OK boys, time for today’s topic: Who was the greatest Tiger third baseman?
I nominate the following candidates: George Kell, Ozzie Virgil Sr., Steve Boros, Don Wert, Aurelio Rodrigues, Darrell Evans, Travis Fryman and Brandon Inge. I’ve probably overlooked some deserving candidates from the pre-World War II years so please let me know if we should consider anyone else.
The only Hall of Famer in this field, Kell appears to be the favorite. He played 3B for the Tigers from 1946 to 1952, hitting over .300 each year (except for 1952, when he hit .296 in 39 games before a trade to Boston). His fielding percentage was .959 or better each year with Detroit. And of course he went on to fame in the broadcast booth.
I never saw a better defensive third baseman than Aurelio Rodriguez, but he had a weak bat, as did Don Wert, another excellent defensive player. Wert earned everlasting fame for singling to score Kaline in the game where the Tigers clinched the 1968 pennant. (Remember Ernie Harwell's thrilling words? "...and the windup, and the pitch. He swings, a line shot, base hit, right field, the Tigers win it! Here comes Kaline to score and it's all over! Don Wert singles, the Tigers mob Don, Kaline has scored, the fans are streaming on the field, and the Tigers have won their first pennant since nineteen hundred and forty-five! Let's listen to the bedlam here at Tiger Stadium!")
Virgil has the distinction of being the first Dominican to play in MLB and on June 6, 1958, he became the first nonwhite player for the Tigers. Eleven years after Jackie Robinson broke the color line! (Only the Red Sox took longer to sign a nonwhite player – Pumpsie Green.)
From Flint, Mich. , Boros earned a BA in literature from Michigan. He later managed the Oakland A’s and San Diego Padres, replacing Billy Martin and Dick Williams, respectively.
Darrell Evans had a good bat but saw limited playing time at 3B in his years with Detroit.
Travis Fryman combined good glove work with good hitting but he played half his career with Cleveland.
Inge, of course, is still active.
What say you?
I forgot another Hall of Famer: Eddie Matthews played 21 games at 3B for the Tigers in 1967 and six games at teh hot corner in '68.
ReplyDeleteMy heart says Aurelio (he was my favorite player growing up -- what an arm... and that old black glove made some incredible plays). But my head says George.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Jeff. Plus "A Rod_ was part of that great trade: Denny McLainto the Senators for Rodrigues, Eddie Brinkman and Joe Coleman. Bonus: Aurelio had all five vowels in his first name. (Ed Figueroa had all five in his last name.)
ReplyDeleteOK, here's a Rodriguez story(actually two melted into one). The first Tiger yearbook that I ever owned was in 1972 when I was 10 (you probably remember the one -- it had Mickey Lolich on the front, superimposed over a blue-tinted pic of the inside of Tiger Stadium). Anyway, inside was a wedding picture of Rodriguez and his new bride, Maria. I took a Polaroid of that photo (no way was I cutting up my yearbook!) and stuck it on the wall near my bed (weird kid, I know). So fast forward to the final game at Tiger Stadium in 1999. I covered the game for the Record-Eagle, and the Tigers had a meet 'n' greet with all of the retired players they brought back for the celebration. One of them was Rodriguez, and he brought along his son (who I'm guessing was in his 20s?). I went over and re-introduced myself (we'd met briefly once before) and asked him if he was still married to Maria. His eyes widened and he said, "Yes. You know Maria?" I said, "Only from the picture in the '72 yearbook. Is she still as beautiful now as she was then?" He smiled and said, "Oh, yes. And she'll be pleased that you think so, too." His son could not stop laughing. He kept poining at his dad and slapping him on the back like, "This guy is talking about MOM?" I'm sure they had some laughs when they got home, too. That was the last time I ever saw Rodriguez, as he was hit by a car and killed only a year later. I sent Maria a sympathy card... hope she got it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jeff, I remember that yearbook! I have every Tiger yearbook from '62 through '85.
ReplyDeleteIs the '72 yearbook the one with the story about the planned domed stadium on the riverfront for the Tigers? Sure glad that thing never got built!
Yes, that's the one! Thank God that never happened. The Tigers' decision not to go with a domed stadium resulted in the Lions building the Silverdome -- and look how great that turned out.
ReplyDeleteis there a minimun games played requirement to be nominated cause i didnt remember darrell evans playing third to much and i just looked it up. He played 7 games total at third base for detroit.
ReplyDeleteI got to go with George Kell who is always a class act and also gave the best hall of fame speech i ever seen
Wonderful story Jeff! We are so lucky to have you around.
ReplyDeleteKeith, there are no rules to this game. You can have your opinions, and this is the place to express them. It's always tough to evaluate guys who didn't play the majority of their career in Detroit, or two guys from different eras, like Cochrane and Freehan.
Keith, in his years w/ the Tigers ('84-'88) Darrell Evans played 35 games at 3B. I'll defer to Gregg on any minimum games requirement. I'm just making this up as I go along :)
ReplyDeleteLike Jeff, head says Kell and heart says Aurelio. I voted for Kell but then took a closer look at their years w/ the Tigers to see if I could make a case for Aurelio.
ReplyDeleteIn his 15-year career Kell played 826 games at 3B (and one at 1B) for Detroit in 7 seasons. Over a 17-year career, Rodriguez played 1,241 games at third (and saw action as SS and even 1B0 in 8 years w/ Detroit.
While w/ Detroit, Kell was a five-time all star and enjoyed his best years offensively, always hitting over .300 (except for the year he was traded when he hit .296 over part of the season).
Aurelio's highest average for a season: .253.
Both played on some lousy teams, although Aurelio helpd anchor the left side of the infield on the 1972 team that won the AL East.
Defensively, Aurelio was like Bob Seger ("like a rock") at third. His fielding percentage was between .950 and .957 each year w/ the Tigers. Kell's varied from .948to .982.
If my math is correct, Kell averaged 8.5 errors a season w/ Detroit while Aurelio averaged 16.6. Of course a lot of things come into play there: official scorer, range, number of balls reached, etc.
So...these numbers suggest Kell and Rodriguez were both excellent on defense while Kell enjoyed a clear advantage on offense. My vote stays w/ Kell. I demand no recount.