006-12)
Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay (1998-2009)
Chicago White Sox: Ted Lyons (1923-46)
Cleveland Indians: Bob Feller (1936-56)
Detroit Tigers: Jack Morris (1977-90)
Kansas City Royals: Bret Saberhagen (1984-91)
Minnesota Twins: Walter Johnson via Washington (1907-27)
Houston Astros: Roy Oswalt (2001-10)
Los Angeles Angels: Nolan Ryan (1972-79)
Oakland A's: Jim Hunter (1965-74)
Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez (2005-present)
Texas Rangers: Charlie Hough (1980-90)

Jack Morris: Timeline

Born: May 16, 1955

1976: Drafted by Detroit Tigers

Debut: July 26, 1977 (Tigers)

1981: Player's Strike (Morris leads leage with 14 wins)

1981: TSN Pitcher of the Year

1983: 20-13

1984: No-Hit White Sox

1984: Won 2 games in 1984 World Series

1984: Tigers win World Series

1984: Babe Ruth Award

1986: 21-8, 3.27 ERA, 267 IP, 6 shutouts, 223 strikeouts, 1.165 WHIP

1987: Tigers win ALCS

1989: Pitched with fractured elbow

1991: Signed with Minnesota Twins

1991: Won Game 7 1991 World Series with 10 inning 1-0 shutout

1991: Twins win World Series

1991: Babe Ruth Award

1991: World Series MVP

1991: Signed with Toronto Blue Jays

1992: First Blue Jay pitcher with 20 wins (21-6)

1992-3: Blue Jays win World Series

1993: Made 14th consecutive Opening Day start

1994: Signed with Cleveland Indians

1994: Work stoppage

1995: Retired

1996: Pitched with St Paul Saints and retired for good

2013: Began broadcasting for Twins

2014: Dropped off Hall of Fame Ballot (61.5%)


Accomplishments:
4x World Champion

5x All Star

1991 World Series MVP

2x Babe Ruth Award winner

No-Hitter

254-186

.577 win %

175 CG

28 SHO

2478 Strikeouts

3.94 ERA

1.296 WHIP

14+ wins: 13x

20+ wins: 3x

ERA under 4.00: 9x

ERA under 3.50: 7x

10+ CG: 11x

15+ CG: 4x

20 CG (1983)

200+ IP: 11x

250+ IP: 6x

200+ Strikeouts: 3x

Led league in wins: 2x

Led league in GS: 2x

Led league in CG (11): 1990

Led league in SHO (6): 1986

Led league in IP (293.2): 1983

Led league in BB (78): 1981

Led league in Strikeouts (232): 1983

Led league in WP: 6x

Postseason: 7-4, 3.80, 92.1 IP, 1.245 WHIP, 64 strikeouts, 5 CG, 1 SHO (7 Series)

Lance Parrish: a timeline

Born: June 15, 1956
1974: Drafted by Tigers
1977: Debut (Tigers)
1979: Became starting catcher
1982: Set HR record for catchers (since broken)
1984: Caught Jack Morris' no-hitter
1984: Tigers won World Series
1986: Back problems limited play
1987: Signed with Phillies
1988: Traded to Angels
1992: Signed with Mariners
1993: Signed with Dodgers
1994: Signed with Tigers
1994: Purchased by Pirates
1995: Signed by Royals
1995: Traded to Blue Jays
1996: Signed with Pirates
1996: Retired
1996: Instructor for Royals
1997-8: Minor League Coach
1999-2001: Coach for Tigers
2001: Dropped off HOF ballot (1.7%)
2002: Broadcaster
2003-05: Tiger coach
2006-07: Minor league manager

Accomplishments
1984 World Champion
HR record for catchers (1982)
8x All Star
3x Gold Glove
6x SIlver Slugger
.252 c areer hitter
324 Home Runs
1070 RBI
856 runs
1782 hits
305 doubles
.753 OPS
30+ doubles: 2x
42 doubles (1983)
20+ HR: 7x
30+ HR: 2x
114 RBI (1983)
.529 slugging (1982)
Led league in SF (13) (1983)

Top 10 Moments in Minnesota Twins History

...and one from the Old Senators....

Senators: 4 Giants: 3 (12 innings) 1924 World Series Game 7: Walter Johnson atones for stinking it up earlier in the series and Bucky Harris’ bad hop single wins the future Minnesota Twins first World Series. The Senators never won another series. The franchise won its next title in 1987.

Twins: 6 Yankees: 0 (April 11, 1961): Twins win first game since move from Washington beating the mighty Yankees and Whitey Ford. Ford went 25-4 that season.

Minnesota: 2 Washington: 1 (September 26, 1965): Jim Kaat beats Senators 2-1 to win pennant. Ironically, the Twins used to play in Washington.

