Ex-Tigers returning to Detroit as visitors for the first time after being traded away

[TigersFan81371]

Here is how some notable ex-Tigers did returning to Detroit as a visitor for the first time after being traded away by the Tigers.

Pudge Rodriguez: Yankees vs. Tigers 9/1/08

Hitting ninth, he went 2-5 with two runs scored as the Yanks won 13-9, although he struck out his first time up against Justin Verlander. Behind the plate, he retired Placido Polanco on a grounder in front of the plate in the bottom of the first and caught a Miguel Cabrera popup in front of the plate in the bottom of the fifth. The only Tigers steal came from Pudge's replacement, Mr. Brandon Inge.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200809010.shtml


Craig Monroe: Twins vs. Tigers 4/15/08

Monroe had been traded to the Cubs in August 2007 in a deal that brought Clay Rapada to the Tigers. He later ended up with the Twins. As the DH, he went 2-4, including a one-out RBI single off Todd Jones in the top of the 9th. That scored Delmon Young, who led off the inning with a triple. With that, the Twins narrowed the Tigers lead to 5-4. He was replaced on the bases by pinch runner Denard Span. Jones was able to retire the next couple batters to save the win for none other than (wait for it) Clay Rapada.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200804150.shtml


Jeff Weaver: Yankees vs. Tigers 5/31/03

Weaver ended up as a Yankee as part of a three team deal that also included the A's. He gave up three earned runs on 10 hits in seven innings. A Dmitri Young single to score Ramon Santiago in the bottom of the seventh put the Tigers on top 3-2. Franklyn German, a player the Tigers got in the Weaver deal, ended up getting the save for Detroit, who ended up winning 4-2.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200305310.shtml


Todd Jones: Twins vs. Tigers 10/3/01

Jones came on to pitch the bottom of the 8th. The Tigers led 9-5. Jones gave up a leadoff single to Wendell Magee, then retired Eric Munson, Jose Macias and Damian Easley. Luis Pineda retired the Twins in order in the top of the 9th to wrap up the Tigers win.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200110030.shtml


Travis Fryman: Indians vs. Tigers 6/1/98

The Tigers traded Fryman to the Diamondbacks in mid-November 1997. The D-Backs turned around and traded him to the Indians on December 1st. Hitting eighth, he went 0-4. He had two putouts and two assists at third base. The Indians won 2-0. Jaret Wright scattered three hits in a complete game performance. Joe Randa, the third baseman the Tigers got from Arizona for Fryman, hit second for the Tigers and went 0-4

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET199806010.shtml


Cecil Fielder: Yankees vs. Tigers 9/10/96

Batting cleanup as the DH, Todd Van Poppel struck him out with the bases loaded for the first out of the first inning. Fielder went 1-4 with a run scored (he singled in the third and scored on Paul O'Neill's home run). With two outs and a man on third in the fourth, he was intentionally walked by John Cummings. He picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice in the eighth. That turned out to be the game winning run as the Yanks topped the Tigers 9-8. Ruben Sierra, who the Tigers got in exchange for "Big Daddy" at the trade deadline, hit sixth as the Tigers DH (behind Melvin Nieves) and went 1-4.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET199609100.shtml


David Wells: Orioles vs. Tigers 6/10/96

Wells was traded to the Reds at the trade deadline in 1995. The Reds traded him to the Orioles in the off-season. He started this game and gave up seven runs on ten hits in five and one-third innings. A sixth inning Tiger rally featuring doubles by Mark Lewis (whom the Tigers got from Cincy in exchange for Wells), Tony Clark and John Flaherty, plus a single by Bobby Higginson, turned out to be Wells' downfall. The Tigers won 8-3.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET199606100.shtml


Tony Phillips: Angels vs Tigers 7/13/95

No longer "Tony The Tiger", he led off the game by flying out to the guy the Tigers got in return for him prior to the start of the season, centerfielder Chad Curtis. After that, Phillips singled in the fourth (eventually scoring), singled in the sixth (eventually scoring), walked in the eighth, and singled to lead off the tenth (scoring what was the game winning run when he crossed the plate after a Tim Salmon home run off Joe Boever). The Tigers could do nothing in the bottom of the 10th and lost 8-5. As the Angels' third baseman, Phillips had one putout and two assists.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET199507130.shtml


