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Detroit Tigers

Tigers Pitcher Howie Koplitz: ‘What A Ride!’

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Found on the Oshkosh
H.S. website. Originally a
McCarthy postcard image?

Tigers pitcher Howie Koplitz flashed candor and gratitude in his reply. I asked about his career-changing arm injury. Fresh off being named “Minor League Player of the Year” by The Sporting News in 1961, Koplitz had a bright future.

What moved me about the account was how Koplitz focuses on what he enjoyed during his career, instead of the potential that escaped him. He wrote…

“My arm problem is still a sore spot with me. It happened in Lakeland, Florida in spring training with the Tigers. The weather was very cold and windy, unlike a comfortable spring training day.

I was the pitcher in the pen ‘in the hole.’ In other words, they would only use me as a last resort. Sure enough in the ninth inning, I got the call to get ready. I went to the bullpen mound and the wind blew me off. I should have figured right there that this was not going to be a good experience.

I guess I figured that I could ‘wing it’ for one inning. But that didn’t work out too well. I went to throw a pitch and my shoulder popped. I could hear it and I could feel it.

I knew as soon as I did it that this was something serious and probably not repairable. In those days, the pitching should was still a mystery. I had never heard the term [Koplitz left a blank, although I’m sure he wanted to add ‘rotator cuff’] but I sure experienced it.

My career came to a grinding halt and it only took one pitch to do it.

Now-a-days, the medical people are much more capable, much more knowledgable in dealing with those serious injuries and do some remarkable rebuilding and repairing.

No matter how things turned out, I wouldn’t trade my 10 years in pro baseball for anything. It was a wonderful experience. I met some great people and made a ton of friends. I got to places I ordinarily wouldn’t [have] gotten to. Played in just about every state, including Puerto Rico, Dominican, Venezuela and Panama. What more could you ask for?

What a ride!

Thanks,
Howie”

Detroit Tigers Manager Billy Martin DID Order Spitballs, Confirms Pitcher Fred Scherman

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“Throw a spitball? Me?”

Pitcher Fred Scherman was a true team player.

He listened to his manager and did his best. No matter how bizarre the game turned.

Let’s flash back to Aug. 30, 1973 in Detroit. Cleveland’s Gaylord Perry is working on a six-hit shutout.

After the loss, Martin complains to the media that umpires refused to listen to complaints about Perry throwing illegal greaseballs. In retaliation, the fiery skipper claims that he ordered both starter Joe Coleman and reliever Scherman to throw spitters, too.

Really?!?

“Yes it was true and yes I did. I didn’t know how to throw a spitball so I just spit on it and threw it.”

A certain manager was dismissed by team officials three days after flashing such brazen honesty.

Scherman racked up a career-high 20 saves for the 1971 Tigers. As opposed to a win, how much did a save mean 30 years ago? How much did it bring in next season’s contract?

“The ‘save’ got less respect. Our GM did not reward me well for my efforts.”

Scherman rewarded me with his reflections on Sept. 17, 1971. He registered a six-hit win against the mighty Orioles. Did he want to be a starter after such success?

“That was a great day. Starting or relieving didn’t matter, as long as I got to pitch.”

Tomorrow: Eric Soderholm, in the shadow of Minnesota superstars.

What if Catcher Lance Parrish Never Was…

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Imagine the card without
the well-known Tiger!

a catcher?

Once, the Detroit Tigers believed Lance Parrish belonged at the hot corner.

The conversion wasn’t a huge shock, Parrish told in an insightful letter.

“The transition to catcher was not a big deal to me after rookie ball, as I had caught quite a bit since Little League. I was used to playing a lot of different positions, so to make the switch was OK with me. Les Moss, who was my double A and triple A manager in the minors, as well as instructional ball, probably played the biggest role in my development as a catcher. Bill Freehan also helped me out quite a bit.”

Parrish’s transformation wasn’t immediate. He led the league in passed balls in 1979. However, by 1983, he began a three-year reign as the junior circuit’s Gold Glove receiver.

He explained:

“I worked very hard at becoming the best catcher I could be. Although passed balls were my nemesis throughout my career, I worked very hard to refine my game. I will say that I thought a lot of the passed balls I was charged with were unjustified in my opinion. It seemed as if when a ball deflected off my glove no matter how far I had to reach for it, I was charged with a passed ball. (But that is my opinion.)


Nevertheless, I was still proud of my career fielding average and my ability to throw out would-be base stealers. Also felt like I worked well with the pitchers I handled.


Hope that works for you.


Best wishes,
Lance Parrish”

Tomorrow: enjoy a letter from catcher Bob Didier, who reveals how he handled two superstar knuckleballers in his rookie season.

Tiger Lance Parrish, Mel Allen’s ‘Big Wheel’

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The Parrish autograph
is bigger, better!

Catcher Lance “Big Wheel” Parrish was knighted.

In baseball history, players have gotten nicknames. Or, they’ve been saddled with nicknames.

Not Parrish. He was chosen. His name was bestowed by baseball royalty.

Nevertheless, I wanted both a definition and origin of his nickname. You see, my father was a factory worker for more than two decades. More than once, he came home and used the adjective “Big Wheel” when describing a pompous superior or adversary from the office side of the business. Usually, “Big Wheel” was a tepid substitute for a bluer, more unflattering phrase he wanted to apply in the direction of the offending person.

Therefore, knowing that Parrish was known as “Big Wheel,” I wanted to make sure his nickname was positive. Here’s the eight-time All-Star’s name story, straight from a most surprising hand-printed reply:

“The nickname ‘Big Wheel’ came about in the early ’80s. I was told our announcers did refer to me as ‘Big Wheel’ on occasion. I was dubbed ‘Big Wheel’ by the legendary Mel Allen on a This Week in Baseball segment that featured the Tigers.

Our team happened to be watching it in the clubhouse and the name stuck. He opened the segment by claiming that the wheels of the Motor City were turning and I guess I was hot at the time, so he referred to me as the Big Wheel.”

If you can dodge the website’s talking Mike Golic Tabasco banner ad, check out Parrish’s tribute to Sparky Anderson in The Sporting News.

Tomorrow: Former third baseman Parrish talks about his switch to catching, crediting the two men who helped him make the Gold Glove transition.

Joining the 1953 Detroit Tigers

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Third baseman John Baumgartner really existed.

No baseball card documented this fact.In fact, few photos of any form may exist of the seven-day big leaguer. However, the Alabama native lived a dream for one week with the 1953 Detroit Tigers.

How did he find out? Baumgartner wrote me:

“On the way north from spring training, I had a good night with one home run and one double. I did not have a Major League contract before that game. My contract was waiting at the hotel desk for me when I came in. I signed it and took it to the G.M. room. I didn’t even look to see how much I would be paid. It was my Major League contract, something I had wanted all my life and I was beyond happy!”


From the always-awesome http://www.retrosheet.org/, I found the rookie treated a hometown crowd to a three-hit day against the Cleveland Indians. He remembers it all, even laughing about some of the outcome.

“One of the hits was up against the left center field wall. I thought it was out but it hit the top of the fence and I was held to a single. Embarrassing!”


In his battle to win a job, Baumgartner didn’t forget to appreciate his surroundings.

“I thought Briggs Stadium was beautiful. Ted Williams hit one out of the stadium, over the fence, over the second deck and over the press box going around right field. The ball went over the road outside the stadium and through a window of the bldg. there. It was so marked when I was there.

“My career in baseball lasted six years. It was all I ever wanted it to be — to do — I loved it and had a wonderful time playing.”


Full of gratitude and free of regret. John Baumgartner and his all-star attitude offer autograph collectors a noble name worth collecting.