1977: Rod Carew makes a run at .400 and finishes at .388.

Twins: 9 Tigers: 5 (1987 ALCS Game Five): Twins win first pennant since 1965.

Twins: 4 Cardinals: 2 (1987 World Series Game Seven): The Twins win a thrilling Fall Classic in seven games. Frank Viola goes 8 for the win and is the series MVP. It is the franchise's first title since 1924.

Twins: 4 Braves: 3 (11 Innings) 1991 World Series Game 6: The Puckett Game: Hall of Famer Kirby Pucket demonstrated how a single player can take over a game. He made an amazing catch and hit a game winning walk off forcing Game 7 vs. Atlanta.

Twins: 1 Braves: 0 (1991 World Series Game 7): The Jack Morris Game:  Jack Morris pitched 10  shutout innings vs.the Braves. Before the game, most people put their money on John Smoltz. However, those that watched Morris' career and knew the game understood that the Twins held the advantage. The Twins win 1-0 in 10 innings. Morris is the MVP.

2006: Joe Mauer became the first catcher to lead the AL in hitting. Two national league catchers have won batting titles. Bubbles Hargrave in 1926 and Ernie Lombardi in 1938 and 1942. To date, he is the only  catcher with three batting championships.

Twins: 6 Tigers: 5 (12 innings) October 6, 2009: The Twins come back from 3 down with 4 to play to win the Central. In the one game playoff, they beat Detroit in an exciting 12 inning contest. The Tigers led by a run in the 10th and the Twins tied it. In the 12th, Detroit loaded the bases, but failed to score. Brandon Inge was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, but the umpire ignored this. The Twins scored in the 12th and moved on to the ALDS.

The Greatest Detroit Tiger Pitchers Part I: The Right Handers

1. Jack Morris (1977-90): Winningest pitcher of the 80s, 20 game winner 2x, League leading 14 wins (1981), 200+ Ks 3x, led league 232 K’s (1983), 24 SHO, led league 6 SHO (1986), All-Star, 2-0 1984 WS, 3-1 postseason, 1981 pitcher of the year, MLB Network pitcher of the 80s, 198 Tiger wins, 1984 No-Hitter, 1984 World Champion

2. Tommy Bridges (1930-46): All-Star, 194 Tiger wins, 20 wins (3x), 1936 wins leader (23), 1932 SHO leader (4), 33 SHO, Strikeout leader (2x), 1935 and 1945 World Champion, 4-1 WS Record, One of the most popular athletes of his era.

3. Denny McLain (1963-70): 1968 World Champion, 1968-69 Cy Young, 1968 MVP, 5x 16+ wins, 3x twenty game winner, 31 wins (1968), 1969 Wins leader (24), 1968 CG leader (28), 1969 SHO leader (9), 300+ Innings (2x), 190+ Ks (3x), 280 Ks (1968), All-Star, 117 Tiger wins, 26 SHO

4. Hooks Dauss (1912-26): 3x 20 game winner, 223 career wins (All Time Leader), 3.30 career ERA, 22 SHO

5. George Mullin (1902-13): 5x 20 game winner, 29 game winner (1909), No-Hitter (1912), 209 Tiger wins, 2.76 Tiger ERA, 34 SHO, 3-3 W-L in WS, 1.86 WS ERA

6. Dizzy Trout (1939-52): All-Star, 1945 World Champion, 20 wins (2x), 27 wins (1944), 1944 ERA leader (2.12), 33 CG (1944), 1944 SHO leader (7), 1943 SHO leader (5), 0.66 ERA (1945 WS), 1943 Wins leader (20), 161 Tiger wins, 34 SHO, 3.20 Tiger ERA

7. Frank Lary (1954-63): The Yankee Killer, All-Star, Gold Glove, 20 game winner (2x), Led league w/ 21 wins (1956), 3x CG leader, 3x IP leader, 123 Tiger wins

8. Jim Bunning (1955-63): Hall of Fame, All-Star, No-Hitter (1958), Led league 20 wins (1957), IP Leader (1957), 2x Strikeout leader, 190+ K’s: 4x, 200+ K’s: 2x, 7x double digit wins, 17+ wins (4x), 118 Tiger wins

9. Virgil Trucks (1941-52, 1956): 2 No-Hitters (1952), 7x double digit wins, 19 wins (1949), 1949 SHO Leader (6), 1949 K leader (153), 1945 World Champion, All-Star, 114 Tiger wins

10. Bill Donovan (1903-12, 1918): 7x double digit wins, 25 wins (1907), Led league 34 CG (1907), 187 K’s (1903), 140 Tiger wins

Greatest Baseball Games by Decade

I picked one game per decade.