Matt Nokes: Yankees vs Tigers 9/15/90

Nokes was traded away in June. As a ninth inning pinch hitter for Jim Leyritz (and representing the possible go-ahead run in what was a 4-2 Tigers lead), he lined into a double play. Shortstop Tony Phillips snagged the line drive and then doubled off Oscar Azocar (who represented the possible tying run) at first base. One batter later, Mel Hall homered. The solo shot did no real harm as the Tigers would prevail 4-3.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET199009150.shtml


Tom Brookens: Yankees vs Tigers 6/27/89

Brookens, traded just before the beginning of the season, hit seventh as the Yanks' third baseman. He went 2-5 (including a second inning double off Paul Gibson) with an RBI (a fifth inning single to score Don Mattingly). A bottom of the ninth rally gave the Tigers a 6-5 win.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198906270.shtml


Dan Petry: Angels vs Tigers 6/17/89

His first season as an Angel was 1988, but his only appearance against the Tigers that year came in Anaheim. In this game, he pitched a third of an inning in relief, taking over for Greg Minton (Jim Abbott had started). Petry struck out Gary Ward looking, then hit Mike Heath. After that, he was replaced by Bob McClure. He threw a total of 11 pitches in what was a 6-3 win for the Angels. Gary Pettis, who the Tigers got for Petry, went 0-4 as the Tigers' leadoff hitter, but scored a run after walking.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198906170.shtml


Steve Kemp: White Sox vs Tigers 5/7/82

He hit third as the Sox leftfielder that day. Although Jack Morris and three Tigers relievers had rough days on the mound, Kemp went went 0-3 with two walks, one intentional. He didn't score either time. No prob for Chicago, who won 8-5 to give Lamarr Hoyt his sixth win of the season (against no losses). Chet Lemon, who the Tigers got for Kemp, fared a little better. As the Tigers' leadoff hitter, he went 2-4 with a run scored.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198205070.shtml


More to come...

[Frink]

Wow, good read. Nice work. Can I get a Todd Van Poppel?

[DaYooperASBDT]

Nice bit of research. Although there's no way German ever got a save, lol.

[TigersFan81371]

Ron LeFlore: White Sox vs Tigers 4/24/81

LeFlore, definitely not a favorite of Sparky Anderson's, was exiled to the Expos after the 1979 season in exchange for a lousy pitcher named Dan Schatzeder. The Sox signed Ron as a free agent after the 1980 season. Playing left field because a guy named Chet Lemon was in center for Chicago, LeFlore led off the game by striking out against Jack Morris. He walked in the third and grounded out in the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth, he was pulled in favor of defensive replacement Rusty Kuntz. A Greg Luzinski home run off Morris in the top of the 10th gave the White Sox a 3-2 win.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198104240.shtml


Jason Thompson: Angels vs Tigers 5/30/80

Just three days after being traded for the volatile Al Cowens, Thompson went 1-4 as the Angels cleanup hitter and DH. This was his second game in the new uniform. His debut as an Angel, which saw him win the game against Texas with an eighth inning pinch-hit bases loaded (and bases clearing) double, went a lot better than this one did. He was a non-factor against his old teammates, singling once and striking out once against Milt Wilcox, who cruised as the Tigers beat up on Frank Tanana and the Halos, winning 12-1

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198005300.shtml


Willie Horton: Rangers vs Tigers 5/3/77

Horton reportedly cried after being traded earlier in the season, having appeared in only one 1977 game as a Tiger. If he was revved up for his return, it rubbed off on his teammates in a big way. The Rangers crushed the Tigers with a 13-0 win. Horton was at the heart of it as the Texas cleanup hitter and DH. In the first, he singled off Vern Ruhle and scored (along with Mike Hargrove) one batter later on a Ken Henderson home run. In the second inning, as the first hitter to face reliever Ray Bare, he singled again. This would be second of the Rangers' six straight hits that inning. He scored two batters later on a Toby Harrah triple. After a groundout to end the third, he doubled off Bob Sykes in the sixth, then singled off him in the eighth (but was stranded both times). He struck out the end the ninth.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET197705030.shtml


