Leftfield!

By Jeff Peek

As we continue to select our All-Time Detroit Tigers team – which so far includes Bill Freehan, Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, Alan Trammell and George Kell – we head to the outfield, where Hall of Fame candidates abound. Oh, sure, we could take the easy way out and select the top three outfielders. But what’s the fun in that? We’re going position by position, which means some pretty solid players might not even receive a vote.

Let’s start in left, with two Hall of Famers (Goose Goslin and Heinie Manush) and two who played key roles on the Tigers’ last two championship teams (Willie Horton and Larry Herndon).

Leon Goslin, who gained the nickname “Goose” because of his large beak, played 18 major league seasons, including four with the Tigers (1934-37). Before he ever arrived in Detroit, the left-handed slugger led the Washington Senators to three World Series and won a batting title in 1928 (.379). His arrival in Detroit coincided with the hiring of Mickey Cochrane as player/manager, and the Tigers clicked instantly, winning the American League pennant in 1934 and then claiming the team’s first World Series championship in 1935.

Goslin delivered the game-winning single – scoring Cochrane – with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6 to clinch the title. Goslin drove in 100 or more runs on 11 occasions and hit .300 or better 11 times, compiling a .316 lifetime average and 2,735 hits. He finished his career with 4,325 total bases, 1,609 RBIs, 500 doubles and 173 triples, which all rank him among the top 50 players of all-time. He also had a career slugging percentage of .500. Goslin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1968.

Henry Manush, better known as Heinie, began his 17-year major league career with the Tigers in 1923 and remained in Detroit through 1927. He went on to play for five other clubs. During his rookie season with the Tigers, Manush batted .334 (in 308 at-bats) while sharing time in the outfield with the likes of Ty Cobb, Harry Heilmann, Bobby Veach and Bob Fothergill. In 1926, Manush won the A.L. batting title (.378) and finished second behind Babe Ruth in slugging percentage (.564).

In 2,008 career games, the left-handed Manush batted .330 with 2,524 hits and 1,183 RBIs. He ranks among the top 50 all-time in batting average, triples (160) and doubles (491). He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964.

Baseball fans in Detroit knew about Willie Wattison Horton – “Willie the Wonder” – long before the rest of the country did. The right-handed power hitter starred at Northwestern High School in the late 1950s before signing with the Tigers in 1961. Just two years later, on Sept. 10, 1963, Horton made his Detroit Tigers debut and rapped a single as a pinch hitter. In Horton’s second at-bat, at Baltimore, he gave fans a glimpse of what was to come when he slugged a pinch-hit home run off Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.

In 1965, Horton’s official rookie season, he belted 29 home runs and drove in 104, then followed with another 100 RBI season in ’66.

During the Detroit riots in 1967, Horton tried to use his influence to calm the crowd, venturing into the street with his Tigers uniform still on. The city’s real healing took place in 1968, however, when Horton and the Tigers gave Detroit something to celebrate: a magical baseball season that transformed the players into heroes. The Tigers’ rallies were legendary, and they capped the year perfectly by charging back from a three-games-to-one deficit to beat the Cardinals in the World Series. Horton had his best season that year, finishing second in the A.L. with 36 homers, a .543 slugging percentage and 278 total bases.

Horton and many of the core players from the ’68 squad came together again to help the Tigers win the A.L. East Division in 1972, but the aging heroes never achieved that success again. Slowly, the old stars began to leave through retirement and trades, and midway through the 1977 season it was Horton’s turn. He was dealt to the Texas Rangers for a portly relief pitcher named Steve Foucault, breaking the hearts of Tigers fans everywhere.

Horton, a four-time all-star, hit 20 or more home runs seven times and finished his career with 325 homers, 1,163 RBIs and 1,993 hits. He was twice named the A.L. top designated hitter. Detroit’s love affair with Horton continues. Now an executive with the Tigers, he is one of only six players who are honored with a statue beyond the left field wall at Comerica Park. His number 23 is also retired.

Larry Herndon, who played in Detroit from 1982-88, is perhaps best-known for catching Tony Gwynn’s fly ball for the final out of the 1984 World Series. But Herndon was a skilled player whose steady defense and timely hitting quietly made a big impact on the successful Detroit clubs of the mid-1980s. In May of 1982, Herndon hit home runs in four consecutive at-bats. And in 1987, his solo home run on the final day of the season – coupled with a Frank Tanana shutout – beat the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 and gave the Tigers the A.L. East crown.
The right-handed hitting Herndon played 14 seasons in the majors and later became the Tigers’ hitting coach.

So, who's it going to be? Goslin, Manush, Horton or Herndon? It's time to vote.

(Note - thanks to Jeff for writing this. I'm just helping him with his blogging growing pains by posting it.)