Five reasons why you don't like Brandon Inge (and why you really should)

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

You either love him or hate him, but you don't waver in your views, do you? I admit, a lot of the reasoning I've heard for fans liking Brandon Inge isn't a good reason to like a player. Of course, he's a hit with the ladies, and a hit with loyalists, who always seem to note he's the longest-tenured Tiger. And you can't brush over the "he's such a good third-baseman" remarks. But then, there are those who despise Inge; they hate him with every gut they have.

Looking through a post on the Detroit Tiger's Facebook page entitled 'I hate Brandon Inge,' personally, I can't help but think, "Why?!" Friends, fans, and others I know can't stand Inge; talk radio in Detroit feels the same way. I, however, do not. And neither should you! Here's five reasons why you dislike Brandon Inge (and why you shouldn't):

5. "He sucks": I hear this one all the time! No valid reason. Just a simple "he sucks." One anonymous post on talk-sports.net goes as far as saying Inge is a "whiny [expletive]." To that, I say Inge is about the toughest ballplayer I know. He'll try his best to be out there for all 162 games. If he, for instance, breaks his hand, as he did this season, he'll get back quicker than expected. Instead of 4-6 weeks, he made it two and a half. Not to mention he's been playing on injury-prone knees for the past few seasons. He only missed a single game in 2009, which topped the league. If you want to say he sucks, try your best to have a valid reason.

4. (tie) "Too many errors": With a fielding percentage of .980, Inge ranks third among MLB's third basemen who've played 90+ games. His six errors rank third lowest in all of baseball. The two players he's behind are the same in both categories and have played 10-20 less games than Inge (Placido Polanco and teammate Jhonny Peralta (who's been playing shortstop; listed as third baseman)). He really is the best defending third baseman in baseball.

4 (tie). "He can field, but that's it": While this conflicts the other #4, it's why a lot of fans show disdain for Inge, so I felt the need to include it. "Oh, so what? Another web gem. Look at that batting average..." Continue reading for two more reasons to love Inge, and show a little less contempt. He really can do more than field.

Brandon Inge: the man with the gold glove and golden arm
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

2. "He strikes out too much": Maybe so. But if you think I don't have a rebuttal, you are incredibly wrong. With 101 K's, he ranks 40th in all of Major League Baseball. Players with more than Inge include David Wright, B.J. Upton, Ryan Howard, and the highly touted Tiger rookie Austin Jackson. Yes, behind Jackson he ranks second in strike outs for the Tigers, but it has to be expected from Inge. For every K, he'll get a hit. To this point, he has exactly 101 K's to 101 base knocks. While he does go down swinging often, he'll make up for in fielding, leadership, and clubhouse presence.

1. "He can't hit above .250": To that, I say, "You couldn't either!" But, in all seriousness, this doesn't matter. To this point, Inge is hitting .254. No, this isn't ideal. And yes, he could be hitting better. Still, the average ranks him sixth on the team among players who have 300+ at-bats. Similarly, he ranks fourth in RBI (53), fifth in home runs (9), and fifth in on-base percentage (.330). Also, to those who think he's overpaid, he gets $6.6 million this year. For the work he's putting in, it's worth it. (Think Dontrelle Willis).

Inge prepares to go to the plate
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

I know, you still either love or hate B.I. and I've done nothing at all to persuade you. At least I gave the Inge-lovers some good reasons why he doesn't suck, instead of the usual "he's always friendly and smiling" statements. And maybe, just maybe, I did manage to give the Inge-haters reason enough to say, "I guess he's not that bad after all." Fat chance.

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Denny McLains Tigers Report Aug 27

By Denny McLain
In Play on Facebook

Denny's weekly Tigers Report, brought to you by In Play! magazine, can be heard every Friday morning at 8:50am on 100.7 FM The Rock. http://www.inplaymagazine.com/broadcasts.php?audio_id=53

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Five reasons why you should officially write off the 2010 Detroit Tigers

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

Is there any way for a sub-.500 team with just over a month to go until the playoffs? There is no glimmer of hope, not even a slight chance. Here are five reasons why you have to officially write off the 2010 Detroit Tigers:

5. Their pitching: Aside from Max Scherzer, Tigers pitching has been making fans moan and groan far too much as of late. Scherzer, the only bright spot in the rotation, allowed only one run on 8/26 against the Blue Jays and has an ERA of 1.91 in his last 10 starts (1.31 in his last six). I know what you're thinking. Why isn't Justin Verlander a "bright spot" in the rotation? Well, while the numbers in his last ten starts are good (4-3, 3.16 ERA, 65 strikeouts), Verlander hasn't possessed that showstopping "ace" quality that he has in past years. He's already surpassed last year's walk totals. And, since when is your #5 starter better than your ace? If that's the case, you don't have a team that's poised to make a playoff run.

