The Start of an Era

What were you doing 33 years ago today?

If you were a Tigers fan you were probably listening to Ernie Harwell describe the simultaneous debuts of a young Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell in Fenway Park. Or you were one day away from reading about it in the newspaper. It was, unbeknownst to us at the time, the start of an era that included a World Series victory (1984) and the most prolific double-play partnership of all time.

I won't go into how Tram has been under-appreciated by Hall of Fame voters. I certainly won't talk about how Lou was criminally disrespected by the committee when he was booted off the ballot in his first year. Are they Hall of Famers? Maybe. This is neither the time or the place. Do they deserve consideration, discussion and respect beyond what they have received in retirement? Absolutely.

The cornerstones (yes, two) of the Tigers for eighteen years, starting 33 years ago today:





A big thanks to 30 Year Old Cardboard for pointing out this Anniversary to the rest of us!

Tigers Gallery Checklist: 1988 Donruss Baseball's Best

With newer sets, I just pull images however I can get them. However, I'm committed to just posting the older sets that I actually have...for now.

When I opened the package there was a sticky note that said "more to come." This was the junk wax that dayf of Cardboard Junkie was evidently seeking any excuse to unload. My package of junkwax to him was a suitable prompt, it seemed.

The thing was, I didn't have many (hardly any) of those mid-80's cards that Dayf sent. But it was these that really caught my eye. They were Donruss. They were 1988. Surely, I have Donruss Tigers cards from 1988. But these are glossy. And Orange. And I have no idea what they are.

It turns out they they are from "Donruss Baseball's Best," a special factory set collector's edition that you can't just buy anywhere for a dollar. No sir.

1988 was the year after the Tigers were upset by the Twins in the playoffs. We are reminded of the trade that will never die with the first card of the set: #13 Doyle Alexander, who just happened to be singlehandedly responsible for getting those Tigers to the playoffs. The rest of the set is full of all the names that you'll remember from the Tigers if you followed them in the late 80s and early 90s. No Orlando Mercado's or Torey Lovullo's here. These are Baseball's Best:

#13 Doyle Alexander	#35 Darrell Evans	#69 Mike Heath
#91 Mike Henneman	#125 Willie Hernandez	#147 Chet Lemon
#181 Jack Morris	#203 Gary Pettis	#237 Matt Nokes
#259 Frank Tanana	#281 Alan Trammell	#293 Walt Terrell
#315 Lou Whitaker

Tigers Checklist: 1988 Dominos Pizza

I love myself some oddball sets. These are the cards that came in a package from Don, as alluded to last night along with a bunch of vintage Tigers from the 60s and 70s that were new to my collection and I'll have to show off someday. But man, oddballs. Those are just the best.

This particular set was a 1988 team issue sponsored by Dominos Pizza, or should I say, the Tigers, seeing as how the owner of the team was also the owner of the pizza giant at the time. This set came to me in mint, factory-sealed condition, and to be honest, there was a moment there where I thought, "I should keep these wrapped up, to preserve their value" before slapping myself back to consciousness, remembering that I was a collector who liked looking at cards and tearing off the cellophane.

What I found was great: A 27 card set commemorating the 1968 World Champion Tigers. The players are captured on a design that feels 80's without being ostentatious, and the black and white pictures harken back to days of yore and filled with a bunch of surprisingly good shots. The checklist is big, checking in at 27 cards (when you count the Noid), including a bunch of obscure-ish players that I was not particularly familiar with.

Still, the set wasn't without it's drawbacks. The card stock is oh, so thin--like an index card or slightly stronger. Also, while I actually like the utilitarian design of the back--I think the red stamped title is cool, and the one-line stats space is appropriate for a 1968 commemorative issue--each card features the same write-up of the season. Disappointment. Here's one for you, and if you've seen one, you've seen 'em all.



But those disappointments aside, I think that this set stacks up favorably to any oddball set out there. Big checklist, unique design, team logos--all good things. It's just too bad that you don't really see stuff like this out there nowadays. Also disappointing, the fact that the back of my Noid is a coupon that just barely expired:



Here's your 1968 team, circa 1988. Oh also, the cards are not numbered and are listed in the order in which I pulled them out of the package. I assume that is the order, even though it is not alphabetical and anyone who saw these cards outside of their original wrapping would have no idea what order they go in. Well, this is it folks:

Al Kaline	Don McMahon	Daryl Patterson
Bill Freehan	Dick McAuliffe	Ed Mathews
Denny McLain	Jim Northrup	Gates Brown
Ray Oyler	Mickey Lolich	Jim Price
Joe Sparma	Wayne Comer	Earl Wilson
John Hiller	Jon Warden	Don Wert
Fred Lasher	Dick Tracewski	Pat Dobson
Ernie Harwell	Mickey Stanley	Tom Matchick

Willie Horton	Norm Cash	The Noid

Card Cameos: 1988 Score Rookies & Traded Bud Black & Luis Salazar

How about a post for a travel day? The first card cameo post I did was fun, so why not another? Because these cameo cards often come from cards that aren't of Tigers in the first place, it's a little hard for a Tigers collector to find them. What am I to do? Why, turn to the blogs of course! The now defunct 88 Score Rookie & Traded Set blog highlighted this card last February:



That's #11T Bud Black from 1988 Score R&T...with former Tiger Luis Salazar lurking in the background. I wish that I could take credit for finding this out, but no. I only know this because the blog told me...twice. And looking hard I think I can buy it--AL Road Team, Detroit-esque color scheme, Mustache. Yeah, that could be Luis Salazar. I probably wouldn't have gotten it on my own, but I'm willing to accept it.

