Larry Herndon is stolen from the Giants, hits 23 homers and plays a good left field
Lance Parrish, the "Big Wheel" sets a record for homers by a catcher with 32
Trammell struggles with the stick... down to .258
The Almanac says:
Club gets off to a good start... its 35-18 in June, leading the east, but then falls apart and goes 48-61 the rest of the way... Chet Lemon comes over for Kemp... a disappointing year, especially considering how it began.
1983(92-70)
Trammell bounces back BIG to .319 with a little power... 14 home runs
Another good year for Herndon... over .300, almost 100 RBIs... this guy is a real steal!
Morris wins 20! ... Dan Petry wins 19... both career highs
The Almanac says:
This is the year the Tigers show they could play with the big boys... after a sluggish 18-22 start, they catch fire and challenge the Orioles all the way, finishing 6 games out... Gibson struggles at .227, but some nice role players such as Enos Cabell... Johnny (pass the) Grubb and Wayne Krenchicki contribute nicely.
1984(104-58)
Willie Hernandez is dominant out of the bullpen... Wins Cy Young and MVP honors!
Dan Petry goes 18-8... an overlooked guy, but a very very good pitcher
A career year for Milt Wilcox... goes 17-8 and pitches LCS pennant-clincher
The Almanac says:
A perfectly balanced team... leads the league in batting and pitching... 6 All-Stars- Hernandez, Morris, Parish, Trammell, Whittaker, Lemon... talk about strength up the middle! Everyone knows this team starts 35-5, but do you know the post season win percentage is exactly the same? The highlight of the 1980s almanac, this special team deserves a full report... and HERE it IS!... and also a World Series Summary.
1985(84-77)
Darrell Evans cranks 40 dingers, but only 94 RBI and bats only .248
Kirk Gibson is one of the few to match last year with 29 homers and almost 100 driven in
Frank Tanana is stolen from the Rangers and will prove to be a solid contributor for years
The Almanac says:
This team wins 20 less games than the year before and it is a true team effort... almost no one has as good a year as last... at the midsummer break they are only 3½ behind, but play less than .500 the rest of the way. A nine game losing streak in September really seals it- there's no way a team with this talent should play this poorly... where's the hunger? ... the fire in the belly? ... Did these cats get fat and complacent
1986(87-75)
Jack Morris wins 21- his career high- while losing only 8
Newcomer Darnell Coles has a good year with the bat, cranking 20 and batting .273- he'll never match those stats again (Remember when he got cheesed-off threw a ball from 3rd base over the 1st base roof? ... Sparky just loved that... he wasn't around too much longer!)
Lance Parrish slips to 22 home runs and .257 in his last year in Detroit- he goes free agent to Philly and is never again the player he was in Detroit- hey... catching is TOUGH- it'll catch up to you
The Almanac says:
Tons of injuries in '86... Gibson misses 6 weeks, Trammell, Petry and a bunch of others. These guys are 20-20 (compare that to 35-5) and under .500 at the break, but play well in July and creep to within 4 of the Bosox, but then fade... We're beginning to wonder if this outfit is a One Trick Pony... all that talent and only one championship to show for it?
1987(98-64) | 
Kirk GibsonAlan Trammell really gets gypped out of the MVP- great year with the bat (238-105 .343) and a fantastic shortstop... but they vote for George Bell... WHY?
Matt Nokes hits 32 home runs... he and Bill (Rocketman) Heath more than replace the departed Lance Parrish at-bat and behind the dish
Morris wins 18, Walt Terrell 17, and Tanana 15... very solid!
The Almanac says:
This is an exciting year... they start v e r y slowly at 11-19 and it looks dismal...BUT things began to happen... guys like Matt Nokes, Trammell, Gibson... everyone contributes and they lead the league in runs scored... attendance goes over 2 million again... great acquisitions of Doyle Alexander and Bill Madlock help to put them over the top with a great weekend finish against Toronto. ---- O B V I O U S L Y this will be a season that we'll look. at in more detail- KEEP CHECKING BACK! | | |
1988(88-74)Frank Tanana wins 14... second only to Morris on the staff and tied with Doyle Alexander
Trammell hits .311 despite nagging injuries and is an All-Star... why not the Hall of Fame for this cat?
Garry Pettis is acquired for Dan Petry swipes 44 bases but bats only .210
The Almanac says:
How the 1988 Tigers stay in contention, we'll never know... they have a hard time scoring runs, with injuries to Trammell, Whittaker, Evans... Matt Nokes' production is way down and 41 year old Darrell (UFO) Evans is closing out his Detroit career with 22 shots and only a .208 average. The pitching keeps them up near the lead most of the year with 4 guys in double digit wins and Mike Henneman taking over as closer. Even though the Motowners finish only 1 out, it never felt like they would win in 1988.
1989(59-103)Doyle Alexander calls it quits after going 6-18... was he worth John Smoltz?? I still think so!
Mike Henneman, a reliever leads the team in wins with just 11... Tanana follows with 10 and NO ONE ELSE has more than 6
Lou Whittaker cranks 28 bombs to lead the team... by a bunch
The Almanac says:
When the end came to the '80s group, it came in a hurry... the Cats never contend- get off to a bad start and it gets worse with a 10 game losing streak followed by a 12 game road trip where they lose every game. Nothing seems to work... things get so bad with injuries and low production that Sparky left for 17 games in May due to "exhaustion."
The 1980s almanac shows one of the most successful of Tiger decades, and it sure was fun... especially '84 and '87... but for sure not in '89! ... while the team would rebound some in the early '90s, the championship core was pretty much gone... this team would no longer win with fundamentals- it simply bashed the beejeebers out of the opposition for awhile, or got its own beejeebers bashed in... it would take a lot of years before a fundamentally sound Tiger team, built in the FARM SYSTEM would know how to win again.
Continue on to the GNARLY '90s!
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