4. Their lack of hitting: Their lineup inconsistency plays a huge factor in their lack of hitting. Manager Jim Leyland doesn't have enough cards to shuffle around. Miguel Cabrera is batting .406 in his last 32 at-bats, but he alone can't win games. The Tigers need timely hitting to go along with good pitching. For example, in tonight's loss against the Blue Jays, Ramon Santiago struck out with two men on in the seventh inning. The runner on second was the go-ahead run for the Tigers, but without Santiago knocking him in, the score remained tied. The Jays scored and while the Tigers were able to force extra innings, they weren't able to produce anything else as Aaron Hill's walk-off single won the game.

The Tigers can't rely on Miggy along to carry them
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

3. Their record: Do you realize how bad the Tigers record is? How can we still be talking about playoff chances? At 64-65, even in a crappy AL Central, there is absolutely no shot the Tigers will outduel the Twinkies or White Sox to be crowned champs of the division. We'll say, for example, the Twins and Sox both go .500 (or a game or so above or below) from here on out. The Tigers would have to go 27-7 to win, or perhaps tie, the division. Pretty steep, huh? That's a winning percentage of .794.

2. Their opponent's schedules: The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox lead the Tigers by 9.5 and 6.5 games, respectively. While it's mathematically possible for the Tigers to catch up to either team, it seems impossible when looking at it logically. The Twins, who've knocked around their division (going 33-18 this season), will play 21 of their last 34 games against the Central. The Sox will be playing majority of their remaining games at home, where they've went 38-25. These types of numbers don't look especially good for the Tigers.

Catcher Joe Mauer, the star of the Minnesota Twins
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

1. Their schedule: Take a look at it! You'll see what I mean. These are teams the Tigers should win against. Of course, the Tigers have never really fared well while facing their own division. Sadly for them, 22 of the last 33 games are against the AL Central. Also, 20 of those final 33 games are on the road. It's well-known that the Tigers play poorly on the road; they've gone 21-40 while away from Comerica Park this season.

[Note: all statistics were thru games of 8/26/10]

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Tigers win fifth straight as Brandon Inge hits #1,000

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

The Tigers win game two in the series against the KC Royals. The Tigers won both games convincingly, 12-3 on Monday and 9-1 on Tuesday.

Aside from the fifth straight victory for the Tigs, Johnny Damon has refused to go to another team and will remain in a Tiger uniform for the remainder of the season. The Tiger's Brandon Inge acquired his 1,000th hit as a Tiger as well.

Among all of Tueday's news, the Tigers have also picked themselves from below .500; their record now stands at 63-63.

The Tigers finish off the series Wednesday before going on an 11-day road trip. They'll travel first to Toronto, then to Minnesota, and finally they'll be playing KC. The Tigers return to Comerica Park on September 6, when they'll face the Chicago White Sox in a 4-game series.

Rick Porcello pitched seven innings allowing only two hits
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

Brandon Inge acquired hit #1,000 Tuesday
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

"Always a Tiger" ... Johnny Damon
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

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ORDONEZ SCHEDULED TO UNDERGO PROCEDURE TO STABILIZE HIS ANKLE FRACTURE ON WEDNESDAY

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DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today announced the following medical update on Magglio Ordonez:

Ordonez was examined by Dr. Phillip Kwong (foot and ankle specialist) of the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles today. Dr. Kwong recommended a surgical procedure to stabilize the fracture. The procedure, which will end Ordonez’s season, will be performed on Wednesday in Los Angeles. A full recovery for Ordonez is anticipated for the 2011 season.

Ordonez has been sidelined since July 25 with a right ankle fracture.

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Roger Clemons Needs To Shut Up!

By 31-6 Denny McLain
In Play on Facebook

The Rocket
Roger Clemens has the bases loaded, no one out, the Feds are hitting, it’s the first inning and his stuff sucks!

Clemons needs to shut up! If he is pulling a Governor Blagojevich it’s not going to work, although you can never say anything about a trial and Roger with his ego and personality will never accept a plea. It’s not too late for a plea now, but knowing his personality he would rather die then admit his sins. Now, let’s examine the sins.

