Finally recreated early 2009!
My interest in baseball has been off and on — mostly off — since I was a child. Most Saturday afternoons during the spring and summer, down to end of play in September and October, the only thing on Channel 3 out of Kalamazoo was the Detroit Tigers. There was a good reason for this — John Fetzer, owner of WKZO, also owned the Tigers, and ran the Tigers Baseball Television Network. WKZO sports anchor Larry Osterman worked for years as the other voice in the TV announcer’s booth, sitting beside former Tiger and Hall-of-Famer George Kell. That was your choice on two of the four television stations we could pick up back then. (Remember — analog antennas!)
Any road, I really started taking notice for a time around 1967, and I was definitely paying attention in 1968, when the Tigers won their first World Series in years. After that, it was on and off again until 1976, the year that the Bird took flight in Detroit (Mark Fidrych). It was impossible to ignore that boy’s antics — or his pitching success. Dreams of another pennant fluttered in our minds that year, but it was not until 1984 that we were to have them fulfilled. (All the members of that Series-winning team have been recognized appropriately except for Alan Trammell. It’s really high time he got a plaque, Veterans Committee!)
Since then, there have been years of relative plenty, and many more years of painful dearth, especially the Accursed Days of 2003, when we went 43-119, nearly tying the New York Mets for the worst season on record. Fortunately, Mike Ilitch, the current owner, and Dave Dombrowski, the general manager, have been willing to start spending money again to rebuild the team; and we had a ticket to the Series in 2006. 2008 stunk, in part because of the loss of most of the top pitching staff to injuries. But it’s baseball, and things can change from year to year — indeed, from game to game, or inning to inning. Here’s to a good 2009, and I hope to be doing liveblogging for the Series in October!
Let’s have a cup of coffee….
MLB.com, the home of Major League Baseball overall
Go get ‘em, Tigers!
You’re reading that rag??
- Detroit Free Press coverage (ya gotta read the Freep!)
- Detroit News coverage
Down on the farm
- Toledo Mud Hens (AAA, International League) (yes, they really exist; it’s not just a plot gimmick for M*A*S*H)
- Erie SeaWolves (AA, Eastern League) (with perhaps one of the ugliest logos in baseball)
- West Michigan Whitecaps (A, Midwest League) (2006 league champions!)
- Minor League Baseball
Oh, yeah; these guys play ball, too (the rest of the AL Central)
Right game, wrong owners
Birmingham Barons (AA, Southern League, Chicago White Sox)
