With the 30th pick in the All Time Adopt a Tiger draft, WhitecapWendy chooses:
Tom Brookens
Tom Brookens was born August 10, 1953 in Chambersburg, PA. This 5’10”, 170 lb right handed third baseman was the first round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers (4th overall) in 1975. He made his major league debut for the Tigers on July 10, 1979, and played his last game on September 30, 1990 with the Cleveland Indians. Of his 12 years in the major leagues, he spent 10 years with the Detroit Tigers (1979-1988), one year with the New York Yankees (1989) and one with the Cleveland Indians (1990). He had a career average of .246, a career OPS+ of 83, and a career fielding percentage of .950. As a Tiger, in 3543 at bats he had 445 runs, 871 hits, 175 2B, 38 3B, 69 HR, 392 RBIs, stole 85 bases, and was caught stealing 54 times giving him an average over the 10 years of .246.
Tom best year was 1980 when his AVE was .275, and his OPS+ was 98. He had one game that stood out above all the rest. When the Tigers played the Milwaukee Brewers on August 20, 1980, Tom went 5-5 with a triple and a home run. Not only did he have a big game offensively, but defensively he started a rare triple play, helping to insure the Tigers 8-6 victory over the Brewers. 1980 may have been his best season, but Tiger fans remember Tom Brookens best as the third baseman on the “Bless You Boys” 1984 World Series champion Tiger team.
Tom will never forget being in the minor leagues under the management of Jim Leyland in July of 1979. He shared the story recently in front of a crowd of West Michigan Tiger fans. He had not had a good night that night at the plate nor in the field. After the game, he was called into Manager Leyland’s office. When Leyland invited him to take a seat, young Brookens said he was so nervous, he looked for electrical cords that might be attached to the chair. Mr. Leyland looked him straight in the eye, and said, “I am going to tell you straight. The ball club has been forced to give up your contract.” Brookens hung his head, “I know I made a couple errors tonight.” “Three to be exact,” Mr Leyland retorted. Brookens looked at Leyland with a pleading look in his eyes, “But I thought I was having a pretty decent season.” Jim Leyland finally decided to put Tom out of his misery. There was probably a bit of a twinkle in Leyland’s eye as he said “We have been forced to give up your contract, because Detroit has purchased it.”
After completing the 1990 season, Tom decided to retire from baseball to make his family his priority. Once his twin daughters went to college, he realized he still loved baseball, and was hired by the Tigers to manage in the minor leagues. An interesting tidbit—Tom Brookens has a twin brother named Tim, who was also drafted in the first round (18th overall) as an outfielder for the Texas Rangers.
Brookens was the manager of the short season A Oneonta Tigers for the 2005-2006 seasons. In 2005, he led the Tigers to 48-27 record and a Stedler Division Championship. In 2006, he led the O-Tigers to a 40-34 record and second place in the division.
Before the short season club began in mid-June, Tom helped out for a month in West Michigan where the West Michigan Whitecaps had lost their hitting coach. In 2007, Tom will return to West Michigan to become the Whitecap’s manager.
I am looking forward to following my All time AAT, Tom Brookens as he develops as a manager, and hope to get a few stories out of him throughout the season.
Tom Brooken's
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