What if I told you that I believe him that he did not take HGH or a steroid of some kind. What if I told you that he took something else other than the two drugs mentioned here? Would that be lying to anyone? There are other drugs out that that are not considered HGH or Steroids but can do the same things as these drugs.

Don’t forget the incredible size he became and especially his head. His head is bigger then Secretariat's! I know we’re playing with terms and words but, what if in his mind the other side of this is that no matter what he did he does not believe that a jury will convict him because he is so huge.

The first words for his defense he offered was about all of the charity work that he has done and all of the work that he will continue to do in the future; why would he do this? Folks, he’s trying to find a "juror" like the Governor did to pull for "The Rocket" and wind up with a hung jury.

See the best that Clemons is going to get is a hung jury and knowing the Feds as I do, they will try and try again and only after two or three Hung Juries would they consider not trying him one last time, but you can bet your Bippee that he has to take the stand and try and intimidate everyone on the Jury with his ego.

Now for his worst nightmare…his trainer

That drug dealer has all the evidence the Feds could hope for, believe me. There are lots of people on death row with far less evidence.

At least if he isn’t going to do a plea, he might as well go out there and speak, and speak, and then speak some more, make a fool of yourself Roger because here is the hard fact. They don’t care if you won 100 games, 30 games or 300 games, you’re going to the slammer!

I’m sorry to think that, but Roger if you go to trial the only way you can avoid the slammer (and then the Hall of Fame) is to cop a plea, for your family’s sake, bite your ego, sit on your ego, burn your ego, do the right thing for your family and plea to the charges and avoid the slammer.

You have really pissed off the Feds! Give it up Roger, that’s the best advice that I can personally give you. I have been there, the process and system is overwhelming…you have my word!

Tigers
What is there to say that you are not thinking?

Like I have said since the beginning of the year, if you’re going to play with the Rayburns, the Bondermans, the Inges and a host of other “not ready for the prime time” players, you will not win!

Does anyone think that they were serious at any time about making some trades this year? Where is the money that Ilitch spends on the Wings, but not on the Tigers? Where are the real good players? If Chicago and Minnesota can be there every year why can’t Illitch spend the money to do the same thing. Wait til next year, right?

And there is a rumor that Inge is going to get $7 million next year! Is that really where the front office heads are at this moment?

Finally on the Tigers front, I still don’t believe it but Jim Leyland got a new contract, but for what? The collapse of 2009 or for the collapse in 2010?

Does this not tell you with this latest disaster that the Tigers have no real idea at this time how to structure a team or how to go get the players as required? They don’t even know what kind of team they are this season, sure a couple injuries, so that means you’re dead in the water as soon as you lose a couple stars? How about the other teams? The other teams have lost stars but are still trying to win a pennant, we are not, it’s that simple!

Lions
Uh-Oh? If our quarterback stays healthy…I’m thinking 7-9 is a possibility, but that won’t make anyone happy except the front office telling all of us to wait til next year.

Pistons
Are they still in Detroit?

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Tigers Look to Sweep Indians with Ace on the Mound

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

The Detroit Tigers looked to sweep the Cleveland Indians with their ace Justin Verlander on the hill. Did they?

With an outpour of offense, the Tigers would end up winning the game. Jhonny Peralta's 2-run single against his former squad occurred in the very first inning after the Tribe intentionally walked Brennan Boesch.

The Indians never did recover after the three-run first, even though they had jumped ahead early with a solo dinger off the bat of Shin-Soo Choo.

With four hits off the bat of Will Rhymes, and the help of Verlander, the Tigers swept the Indians, winning game three in the series 8-1.

In Play! Magazine spoke with Justin Verlander and Gerald Laird after the game. Here's what they had to say:

“That’s something that you just gotta tip your cap [to]. I made a good pitch and he hit it. I threw it right where I wanted and he got good wood on it.” -Justin Verlander talking about giving up the only Indian’s run of the game, a home run by Shin-Soo Choo

“We have a lot of games left and I know we gotta win a lot of games out of the last 40, but, you never know. That’s why it’s baseball and you play 162 games.” -Gerald Laird on the Tiger’s chances of getting to the playoffs

Jim Leyland and Will Rhymes spoke to reporters after the game and had this to say:

“It’s unbelievable. I looked at the crowd today and I told Gene Lamont, ‘Hey Gene. Look at this crowd, it’s unbelievable.’ I know we’ve disappointed them recently, but you just can’t say enough about it. It was a beautiful day, a nice win, and you looked up to see all of the people in the seats…It’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.” -Jim Leyland on the Tigers surpassing two million fans this season

“I never really settled in because I felt like my time was gonna be up shortly. This time I just decided I’m here [and] I’m just gonna try and have fun. It was good to go down to Triple-A and get that edge back. I wanted to get back up here, but I just [had] to get that comfort level back.”-Will Rhymes, after a four hit day, on his last stint in the majors

Brandon Inge, who's two hits away from a career 1,000
Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

Will Rhymes had a career-high 4-hit day Photo by Matt Harding / In Play! Magazine

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TIGERS ANNOUNCE MEDICAL UPDATE ON MAGGLIO ORDONEZ

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Photo by Jennifer MacPherson/In Play! Magazine

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers today announced the following medical update on Magglio Ordonez:

Ordonez had his cast removed today, followed by repeat X-rays and a CT scan and he will be referred to Dr. Phillip Kwong (foot and ankle specialist) of the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. Ordonez has been placed in a removable boot and he remains on crutches with limited weight bearing at this time.

Ordonez has been sidelined since July 25 with a right ankle fracture.

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Denny McLains Tigers Report Aug 20

By Denny McLain
In Play on Facebook

Denny's weekly Tigers Report, brought to you by In Play! magazine, can be heard every Friday morning at 8:50am on 100.7 FM The Rock. CLICK HERE FOR  Denny McLains Tigers Report Aug 20

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C.C. outduels JV in Tigers loss

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

The four game series against the Yankees is now tied 1-1. C.C. Sabathia pitched seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on five hits. Justin Verlander gave up five hits through five innings, and allowed three earned runs.

Tiger-turned-Yankee Curtis Granderson hit a home run off of JV in the second inning, making that his fifth consecutive hit against the Tigers in the series. Another former Tiger, Marcus Thames, grounded out into a double play in the first inning.

The Tigers continue the series tomorrow night with Jeremy Bonderman facing off against Dustin Moseley.

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Denny McLains Tigers Report Aug 13

By Denny McLain
In Play on Facebook

Denny's weekly Tigers Report, brought to you by In Play! magazine, can be heard every Friday morning at 8:50am on 100.7 FM The Rock.

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We can't win if we're losing!

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

The Tigers couldn't hold their measly lead after jumping ahead in the second inning on a double by Gerald Laird. The very next inning, the Tampa Bay Rays tacked two runs on the board.

Even as we closed the Ray's lead in the eighth inning to just a single run (via an opposite field home run by Brennan Boesch), the Tigers couldn't manage to get any more, nor did they hold the one-run deficit. Instead, the Rays scored two more runs and closer Rafael Soriano held off the Tigs in the ninth, snapping their five game losing streak.

What can be done to stop the Tigers streak though? Yes, they won Sunday's ballgame. But, still, they're 6-20 since the All-Star Break. This is not at all what a team looks for, but the Tigers second halves in the past few years haven't been anything to brag about.

This year seems no different. Maybe if we pay off crew chief Tim McClelland, we'll be able to buy ourselves a win in the next two in the series against the Rays. Then again, good old-fashioned small ball would do it for us too!

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Tigers snap losing streak

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

Trying to put their woes behind them, the 53-57 Detroit Tigers sent out Rick Porcello, who was 4-10 before the contest.

Porcello went 1-2-3 in the first inning after being rocked in his last outing (8/3). In that game, against the Chicago White Sox, Porcello went 4.1 innings, giving up eight hits and seven earned runs.

In the bottom half of the first, after a Will Rhymes fly out and a Johnny Damon single, Brennan Boesch's woes continued, as he struck out. Boesch is hitting .118 (10 for 85) over the course of his last 23 games.

With no score in the top of the fourth, Alberto Callaspo scored on a wild pitch by Porcello.

With the game still 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Ryan Raburn doubled on a hot liner to the opposite field. Brandon Inge then reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Callaspo. Then, after an Alex Avila sac bunt, Don Kelly singled, Will Rhymes doubled, and Johnny Damon doubled. Boesch struck out yet again, ending the two-out rally -- the score 3-1 Tigers.

The Angels answered with two runs in the sixth, tying the game at three apiece. The Tigers weren't content with a tie ballgame and wouldn't be content with losing their fifth straight. They scored three runs, making it 6-3. The Tigers added three more in the eighth, extending their lead and making the game 9-3.