Merkle’s Boner (1908): The Giants beat the Cubs…or did they? Rookie Fred Merkle forgot to touch second base on the game winning hit. Cub Johnny Evers saw Merkle’s mistake, got the ball, and touched the bag for a force out. The game ended in a tie and had to be replayed. The Cubs won the replayed game and the pennant by one game over New York and Pittsburgh. Nice going Merkle!

Game 8 1912 World Series: Game 2 ended in a tie, so it forced an extra game. In Game 8, the Giants and Red Sox went overtime at Fenway. New York scored in the top of the 10th. Boston scored twice to win the World Series. The Giants suffered from mental and physical errors in the 10th and choked the game away with Christy Mathewson on the mound.

Game 7 1924 World Series: Walter Johnson got shelled in this series. He went from goat to hero in Game 7. The Senators trailed 3-1 in the eighth and destiny took over. Bucky Harris hit a ball that struck a pebble and bounced over Giant third baseman Fred Lidstrom. Two scored to tie the game. Johnson came in the game to pitch in the 9th and got the win when the Senators scored the winning run on a bad hop over Lidstrom in the twelfth.

Johnny Vander Meer throws second no-hitter (1938): On June 11, 1938, Vander Meer no hit the Braves. Four days later, he no-hit the Dodgers. No one else has tossed two no-hitters in a row.

1941 All Star Game: The American League trailed 5-4 with two out in the ninth. Ted Williams hit a three-run home run into Tiger Stadium’s upper deck to win the game 7-5.

1951 Pennant Playoff: The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant!

Game 7 World Series (1960): The Pirates won 10-9. Hal Smith hit a big homer for the Bucs and Bill Mazeroski hit the first World Series walk-off homer. As a side note, the game lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes.

Game 6 1975 World Series: Bernie Carbo, high on everything, hit a 2-out three run shot in the 8th. Dwight Evans made a great play in right field and doubled a runner off first. Oh yeah, Carlton Fisk hit that home run. Red Sox win.

Game 6 1986 NLCS: Mets beat the Astros in 16 innings at the Astrodome. Houston led 3-0 early. The Mets scored 3 in the 9th to tie. New York scored in the 14th. Billy Hatcher homered to tie the game. In the 16th, New York scored 3. Houston responded with two. Kevin Bass struck out to end the game.

Game 7 1991 World Series: Jack Morris pitched a 10 inning 1-0 shutout in Game 7 of the World Series. We will not see that again.

Game 4 2005 NLDS : Astros beat the Braves 7-6 in 18 innings. It was the longest game in postseason history. Roger Clemens pitched three innings in relief, Brad Ausmus hit a game tying homer in the 9th, Chris Burke ended the game with a walk-off homer in the 18th.

Greatest Games of the 1980s: #1-10

1. Tigers: 8 Padres: 4 (October 14, 1984): There’re Greeaat! World Series Game 5. The Tigers flexed their muscles and dispatched the Padres. Kirk Gibson hit 2 homers. After the second blast off Goose Gossage, he paraded around the bases in celebratory fashion---he roared as the crowd chanted “Goosebusters.”

2. Michigan: 23 Huskies: 6 (January 1, 1981): Bo’s first bowl win. Bo finally wins a bowl game. No heart attacks, no phantom touchdowns, and no bizarre incidents.

3. Detroit: 105 Lakers: 97 (June 13, 1989): How sweep it is! NBA Finals Game 4. The Pistons polished off a sweep of the two-time defending champs. The game was close, but Bill Laimbeer finished off LA with a jumper with 28 seconds remaining. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finished his career with a basket. The crowd and the Pistons gave him a standing ovation as he left the game.

4. Lakers: 103 Pistons: 102 (June 19, 1988): Championship denied. NBA Finals Game 6. Isiah Thomas twisted his ankle and still managed to score 25 in the 3rd quarter. Detroit led the series 3-2 going into Game 6. They led 102-99 with a minute left. Byron Scott cut the lead to one with 52 seconds to go. The Pistons failed to score on their next possession. Piston defense stifled LA and forced a desperation shot by Kareen Abdul-Jabbar. Then, the NBA took over. Bill Laimbeer got whistled for a foul. It was clear he did not come near Kareem and instant replay proved it. Kareen hit the foul shots and forced Game 7. The Pistons really won 3 titles in a row despite what the history books state.

5. Detroit Tigers: 1 Toronto Blue Jays: 0 (October 4, 1987): Comeback complete. The Tigers finished off an amazing comeback behind Frank Tanana’s 6 hit shutout. Larry Herndon homered for the game’s only run. The Tigers went 5-2 down the stretch while Toronto did not win in the final week.

6. Tigers: 4 White Sox: 0 (April 7, 1984): He has his no-hitter! Jack Morris throws a no-hitter on national TV. It was part of Detroit’s 35-5 start and Chet Lemon homered.