This card doesn't contain within it the drama of our inaugural card cameo, but I have a hunch that we can track down this game too, just for fun. You see, Bud Black was traded, which meant that he was wearing a shiny new Indians uniform in place of that dingy old Royals jersey he had been wearing. Traded sets usually feature in-season photos from the traded season, so a look at the 1988 Detroit Tigers' schedule is in order.

The Tigers played in Cleveland on two occasions: June 9-12 and September 26-28. According to the back of the card, Black was traded on June 3rd, putting all of these in play. Going game by game we find this: June 11th and September 26th. Those are the only two appearances that Bud Black made against the Tigers in that series. Taking the next step, it turns out that the September games was a 7:35 start, while the June game started at 2:35, which would explain the sunshine that is flooding our lovely card.

So we have a winner! This photo was taken on June 11th. The Play by Play confirms that it is, in fact, Luis Salazar on Second Base. With 2 outs in the top of the 6th and runners on the corners Salazar weakly singled off of starter John Farrell, scoring Chet Lemon and winding up on 1st base. When Dave Bergman singled to move Salazar to second Farrell got the hook...bringing in Bud Black.

There on second base stands Luis Salazar, some time before he is singled-in by Gary Pettis on Black's second pitch. The Tigers go up 4-2 in a game they end up winning 11-3.

All I can say is this: Thank goodness for Andy for creating his 88 Score R&T Set blog--he is the sole reason that I was able to highlight this classic Detroit Tigers moment in Card Cameos.

Remembering That Cup Of Coffee (Part 1)

As I mentioned in yesterday's Grand Scheme, Blake over at The Spot Starters has put together a list of notable ball players who spent a wee bit of their careers as Tigers. Here is Part One, which is recommended reading.

Being a baseball card site, I thought that it was only appropriate to profile these Tigers in cardboard form. I mean, that's the whole reason baseball cards exist, right? To keep track of and commemorate baseball history? I'm not going to recap Blake's summaries, but may add bits of insight here and there. With that, I give you the Spot Starter's Cup Of Coffee Tigers, in cardboard form.

Earl Averill

1940 Play Ball #46 Earl Averill

Play Ball gets it, just look at the bottom of the card: "A pictoral news record of America's favorite sport". I dare you to define baseball cards better then that.

This card is one of two cards of Earl as a Tiger. The other, a 1939 "Sportservice Tigers" is so obscure that I have no idea what I am even looking for. Play Ball is a legitimate and well known set, on the other hand. The back makes mention of the Earl Averill acquisition:

The Indians, who paid a reported price of $50,000 for Averill in 1929, traded the outfielder to the Detroit Tigers in June last year and while Earl was not up to his par in hitting, he managed to drive in 65 runs with 98 hits, almost half of them for extra bases.

Update: Mark of Mark's Ephemera, in addition to editing my posts, sent me a link about the obscure 1939 set. A little extra research indicates that this set was released by the Tigers and is a 1939-1940 set and is listed as either one, the other, or both. More specifically, 1939 was the first year that SportService was the Detroit Tigers' official concessionaire, which leads me to believe that the cards were essentially corporately sponsored by them, despite being considered a "team-issue". The more you know...

Steve Avery
I loved Steve Avery growing up. He was a Michigander and he was a rising star on the Braves, which for whatever reason, I always liked as a kid. Well, the two worlds converged, briefly, in 2003.

2003 Topps Traded #T42 Steve Avery

Why the Tigers in 2003? The back of the card gives us some insight on this one.

"At the urging of his son, this former Braves star tried a comeback in 2003 after being out of baseball for two years. He signed with his hometown Tigers, beat Atlanta in Spring Training and won a spot in Detroit's pen."

That's neat.

Billy Bean and Billy Beane
The first, and less notable, actually had enough of a presence on the Tigers to warrant a card.

1988 Topps #267 Billy Bean

The other Billy Beane, well known for being the current GM of the A's and the man behind Moneyball, had such a short stint in Detroit that they didn't even bother to make a card for him. He did have a lasting legacy in that other role, however:


Rico Brogna
The last of this group of shortly tenured Tigers is a once rising star in the system:


Rico was a big deal. He got a coveted "top prospects" card in 1992 with a couple of guys who went on to have solid careers (Klesko and Jaha). A bunch of prospect cards preceded that 1992 version as well. In 1993 he got one of his own:

1993 Topps #598 Rico Brogna

This was one of many cards that Brogna had as a Tiger, dating back to 1989. In fact his 1991 Upper Deck card was the one that stuck out with me, but I didn't remember that when I was rushing to pull cards this morning, so Topps it is. This card, the 1993 version, was the end of the brief Rico Brogna era in Detroit and you know that he was only up for a cup of coffee--he is wearing an away uniform and home helmet, a telltale sign of a Spring Training picture, indicating that there wasn't much in the way of regular season game action for him.

And so concludes Part 1. Part 2 is now up at the Spot Starters, and I'll be chasing down those cards just as soon as I can.