Who else would pitch in the ninth other than closer Jose Valverde? He quickly disposed of the first batter, Jeff Mathis, striking him out. He then walked the ninth batter, Peter Bourjos. After a lengthy at-bat, he got Bobby Abreu to fly out to right field.

Erick Aybar grounded out to second, and that's the ballgame. The Tiger's losing streak is over.

Jim Leyland's postgame comments:

"We didn’t really play a good game. But, nobody cares ‘cause you won. We made more mistakes today than we did in a few other games that we lost, but because we won, nobody talks about it. We had some baserunning blunders; we had a couple missed signs. Nobody cares, that’s just the way it is. I care. I’ve already corrected those mistakes. But the fans, I don’t want them to worry about it. They should leave here and do whatever they do – go have a beer, have some fun, the Tigers won, [and] everybody’s happy."
-On today's game

"I think he’s had some better plate appearances. I think he almost hit one out to the deepest part of the ballpark. I thought he had some pretty good swings. He’s a young players and he’s gonna be crude for awhile and if you don’t want to live with that, then you should send him out. But, I’m not afraid to live with that.
-On Brennan Boesch’s performance, which included two strikeouts."

"He really had good life. That’s the Porcello that I’ve been looking for. I thought he was really good today."
-On pitcher Rick Porcello's performance

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Tigers lose again; falling further back in AL Central

By Matt Harding
In Play on Facebook

The Detroit Tigers falter yet again. They haven't had any luck whatsoever as of late. They find themselves four games below .500 and well behind the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins in the race for the division title.

Losing 10-1 in tonight's game against the LA Angels, the Tigers have done extremely poorly recently, giving up tons of runs and scoring such a minuscule amount.

Players need to stay healthy and they need to stay up to snuff with their opponents. The Tigers haven't been able to accomplish this. Miguel Cabrera is the only Tiger who has consistently shown that he's good enough to play in the playoffs. The rest of the Tigers roster really hasn't been good enough to contend.

Finishing their series against the Angels tomorrow, the Tigers will then enter a series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Can they break their losing streak and turn things around?

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Denny McLains Tigers Report Aug 6

By Denny McLain
In Play on Facebook

Denny's weekly Tigers Report, brought to you by In Play! magazine, can be heard every Friday morning at 8:50am on 100.7 FM The Rock.

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BRANDON INGE REINSTATED FROM DISABLED LIST

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The Tigers today announced the club has recalled the injury rehabilitation assignment of third baseman Brandon Inge from Single A West Michigan and reinstated him from the disabled list.

Sidelined since July 20 with a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left hand, Inge finished with two doubles last night in his only game with the Whitecaps.

To create room on the club’s 25-man roster, the Tigers today placed infielder Danny Worth on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised left heel.

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TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY ERNIE HARWELL CALLS FIRST GAME - AUGUST 4

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1908 In Brooklyn, the last-place Cardinals blank the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), 3-0. The entire Washington Park contest is played with just one ball.


1929 Down to their last out, the Indians tally nine runs in the ninth inning for an amazing come-from-behind victory over the Yankees, 14-6.

1932 After being fined $1,000 and suspended until Carl Reynolds, the player’s jaw he broke in two places a month ago was ready to play again for the Senators, Bill Dickey returns to Yankees line-up. The future Hall of Fame catcher bangs out four hits, including a grand slam, despite missing 31 games.

1945 Two remarkable debut pitching performances by Senators' rookies makes the 15-4 loss to Boston a most memorable contest. The game which features Tom McBride tying a major league by driving in six runs with a bases-loaded double and triple during the Red Sox 12-run fourth inning, sees Joe Cleary, last major leaguer to be born in Ireland, giving up seven runs on five hits and three walks in his only big league appearance to finish with a career ERA of 189.0, and in mop-up work, WW II veteran Bert Shepard, with an amputated leg as a result of being wounded in WW ll, hurls five 1/3 innings giving up just one run on just three hits in his only major league appearance.

1948 Ernie Harwell, filling in for Red Barber who is recovering from a bleeding ulcer, calls his first major league game as the Dodgers beat the Cubs at Ebbets Field, 5-4. To obtain the future Hall of Fame broadcaster, Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey trades minor league catcher Cliff Daper to the Atlanta Crackers.