Dick McAuliffe: Red Sox vs Tigers 5/10/74

In the offseason, the Tigers traded the aging second baseman for a promising young outfielder named Ben Oglivie. McAuliffe was a non-factor in this game, going 0-3 with one strikeout against Mickey Lolich. He lined into a double play in the fourth. It was his replacement at second base, Gary Sutherland who snagged the liner before picking off Bernie Carbo at first. The Tigers won the game 6-5 thanks to a two-out pinch-hit walk-off double off the bat of (wait for it) Ben Oglivie.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET197405100.shtml


Denny McLain: Senators vs Tigers 5/23/71

Over 53,000 packed Tiger Stadium for this Sunday afternoon doubleheader. Game One saw the 'grudge match' matchup of Denny McLain vs. Mickey Lolich! McLain was OK. He gave up four runs (Norm Cash and Al Kaline each tagged him for a two-run home run) on seven hits in seven innings (with five strikeouts and no walks). Lolich was much better, scattering four hits and striking out ten in a complete game shutout. As much as he would've like to strike out his former rival, Lolich only got McLain to pop up in his only two at-bats. Don Wert, who also went to Washington, pinch hit for McLain to start the eighth. Aurelio Rodriguez, who came to the Tigers, went 0-3, but Eddie Brinkman, who also came over, went 2-3 with a run scored. The Tigers won 5-0 in the opener and then blew the Senators out 11-0 in the nightcap.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET197105231.shtml


Still more to come...

[lordstanley]

I was interested in Lance Parrish and Jack Morris. My research skills may be sloppier than Tigerfan's, but I believe:

Lance Parrish's 1st game in Detroit against the Tigers was May 8, 1989 for California. He went 0 for 4 and struck out three times despite the Angels winning 9-2.

Jack Morris' 1st game in Detroit against the Tigers was May 19, 1991 for Minnesota. He was rocked for 8 runs (4 of them earned) on 7 hits and 6 BB in 4 innings in an 8-3 loss to the Tigers.

[McGriff4Hall]

That scored another former Tiger, Dmitri Young, who led off the inning with a triple.
Not to be a nit-picker or anything, but that is actually Delmon Young, as Dmitri never played for the Twinkies.

[TigersFan81371]

Not to be a nit-picker or anything, but that is actually Delmon Young, as Dmitri never played for the Twinkies.

Good call. My mistake. I've corrected it. I probably just had "ex-Tigers" on the brain!

[Lbh24]

TF -- awesome work, this is fun stuff to read!

[TigersFan81371]

Rocky Colavito: KC Athletics vs Tigers 4/14/64

Opening Day at Tiger Stadium. Colavito hit fifth for the A's and played leftfield. He went 0-4, but against reliever Dave Wickersham (whom the Tigers got in return for Colavito), he reached base in the ninth on an error by shortstop Dick McAuliffe. That scored an unearned run, but it was a harmless run. The Tigers won 7-3. New Tigers second baseman Jerry Lumpe (also acquired in the Colavito deal) was the Placido Polanco of his day, at least on that day. He went 3-4 with a double and a triple, and he scored once.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET196404140.shtml


Charlie Maxwell: White Sox vs Tigers 7/2/62

Just a week after being traded to Chicago, "Paw Paw" returned. He hit fifth as the Sox rightfielder. He was 0-4 and struck out twice against Sam Jones, who turned in a sparkling performance. En route to a 2-1 complete game win, Jones struck out ten White Sox.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET196207020.shtml


Harvey Kuenn Indians vs Tigers 5/28/60

Kuenn for Colavito was one of the bigger trades in Tigers history. The two teams squared off on Opening Day, but that game was in Cleveland. Kuenn, starting in rightfield and hitting third, made a big impact right away. He smacked a two-run homer off Jim Bunning in the top of the first. After grounding out to end both the third and the sixth, he reached base in the top of the ninth on an error by third baseman Eddie Yost. The Tigers were up 3-2 at that point. He advanced to second on a groundout by Tito Francona, then scored the tying run on a Vic Power double. Kuenn moved to left for the bottom of the ninth. Colavito didn't get into the game until the bottom of the ninth. He pinch hit for Neil Chrisley, who got the start in rightfield for the Tigers that day (Al Kaline started in center). The bases were loaded with one out for Colavito. He had a chance to be the hero. Not to knock "The Rock", but he didn't deliver. Instead, he grounded into an inning ending double play. The Tigers would win 4-3 on a walk-off homer from Charlie Maxwell to lead off the bottom of the 10th.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET196005280.shtml


