Memory lane

The last time the Tigers made the postseason, the squad looked like this:

C – Matt Nokes, .289-32-87
1B – Darrell Evans, .257-34-99
2B – Lou Whitaker, .265-16-59
3B – Tom Brookens, .241-13-59
SS – Alan Trammell, .343-28-105 (robbed of MVP)
OF – Chet Lemon, .277-20-75
OF – Pat Sheridan, .259-6-49
OF – Kirk Gibson, .277-24-79
DH – Bill Madlock, .279-14-50
Key reserves – Larry Herndon, .324-9-47 (one very key HR); Dave Bergman, .273-6-22.

P – Jack Morris, 18-11, 3.38; Walt Terrell, 17-10, 4.05; Frank Tanana 15-10, 3.91; Doyle Alexander, 9-0, 1.53; Dan Petry, 9-7, 5.61; Mike Henneman, 11-3, 7 Sv, 2.98; Eric King, 6-9, 9 Sv, 4.89.

Again, this is one of the greatest final two weeks of a season that nobody seems to talk about. The Tigers were 4 GB Toronto with 8 to play, but had the good fortune of playing the Jays four more times. They won all four. Herndon’s HR on the final day helped Frank Tanana (photo) beat Jimmy Key 1-0 and win the title. Both pitchers went the distance.

Over the last two weeks the teams played seven games; six were decided by one run and two ended in extra innings. Four times the winning run scored in the final inning. The Jays ended with the second best record in the AL.

Since then it’s been the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good: Cecil Fielder, Travis Fryman, Mickey Tettleton, Tony Phillips, David Wells, Bobby Higginson, Tony Clark, Damion Easley, Todd Jones, Doug Brocail, Dean Palmer, Jeff Weaver, Dmitri Young.

The bad: Gary Pettis, Ray Knight, Rick Schu, Darnell Coles, Urbano Lugo, Rob Deer, Pete Incaviglia, Dan Gakeler, Steve Searcy, Les Lancaster, Buddy Groom, Eric Davis, Mike Moore, Tim Belcher, Phil Nevin, Felipe Lira, Sean Bergman, Ruben Sierra, Chris Truby, Eric Munson, C.J. Nitkowski.

The ugly: Juan Gonzalez, Torey Lovullo, Charles Hudson, Scott Aldred, Kevin Ritz, Jose Lima, Todd Van Poppel, Clint Sodowsky, Dave Borkowski, Adam Bernero, Nate Cornejo.

There also was the simply mediocre: Carlos Pena, Robert Fick, Wendell Magee, Mark Redman, Jose Macias, Deivi Cruz, Shane Halter, Juan Encarnacion, Roger Cedeno, Steve Sparks, Brad Ausmus, Luis Polonia, Hideo Nomo, Danny Patterson, Gabe Kapler, Justin Thompson, Dave Mlicki, Willie Blair, Joe Randa, Brian Hunter, Bryce Florie, Melvin Nieves, Bob Hamelin, Frank Catalanotto, Omar Olivares, Mike Heath, Fred Lynn, Paul Gibson, Jeff Robinson, Lloyd Moseby, Milt Cuyler, Skeeter Barnes, Dan Gladden, Bill Gullickson – you get the picture.

These lists were hard to create and I didn't include players already listed on the '87 squad or current team. I'm sure some players would move to different categories depending on my mood. The bad and the ugly, in particular.

But the past is dead. RIP.