1955 At Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks hits three home runs as the Cubs out slug the Pirates, 11-10. The Windy City's first baseman goes deep off three different Buc hurlers.

1963 In his first at-bat in two months after breaking his left foot, Mickey Mantle slams a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning to beat the Orioles, 11-10.

1963 At County Stadium, Roger Craig suffers his 20th loss of the season when the Mets lose to Milwaukee, 2-1. The defeat is the right-hander's 18th consecutive setback, tying Cliff Curtis' National League mark set in 1910 with the Braves, and one loss shy of A's Jack Nabors' 1916 major league record.

1982 After driving in the winning run in the Mets 7-4 victory over the Cubs, Joel Youngblood is traded and later in the day flies to Philadelphia and singles for the Expos becoming the first player to have a hit for two different teams in the same day in different cities.

1983 Dave Winfield kills a seagull at Exhibition Stadium with a warmup throw prior to the home fifth inning. After the 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays, the Yankees outfielder is arrested by the Ontario police and charged with animal cruelty.

1985 Rod Carew of the Angels singles off of Twin Frank Viola in the third inning to become the 16th major leaguer to amass 3000 hits.

1989 Dave Stieb retires the first 26 batters he faces before giving up two-hits in a 2-1 win over the Yankees. Last September, the Blue Jays' hard-luck hurler lost back-to-back no-hit bids with two outs in the ninth inning.

1992 At an auction, actor Charlie Sheen pays $93,500 for the ‘Mookie Ball’ which went through Bill Buckner’s legs capping the miraculous Met comeback in the sixth game of the Fall Classic in 1986. Arthur Richman, the team’s traveling secretary, who was given the ball that night by right field umpire, Ed Montague, gives the all the proceeds to charity.

1993 After being hit by a Ryan Express fastball, Robin Ventura charges the mound to get at the 46-year old pitcher. Nolan Ryan responds by putting the White Sox third baseman in a headlock and punches him six times, much to the pleasureof the Rangers fans at Arlington Stadium.

1994 In Anaheim, Goose Gossage, makes his 1000th major league appearance retiring Tim Salmon on a pop-up in the seventh inning of an eventual 4-2 Angels loss to the Mariners. The future Hall of Fame reliever will end his 22-year career playing in 1002 games with seven different teams.

1998 Yankees' slugger Darryl Strawberry hits a game-tying pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning of New York's 10-5 win becoming the second major leaguer to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in one season.

2004 Continuing a tradition over a half a century old, the Cardinals announce their new ballpark scheduled to open in 2006, will also be known as Busch Stadium. In 1953, a month after Anheuser-Busch purchased the Cardinals, the brewery bought Sportsman Park renaming it Busch Stadium and then kept the name in its new downtown stadium which opened in 1966 calling the facility Busch Memorial Stadium.

2006 At age 95, Elden Auker, the last living pitcher to face Babe Ruth, dies of congestive heart failure. The author of Sleeper Cars and Flannel Uniforms, which he wrote when he was ninety, started his major league career in 1931 by striking out Babe Ruth and getting Lou Gehrig to pop out.

2007 Needing only 14 seasons to accomplish the feat, Alex Rodriguez becomes the 22nd and youngest player (32 years and 8 days) to hit 500 career home runs. The historic three-run homer, off Royals’ starter Kyle Davies who was recently acquired from the Braves, is hit into the left-field seats at Yankee Stadium making A-Rod and Mickey Mantle the only two players to reach the milestone in the Bronx.

2007 In the second inning at Petco Park in front sellout crowd of 42,497 fans, Barry Bonds drives a Clay Hensley fastball over the left-field wall for his 755th home run tying Hank Aaron’s 33-year-old career home run record. The opposite-field drive, ironically off a pitcher who failed a steroid test as a minor leaguer in 2005, is met with mix reactions as a few patrons hold up asterisk signs and the crowd responds to the feat with a mixture of cheers and jeers.

2008 During a Brewers' 6-3 loss to the Reds at Great American Ballpark, first baseman Prince Fielder confronts starting pitcher Manny Parra in the dugout shoving the hurler twice in the dugout after an angry exchange of words. The Milwaukee hurler had taken a no-hitter into the fifth, but gave up six runs on four hits and four walks before leaving the game for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.

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Denny McLains Tigers Report July 30

By Denny McLain
In Play on Facebook

Denny's weekly Tigers Report, brought to you by In Play! magazine, can be heard every Friday morning at 8:50am on 100.7 FM The Rock.

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