7. Hawkeyes: 12 Wolverines: 10 (October 19, 1985): #1 vs. #2. #1 Iowa took on #2 Michigan and escaped. Through five games, Michigan’s defense surrendered 21 points while Iowa was averaging 44 points a game behind Chuck Long. Neither offense did well and Michigan held a 10-9 lead early in the 4th quarter. Long drove down the field with 5:27 to go and Iowa kicked a field goal with seconds remaining. This was one of the best college games of the decade.

8. Wolverines: 26 Buckeyes: 24 (November 22, 1986): The guarantee. Jim Harbaugh guaranteed a victory. Ohio State blew a 14-3 lead as Jamie Morris racked up 210 yards. OSU missed a game winning field goal with 1:06 remaining. Chris Spielman had 29 tackles in the loss.


9. Red Wings: 3 Maple Leafs: 0 (May 3, 1987): Bro-phy! Bro-phy! The Wings fell behind 3-1 in the playoffs to Toronto. They won the next two games, 3-0 and 4-2. In Game 7, they shut out the Leafs 3-0. During the series, Leafs coach John Brophy accused the Wings of choking. In the third period, the JLA crowd shouted “Bro-phy! Bro-phy!” taunting the Leaf coach.

10. Michigan: 80 Seton Hall: 79 (OT) (April 3, 1989): Goodbye Bill, Hello Steve. Michigan wins the NCAA Tournament. Michigan coach Bill Frieder decided to move on to Arizona State, so athletic director, Bo Schembechler, fired him and elevated assistant coach Steve Fisher to head coach. Fisher started his career 6-0 as he swept through the tournament. Glen Rice was the tournament’s outstanding player as he averaged 29 points a game.

Top 10 Baseball Moments

Good topic for a holiday weekend.

Here are my top 10 baseball moments (regular season only). These are games I saw on TV or Radio as opposed to at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull or the Copa.

Arranged Chronologically:

1. Tigers go 35-5 (1984). We will not see this again.

2. Morris throws a No-Hitter (4-7-84): The signature moment of the 35-5 start.

3. The Sandberg Game (June 23, 1984): A third moment from 1984?? Bruce Sutter was unhittable. Sandberg hit 2 game tying homers off Sutter in a comeback. This was a signature moment for the 1984 Cubs. Then came Garvey...

4. Mets: 16 Braves: 13 (7-4-85 and 7-5-85): A marathon in the rain. 19 innings! Atlanta scored 4 in the 8th to take the lead. Mets tied in the 9th. Keith Hernandez went 4 for 10 and hit for the cycle. Each team scored twice in the 13th. Mets took the lead in the top of the 18th. Pitcher Rick Camp hit an 18th inning homer to tie the game. New York scored 5 in the 19th. Atlanta scored twice and had the tying runs on when Ron Darling struck out Rick Camp to end it. A postgame fireworks show followed...at 4am. A fan summed it up best with a sign "What the Hell is going on?"

5. Pete Rose gets hit 4192 (9-11-85): 1985 was the year of the milestone and Rose finally passed Cobb. Amazing for a guy people said had no talent. If you google, Pete Rose and 4192, a billion sites pop up hocking memorabilia and autographs. Who wants that honey, Pete needs money. (Smashing Pumpkins reference there!)

6. Bob Horner hits 4 home runs in a game (7-6-86): and we saw it on tape delay...Ted Turner's idiotic Goodwill Games (designed to end the Cold War and bring peace and harmony to the universe) preempted the game's normal start time.

7. The Comeback: Detroit: 1 Blue Jays: 0 (October 4, 1987):The Tigers trailed the Toronto Blue Jays by 3 1/2 with a week to go. Kirk Gibson hit a dramatic homer off Tom Henke in Toronto to propel the Tigers to a comeback. Detroit did not lose another game until the LCS. Toronto did not win another game that season. The comeback was capped by Frank Tanana's 1-0 victory on the season's final day. Larry Herndon's 2nd inning homer off Jimmy Key was the game's only score.

8. Nolan Ryan. I don't know where to start...No hitter #5 (1981), #7 (1991), Strikeout #4000 (Danny Heap of the Mets), the now legendary pummeling of Robin Ventura...

9. Ripken passes Gehrig (9-6-95) : This was a night. Ripken passed Lou Gehrig, the number was unveiled on the warehouse, Cal hit a homer, he did a victory lap around the field. Bill Clinton showed up, but who cares? Joe Dimaggio was there!

10. Craig Biggio's 3000th Hit (6-28-07): Biggio is known for his messy helmet, being an all-star at two positions, and for being a hard nosed player. He played the game the way it should be played. He singled for hit 3000 and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. He finished the game with 5 hits and helped the Astros to a win. After the hit, Biggio called longtime team mate Jeff Bagwell out to share his moment.