Billy Hoeft: Orioles vs Tigers 6/27/59

A former 20-game winner for the Tigers, Hoeft was traded to the Red Sox in May. The Sox traded him to the Orioles in June. Hoeft got the start in this one, and only went two and a third innings, giving up four runs on four hits. The game was actually tied 2-2 when he left in the top of the third, but Harvey Kuenn and Al Kaline were on base for the Tigers. Reliever Ernie Johnson let both inherited runners score, then gave up five runs of his own. The Tigers defeathered the Orioles 12-2. Paul Foytack went the distance for the Tigers. Second baseman Ted Lepcio, one of the guys Detroit got from Boston for Hoeft, started and went 1-4 with a run scored.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET195906270.shtml


Ray Boone: White Sox vs Tigers 8/8/58

He was traded away in June. The former Tigers third baseman got the start at first base for the White Sox in his return to Briggs Stadium, hitting fifth. In his first at-bat, leading off the second inning, he reached base on one of the two errors third baseman Billy Martin made that day. Boone was then thrown out by catcher Red Wilson on a steal attempt. He flew out to end both the third and fifth. He then singled in the seventh off Frank Lary, but was erased on a double play one batter later. Boone capped off his day with a strikeout in the top of the ninth. Remarkably, Lary gave 14 hits that day, but only two Chicago runners scored! It was a 6-2 win for Detroit.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET195808080.shtml


Still a few more to come as we continue to travel back in time...

[TigersFan81371]

Wow, good read. Nice work. Can I get a Todd Van Poppel?

Thanks! TVP?!? Well, he was claimed on waivers by the Angels after that '96 season, so the Tigers got nothing for him. In that case, nothing might have actually been too much! Hey, that's not nice.

Looks like he didn't make it back to Detroit as a visitor until his Cubs came to Comerica Park for Interleague action in 2001. He faced only one batter, and it didn't quite work out so well for him...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET200107080.shtml


Nice bit of research. Although there's no way German ever got a save, lol.

Haha. How's that old saying go? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!


I was interested in Lance Parrish and Jack Morris. My research skills may be sloppier than Tigerfan's, but I believe:

Lance Parrish's 1st game in Detroit against the Tigers was May 8, 1989 for California. He went 0 for 4 and struck out three times despite the Angels winning 9-2.

Jack Morris' 1st game in Detroit against the Tigers was May 19, 1991 for Minnesota. He was rocked for 8 runs (4 of them earned) on 7 hits and 6 BB in 4 innings in an 8-3 loss to the Tigers.

Baseball-reference.com makes anyone look good, even me! :wink: I didn't include those guys since they left as free agents, but here are the links to those games:

Parrish
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198905080.shtml

Morris
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET199105190.shtml


TF -- awesome work, this is fun stuff to read!

Gracias! It's fun looking up stuff like this and finding the stories that different games have to offer.

[Anup_Sinha]

I know it wasn't his "first game back as a visitor", but I have a fond memory of Lance Parrish returning to Tiger Stadium as an Angel somewhere around 1990-1991.

He hit a home run for California and the stadium was deathly quiet. As he rounded first, there began a scattering of applause that gradually built as he touched the other bases. It never got raucous, in fact the clapping was more polite, like for an old friend.

It showed a subtle appreciation for what he meant to the franchise, 4-5 years after he left. I think I actually got goosebumps when he touched home! He never looked up the whole time, but I'm certain he was aware of it.

[Anup_Sinha]

This game was televised and I distinctly remember a big grin on Steve Kemp's face when the White Sox came out to celebrate the victory. It angered me and my sister as we watched it! LOL.