Charles Brandon Inge and His March Toward History

[TigersFan81371]

Lou Whitaker holds the franchise record for most strikeouts by a hitter with 1099. Brandon Inge is currently fourth with 975.

That's a difference of 124 strikeouts. Inge has had at least that many four times in his career. His average over the course of 162 games, according to Baseball Reference, is 137. If his knees hold up, breaking the record is totally doable!

We may be witnessing some Tigers history made this season, thanks to Inge!

This is a thread to track his progress or even reminisce about some of your favorite Inge strikeout moments.

[hail2mich]

How many of those were check swing strikeouts?

[Titus Tiger]

Stay Classy

[will the thrill]

how many of those were full "swing from the heels" swings when the count was 0 and 2?

[LJK004]

How many of them were on a low and away slider that wasn't even close? I'm guessing 458...

Good defense at third though. (obligatory comment about Inge's glove!)

[hail2mich]

976...

[TigersFan81371]

And he's off and running! After working the count full on Zack Greinke, he struck out looking (according to ESPN GameCast). Two runners were stranded in scoring position. Ouch.

Thankfully the Tigers did put up a run in the inning.

[Imminent Threat]

I'm warning you now....back off lol

[TigersFan81371]

Haha! This really is meant to be a tongue in cheek thread, so hopefully there isn't too much venom spewed. We all know that Inge is going to frustrate us with some untimely and ugly Ks, so hopefully we can have some laughs about it instead of getting pissed about it.

BTW, a pat on the back for Mr. Inge for that double in the seventh. He redeemed himself, in my eyes, for that first inning strikeout.

[jaymo]

This could give the last few games meaning if the Tigers are way up or way down in the Central. Kind of like when Sheffield had 499 HR's at the end of 2008.

[irishmick79]

When do you think he'll hit the record? And if it's a home game, will you try to buy tickets?

[jaymo]

When do you think he'll hit the record? And if it's a home game, will you try to buy tickets?

I'm hoping it's on a Tuesday in September when I already have other plans. Then I'll be able to sell my tickets for $3 instead of $2.

[Titus Tiger]

I wonder when Dan and Jim will start talking about it

I think TigerFan should create a widget so I can keep track of history on my iMac

[Rob from Canton]

I think the most impressive feat about Inges soon to be record is he will have accomplished this in approx. 5000 less plate appearances than Lou Whitaker.

Talk about shattering a record.

But his glove is good and he can hit a golf ball 450 yards

[irishmick79]

I'm hoping it's on a Tuesday in September when I already have other plans. Then I'll be able to sell my tickets for $3 instead of $2.

Why on earth would you pass up such an opportunity to be a part of Tiger history? And you call yourself a fan....

[Todd]

I think the most impressive feat about Inges soon to be record is he will have accomplished this in approx. 5000 less plate appearances than Lou Whitaker.

Talk about shattering a record.

But his glove is good and he can hit a golf ball 450 yards

I hear he also wrote Stairway to Heaven when he was in utero

[chasfh]

I can tell you my least favorite strikeout: the one that ended the 2006 World Series.

I can't believe the career this guy made for himself. After three seasons he seemed a lock to end his very short career as one of the worst hitters in history. We argued about him endlessly in ASBDT. Then he finds a power stroke, pulls three average seasons out of his ***, and has been on cruise control at the plate ever since. Yes, he saves runs in the field, but that's the only excuse to run an 81+ OPS hitter -- which is worse than the average catcher -- out there for 600 at bats, and it's just not enough. Brandon Inge is a net loss to the Tigers. But it goes to show you that a scrappy white guy can definitely make up for lack of talent and production with enough scrappiness and whiteness.

If Brandon Inge is re-upped for 2011, that will be my last straw for Dave Dombrowski.

[Nolan]

Whiteness? What the hell has that gotten him, Chas?

[jaymo]

My favorite Inge strike out was a game against Toronto in 2008. We stayed through a rain out despite the fact that the season sucked and the Tigers were losing that game 4-0.

We took advantage of a rain upgrade. (Sitting through a long rain delay when your team is losing entitles you to sit in the best available lower bowl seat should play resume.) The Tigers rallied with three ninth inning runs. Even Renteria doubled. So, Renteria is on second with two outs and Inge at the plate. AND HE TAKES A FREAKIN CALLED THIRD. How can you kill a rally by looking at a called third!!!!! $#$@%# Inge.

