Of course, anyone who has played softball with me knows that's not an unlikely circumstance, but I missed out on mentioning a very good Tiger shortstop.
Harvey Kueen was Rookie of the Year when he came up with the Tigers in '53, and led the league in base hits three more times. He was a singles and doubles hitter, who only once hit double-digit home runs. He played for the Tigers for eight years, mostly at short before shifting to the outfield and a little third in 1956, and then winning a batting title in 1959 at .353. ( I think he actually gripped the bat with a little space between the hands, perfect for a slap- bunt over second.)
The Tigers traded him after that season a a very controversial deal to bring Rocky Colovito to town.
He was a very good shortstop who deserved a nomination.
Chris Gomez and Mick Kelleher are feeling a little dissed, too.
ReplyDeleteGee, Mick and Chris didn't call me to complain...
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm getting geeky like your SABR friends: these names drove me to my Basebal Encyclopedia. Kelleher played 9 games for the Tigers at short. Gomez must have played after my book was published.
Nice work! I was trying to come up with some obscure names. I almost went with Gene Michael, who played a season in Detroit back in the '70s. You don't remember Chris Gomez? Came up with the Tigers in '93 and played on some awful Detroit teams (of course, that could be ANY Tigers team during the '90s and early 2000s) before heading off to San Diego in '96.
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