2013 All Star Game Tribute: Detroit

Detroit All Star Review: Part I: The Bleak Years

Detroit's franchise history can be divided into 3 different eras. To
make sure that this history isn't just one overly long e-mail, I'm
going to divide my write up into parts. This first email covers
1970-1990. We can call it THE TOM MITCHELL ERA

This era is mostly dominated by... nothing much of interest. The
Cruisers managed just 1 playoff appearance in their first 20 years of
existence, ant it happened back in 1970, EWB's inaugural season. (And
so, it doesn't really count. Teams were figuring out their strategies
then, the league's identity was still being shaped, and so on.)

It's not that the team was horrible--if they were another San Antonio
or Memphis or Portland back in the day, well that at least would be
something of interest. But no, these years are filled with many
seasons with 75+ wins, and even a number of seasons over .500. And
never did they lose 100 games.

Their 84 victories in 1972 was only good enough for a 4th place
finish; their 89 victories in 1977 placed them 3rd; and most
remarkably, their 87 wins in 1983 landed them in 5th (!) place, in
what was an ultra competitive division. What this reveals is just how
good the Ohio Valley division was back in the 1970s up to the early
1980s. Think about this: St. Louis went to 3 of the first 7 World
Series in EWB history, while Indianapolis went to 3 of the first 11.
And Pittsburgh went to the first 2. So, in general, Ohio Valley teams
dominated the National League back then, with their top team regularly
being the top in the entire NL. And because the division was filled
with such talent, a middling Detroit team just never got a chance. The
early 1980s recession hit the Midwest especially though, I guess, and
the Ohio Valley never really recovered.

Now, sometimes franchises fail to win or make the playoffs, but still
manage to have some iconic stars. Think about the Cubs with Ernie
Banks and Billy Williams, or even Memphis with Kenny Dukes and Ed
Tuffin in recent years. But really, the Cruisers had very few players
of note during this time. Look at the franchise leaderboards today,
and you find hardly any 1970s or 1980s players.

One important distinction is SP Jesus "Midnight Toaster" Flores, the
winner of the first ever NL Bob Gibson Award back in 1970. Flores went
24-9 with a 2.42 ERA, which was just barely good enough to edge out
teammate Andy Evans for the honor--Evans went 23-5 and 2.69. With two
top pitchers posting stats like that, you can see why those 1970
Cruisers had the best record in the National League. But you can also
see why they fell behind other teams in the years ahead. Flores was
the Cruisers' first pick in the inaugural player draft (that is, the
draft of *everybody* into the league), and while he was very good, he
was also 30 years old, meaning he wasn't a long term cornerstone for
the team. Evans was even older at 33. And so, while the Cruisers were
collecting veterans that paid off immediately, other teams were
drafting players with more long term potential, and as a result the
Cruisers' initial success was short lasting. At any rate, it's because
Flores only had a few good years with Detroit before seeing his skills
erode that he was something less than a full Detroit icon.

In a similar boat is Hall of Famer Eric Armstrong, who spent the late
1970s-early 1980s with Detroit. Armstrong is maybe the greatest player
at drawing walks in the history of EWB, as his .448 career OBP
attests. Nevermind that this isn't the most exciting skill. The real
reason Armstrong is something less than a Detroit icon is that he
really first established himself as a star with Indianapolis, a talent
packed team back in the 1970s that went to multiple World Series,
often matched up against the slightly more talented Washington
Admirals. It was only after making his name in Indianapolis that
Armstrong came over to Detroit, and there he never had quite the same
level of success or reached the playoffs. So again, not a true
Cruisers icon.

The one player who did reach icon status was SP Tom Mitchell, to this
day the franchise leader in career Wins, K's, VORP, Starts, and many
other categories. Mitchell was especially a strikeout specialist, and
his 3,568 career K's rank him 2nd in EWB history. He is the only
player in the top 5 not to be in the Hall of Fame, a point that still
rankles Cruiser fans to this day. Mitchell is something like the Ron
Santo of Detroit: he was a very close borderline case who just didn't
quite make it in, and Cruiser fans are always arguing that there are
worse pitchers already in the Hall.