Oops. Ahem. We were very disappointed.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. Detroit Tigers - Play By Play - August 13, 2008 - ESPN

[hammb]

I can tell you my least favorite strikeout: the one that ended the 2006 World Series.

I can't believe the career this guy made for himself. After three seasons he seemed a lock to end his very short career as one of the worst hitters in history. We argued about him endlessly in ASBDT. Then he finds a power stroke, pulls three average seasons out of his ***, and has been on cruise control at the plate ever since. Yes, he saves runs in the field, but that's the only excuse to run an 81+ OPS hitter -- which is worse than the average catcher -- out there for 600 at bats, and it's just not enough. Brandon Inge is a net loss to the Tigers. But it goes to show you that a scrappy white guy can definitely make up for lack of talent and production with enough scrappiness and whiteness.

If Brandon Inge is re-upped for 2011, that will be my last straw for Dave Dombrowski.

I don't think Whiteness has anything to do with it. I think a lot of his popularity comes from the fact that seemingly every girl I know thinks he's VERY cute. He's the favorite player of almost every female Tigers fan I know. I'm pretty sure the organization doesn't care about this at all, but with regard to his image, I think it helps that the females in the stands are huge fans.

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Brandon Inge has been a Tiger as long as he has because the Tigers simply haven't been able to come up with a better third baseman. It is not as if he has blocked anyone from advancing. Heck, they thought they could live with Cabrera at 3B at the time of the acquisition, but learned they could not. Guillen's health issues prevent him from taking over 3rd. So Inge got his job back, because nobody in the organization is better at playing 3B.

I would also add there are relatively few quality 3B in MLB right now, so free agency rarely has any gems, and when one comes up (ARod, and to a lesser extent, Figgins), the price is high. Trades are hard to work, because teams with a good 3B understand how the scarcity of 3B drives up the price.

So the Tigers really need to develop an internal option to beat out Brandon (like Sizemore more or less nudged Polanco out the door).

It is possible Brandon is the best practical option for the Tigers in 2011. I don't think that in and of itself is an indictment on DD, should it come to pass.

[Gehringer_2]

I think the most impressive feat about Inges soon to be record is he will have accomplished this in approx. 5000 less plate appearances than Lou Whitaker.

Talk about shattering a record.

But his glove is good and he can hit a golf ball 450 yards

an accomplishment that in itself probably means a lot less than it's taken for at face value. Two names at top of Yankee all time K list are Mantle and Jeter.

[Scottwood]

I can tell you my least favorite strikeout: the one that ended the 2006 World Series.

I can't believe the career this guy made for himself. After three seasons he seemed a lock to end his very short career as one of the worst hitters in history. We argued about him endlessly in ASBDT. Then he finds a power stroke, pulls three average seasons out of his ***, and has been on cruise control at the plate ever since. Yes, he saves runs in the field, but that's the only excuse to run an 81+ OPS hitter -- which is worse than the average catcher -- out there for 600 at bats, and it's just not enough. Brandon Inge is a net loss to the Tigers. But it goes to show you that a scrappy white guy can definitely make up for lack of talent and production with enough scrappiness and whiteness.

If Brandon Inge is re-upped for 2011, that will be my last straw for Dave Dombrowski.

He's been a league average or better 3rd baseman in 3 of the 4 full seasons he has started for us. Even in 2007, he was only slightly below average. He's nowhere close to a net loss for us.

[Sports_Freak]

Does it make any difference what kind of an out it is? I mean, would you prefer a pop-up out or a ground out? Inge is what he is, a .220 to .250 hitter with some occasional pop in his bat. Now Everett? He's just pathetic. I loved watching Santiago hitting for him and getting a base hit.

[Sports_Freak]

And he's off and running! After working the count full on Zack Greinke, he struck out looking (according to ESPN GameCast). Two runners were stranded in scoring position. Ouch.

Thankfully the Tigers did put up a run in the inning.

Yeah, because Greinke is such a horrible pitcher, there's no excuse striking out against him. He only won the Cy Young because voters felt sorry for the Royals. Everyone knows C.C. should have won it.

[IdahoBert]

He's been a league average or better 3rd baseman in 3 of the 4 full seasons he has started for us. Even in 2007, he was only slightly below average. He's nowhere close to a net loss for us.

I'm curious if someone can calculate this one way or the other. I know Inge's OPS+ has been in only the 10th or 25th percentile the last three years, and that his Rtot/yr took a real dip due to his hobbled knees last year making him barely average as a fielder, but it's over my head to put this all together. Is he a net loss or not or what else?