Beyond the K's, Mitchell had a career ERA of 3.30, which is very good,
although you have to remember that he was playing in much more of a
pitcher's era. He also had a lifetime record of 220-202. That's a lot
of wins, but also a lot of losses. If he had spent his career with,
say, the Admirals or Diplomats (two of the most successful franchises
during his playing days), you figure he would be a good bet to reach
300 wins.

But weighing against his candidacy was this. First, he never won a
Gibson Award, and he was maybe never even in the top 3--always a
candidate, but never somebody you would actually vote for. He was good
enough to be an All Star only *twice*. And he never made the playoffs.
He was the kind of player who year-in, year-out, would give you the
same very solid level of production--which helped make him a hero in
blue collar Detroit--but he just never did anything to make a name on
the national stage.

Speaking of the playoffs, Mitchell had a noteworthy, almost tragic end
to his career. After toiling away with the Cruisers from 1976-1990,
Mitchell realized his playing days were coming to an end. He
calculated that if he ever was going to get a chance to see the
postseason, it would have to be with some other franchise. And so,
although it broke his heart, he approached team execs during the
1990-1991 offseason requesting a trade, with his one demand that it be
to a contending team. Detroit fans were disappointed, but at least
some understood--hell, they even rooted for him to have success
elsewhere. And so, the club sent the now 36-year-old Mitchell to
Denver.

You have to remember, Denver at the time was a powerhouse. The team
had Vincent Carter, possibly the best player in EWB at the time (maybe
even ever), and the organization had made the playoffs in 3 of the
previous 4 seasons. All they needed was some starting pitching to
compliment their offense, led by Carter, and they could rise to a
different level. But thanks to injuries, the team struggled in 1991,
Mitchell's first with the organization, and they actually finished
below .500. At the same time, out of nowhere, the Cruisers had a
miraculous season during that 1991 year. They improved their win total
from 74 in 1990 to 98 in 1991, and amazingly made the playoffs for the
first time in 21 years. If only Mitchell had stayed in place, he would
have both stayed loyal to the Cruisers and finally made the
postseason.

Mitchell came back in 1992, and the '92 Denver Amigos led their
division most of the way. But the team faltered down the stretch, with
both Omaha and Minneapolis gradually catching up with them. On the
final day of the season they were tied with Minneapolis for the
division lead. Denver lost that day while Minneapolis won, and as a
result Mitchell missed the playoffs one last time. Fed up with it all,
Mitchell retired weeks later, even though he was still productive at
38.

Detroit All Star Review: Part II: The Golden Era

So, as of 1990, I think of Detroit as a team without much of a notable
history, and I imagine their fans as being without any special level
of attachment to the team. Think of, say, the Philadelphia Phillies
prior to the 1970s. They had a very long history, but no World Series
wins (and few appearances), very few players of special note, and so
on. If there was a single player who changed all that, it was Jonathan
Rogers. I'll introduce the story of Rogers in the context of the
Cruisers' 1991 playoff team.

So, as mentioned last time, the 1991 Cruisers came out of nowhere,
leaping from 74 victories in '90 to 98 and the playoffs in '91. Team
stars included NL MVP Jose Garza. Garza had a respectable career, but
his 1991 season was really one of those career years certain players
have occasionally: he hit .317/33/123, but would never approach
anything near those numbers again. You might remember that at the
beginning of the season, Jose batted right ahead of his brother, RF
Orlando Garza, who managed 12 HRs in the first 66 Gs of the season.
But then Orlando went down with a career ending knee injury, Jose got
an "OG" tattoo to honor his brother (and made it his official
nickname), and spent the rest of his days trying to honor his
brother's potential. Besides the Garza brothers, the team was led by
some veteran starting pitchers having surprisingly good seasons,
including former Omaha Wolverine Bruce Cochrane.

But then also, there was the aforementioned Rogers. Just 24, Rogers
was in his first full season in the majors, having been acquired via
trade from New Orleans the season before. And in this first full
season, Rogers hit .305/33/111 and established himself as probably the
best third baseman in the game, an honor he would claim for years to
come. Like Tom Mitchell (detailed last e-mail), Rogers would spend
many many years with the Cruisers--looking over their history, Detroit
more than almost any franchise I can think of has players who spend
long years with them. There's a loyalty that you don't see with other
franchises.