[Titus Tiger]

Yeah, because Greinke is such a horrible pitcher, there's no excuse striking out against him. He only won the Cy Young because voters felt sorry for the Royals. Everyone knows C.C. should have won it.

I don't know why, but this thread reminds me of a story on one of the top strike out pitchers

I think it was Nolan Ryan -- at some point in his career, towards the end -- they had a list of who he had K'ed and how many times. Besides just about everyone in baseball -- guys like Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron. The point of the article was he had struck out everyone, but you could see by that list who were the free swingers

Brandon Inge is not a singles for average hitter. He isn't a Barry Bonds, but he is a free swinger... maybe with a few steroids ... you know to help his knees to recover

Maybe Greinke pitched thumper Inge like Hank Aaron, instead of Ted Williams

[Scottwood]

I'm curious if someone can calculate this one way or the other. I know Inge's OPS+ has been in only the 10th or 25th percentile the last three years, and that his Rtot/yr took a real dip due to his hobbled knees last year making him barely average as a fielder, but it's over my head to put this all together. Is he a net loss or not or what else?

Using Rally's site, he was league average or better from 05-07 and below average last season. Using FanGraphs, he was above average from 05-06, below average in 07 and basically league average in 09. The differences generally result from the different defensive systems the two sites use. And, I was only talking about the years that he was a full time starter at 3rd base. So, 2008 would be left out of that. Here are his WAR figures from 05-07 and 2009 (with FanGraphs listed first):

2005- 3.4, 3.6
2006- 3.8, 5.8
2007- 1.7, 2.5
2009- 2.5, 1.4

If you want to argue that he has taken a step back from 05-06, then I can't argue with that. But, I don't see how an elite defensive 3rd baseman who is basically a league average player with a decent contract can be considered a net loss.

[DaYooperASBDT]

LOL, I remember the epic Inge debates between Chas and One Man's Fool. Good times.

[ClintD]

Take into consideration the marketability of a guy that a) women seem to love to come see in person and b) a blue-collar, come-to-work type of guy that was HERE during the tough times. That is why people defend him so vehemently. He is NOT a clear cut liability, but he IS one of our most marketable players (in the metro area).

[monkeynuts]

This is a hilarious thread and should be great fun tracking throughout the season.

[sportz4life]

I have done extensive research and he is closing in on two other Tiger records.

1. Most checked swings in a career 6514.. more than one per at bat.

2. Most oh damn games..and oh damn is accompished, when you strike out with runners in scoring postion your first two at bats, then in your third or fourth at bat, in a crucial spot, you hit a shocking rocket, that proves to be a big hit, in a crucial situation..then after he hits it..you of course say "OH DAMN"..

[Titus Tiger]

Take into consideration the marketability of a guy that a) women seem to love to come see in person and b) a blue-collar, come-to-work type of guy that was HERE during the tough times. That is why people defend him so vehemently. He is NOT a clear cut liability, but he IS one of our most marketable players (in the metro area).

and he hits homeruns for sick kids --- wasn't there another guy who did that?

[Rob from Canton]

an accomplishment that in itself probably means a lot less than it's taken for at face value. Two names at top of Yankee all time K list are Mantle and Jeter.

Difference is Mantle and Jeter dont suck

[jaymo]

Intellectually I know Inge has been our best choice at third recently. And he hasn't been too bad overall when you factor in defense. I also know it doesn't really matter much whether he grounds out, pops out, or strikes out.

But a checked-swing strike has to be absolutely the most anticlimactic way to end a rally.

Hence, despite what my intellectual side would have me say, "@&$&$!? Inge."

[tiger337]

Difference is Mantle and Jeter dont suck

which I think is his point.

[lesgoblu02]

and he hits homeruns for sick kids --- wasn't there another guy who did that?

Paul O'neill

[Rob from Canton]

which I think is his point.

Even mentioning Mantle and Jeter in the same thread as Inge make the point moot. Its comparing apples and oranges, it uses Mantles and Jeters longevity against them. Inge is a true strikeout machine, its where he excels.

At his current rate Inge would have 2072 strikeouts if he matched the length of Mantles career minus the 530+ HRs and 1500+ RBIs. He would only need to extend his career another 20+ years to reach those numbers

There is more to both Mantle and Jeters game than strikeouts, a spectacular error prone fielder with tri-annual 20HR power.

Paul O'neill

Babe Ruth

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Paul O'neill

It was a triple and an error.

[lesgoblu02]

It was a triple and an error.

The first one wasn't