Anyway, that Cruiser team had the best record in the NL, and fans were
thrilled to see their first playoff action since the Nixon era. But it
came and went quickly, as the Cruisers were upset in the first round
of the playoffs by the Wild Card New York 5 Points, a team that
eventually went on to win the World Series.

There were hopes that the magical 1991 club could keep things going
heading into 1992, but even at the time it was pretty clearly wishful
thinking. Their starting staff was almost all players over 35, and
their '91 magic collapsed in '92. MVP Jose Garza was a free agent, and
he left Detroit for El Paso, where he would go on to win a World
Series in 1993. Basically, the team had one and only one productive
player for the next several years: Jonathan Rogers. But what a player
Rogers was.

Rogers was, in my estimation, probably the best player in the NL from
around 1991-1995 or so. Every year he seemed to put up MVP stat lines
in the vicinity of .330/40/110, but for several years his MVP
candidacy was hurt by the fact that Detroit was winning only 65-70
games or so. After multiple 2nd place finishes, Rogers finally won
that well deserved MVP in 1995, hitting .322/41/128.

That 1995 team kicked off the Golden Era in Detroit baseball. Between
1995-2001, Detroit made the playoffs in 5 out of 7 seasons, which is
more than half of their overall playoff appearances. They won the 2000
World Series, the only title (or even World Series appearance) in
franchise history. But more than that, they put together a team of
*legends*. More specifically, they put together a lineup that has at
least a claim to being, from top to bottom, the greatest in EWB
history. Basically, all the greatest Cruisers in the history of the
franchise had the good fortune not only to play at the same time, but
to reach their peaks at the same time. Check out the franchise
leaderboards, and it seems like almost every spot is occupied by some
member of that 2000 title team. Let me go position by position.

C: Bob Johnson. With over 2200+ career hits, Johnson is a borderline
Hall of Famer who will appear on his first ballot later this year.
That 2000 season was his best: he hit .330 and had 54 2Bs with a .419
OBP. Basically, he was a doubles and OBP machine his entire career.
Without question one of the best catchers in EWB history.

1B: Brent Clark. Just 23 years old, back in 2000, Clark was in the
news this past Sim for hitting his 500th career Home Run (he's now
with Atlanta). Clark is guaranteed to go to the Hall of Fame once he
retires. In that 2000 season, he hit .310/35/119.

2B: Gustavo Chapa. Okay, so Chapa isn't a Hall of Fame worthy. But
that's only because his career didn't last long enough--his *peak* was
Hall-caliber. In the 2000 season, Chapa led the NL in HRs with 45. How
many other second basemen have led the league in home runs? (Okay,
Alex Davis. But that's the company Chapa is keeping then.)

3B: Jonathan Rogers. Rogers is in the Hall of Fame, and can plausibly
claim to be the greatest 3B in EWB history. In 2000 he was still going
strong at age 33, hitting .279/28/86.

SS: Mike Johnson. Johnson won the Angel Rosa award in 2000, hitting
.319/29/88. He went on to have a very solid career, with 1600+ Hits
and 200+ HRs.

UTILITY: Jorge Ortiz. The Cruisers were too loaded for Ortiz to play
every day, so they used him a bit everywhere. And in his 353 ABs, he
hit .303/20/59! Ortiz also went on to have a solid career, collecting
1600+ hits and 300 HRs+. "A-ha," maybe you're thinking. "If even a
utility man is hitting 20 HRs, that reminds you that 2000 was the
juiced ball era." But no. League ERAs actually dropped almost a full
run from 1999 to 2000 (going from 5.10 to 4.20). Everyone else in the
league was seeing offense curtailed. But not the Cruisers. Continuing
on...

RF: John Aaron. Okay, Aaron is a different kind of story. Injuries
limited him to 85 games in 2000, but he still hit .270/15/37 in half a
season. But the backstory is this. Aaron was the #1 pick in 1994, and
he had 5-5 potential hitting ratings at a time when *no other minor
league prospect* did. He was a legend as a minor leaguer. And when he
made it to the majors, he was an instant sensation, collecting the
1998 Angel Rosa Award for hitting .339/26/78 in less than 100
games--numbers that would project to 40+ HRs in a full season. But
then injuries got the best of Aaron, and his skills eroded. Cruiser
execs at the time viewed him as perhaps the most talented player on
the team, but somebody who never realized his talent.

CF: Roderick Mosley. Mosley was the reigning 1999 MVP, a season when
he hit .365/48/149 and won a Gold Glove. He had probably supplanted
Rogers as the best player on the team, and he was still fully in his
prime. Like Rogers, Mosley had a long career, entirely with Detroit:
he played with them from 1995-2011. He finished his career with 500+
HRs and is destined for the Hall of Fame.

LF: Keith Whitfield. Okay, this one's a bit of a stretch. But the 2
time MVP and Hall of Famer Whitfield did spend all of 2000 (including
the postseason) with Detroit. It's just that he was used more as a
pinch hitter and only occasional starter. But just imagine the lineup
on the days Whitfield did play. Then, that 8 man lineup (leaving 1
spot for the pitcher) included 4 guaranteed Hall of Famers, 1
borderline Hall of Famer, the league HR leader (as an additional
player, besides the Hall of Famers), and 2 very recent Angel Rosa
winners (again, as additional players). If there has ever been a
better lineup in EWB history, I'm not sure what it was.

Detroit ended up "cruising" through the playoffs to encounter Brooklyn
in the World Series. The Knights were led that year by a 24-year-old
Jesse Parks in his prime. In those playoffs, Park hit .417/2/8. Great
numbers. But he was bested by the Cruisers' Jonathan Rogers. The
veteran Rogers realized he might not get many more chances. And so, he
went on to hit an amazing 10 HRs across Detroit's 18 playoff games!
Rogers had always been regarded as a great player, but never was
recognized as a star in the way that other, bigger names were. His
postseason heroics thrust him into the national spotlight, and
solidified his case for the Hall of Fame.

In the years going forward, Detroit continued to have some success,
but their fortunes slipped just as Rogers' talents diminished. More
specifically: Rogers put up another good season in 2001, and the
Cruisers returned to the playoffs. But then injuries and ratings drops
limited him quite a bit in 2002, and the Cruisers dropped below .500.
Rogers was limited to a purely backup role in 2003 and 2004, and even
though Mosley and Brent Clark continued to have good seasons then, the
Cruisers were stuck as an 85 win team, falling just shy of the
postseason.

The way in which the team's fortunes were tied so closely to Rogers
gave him a real aura in Detroit. The team loves Tom Mitchell. And
Roderick Mosley surely makes the Pantheon of Detroit stars--indeed,
Mosley is probably the greatest Cruiser ever. But Rogers has to be the
single player most heroized in franchise history.

ADDENDUM

A couple of comments:

 

1) Midnight Toaster? Is that some reference to pschedelic drug use in the early 70s?

 

2) I'll always count those early 2000 late 90s Brooklyn teams as one of the better teams not to win a World Series. It's a shame that the Brooklyn/Detroit series happened when we simmed through. Looked like a classic battle.

 

3) Finally, here's a repost of what I wrote during the GM Series I was doing. A large part of Detroit's powerhouse era is due to Bill James, though Pedro Sanchez was the reigning GM through all the years.

 

Memphis, Bill James - A lot has already been written on Bill James but let's look at his career as a whole. Though he's thought of as dimwitted now, early in his career he made some great moves that he may not have gotten recognition for except with baseball insiders.

 

Detroit 1993-1996 - In 1993 the Cruisers hired the relatively unknown founder of sabermetrics to become their GM. Unfortunately in this universe, his work was not groundbreaking and most EWB GMs leaned heavily saber anyway. James inherited a team on the decline and loss 101 games in 1993, Detroit's only 100+ loss season ever. Detroit was able to capture a pennant in 1995 and make another playoff appearance in 1997 but was still never able to make a big splash under James and they let him go after 1996. However, as we all know Detroit went on to become a powerhouse in the years to come, winning 3 straight pennants from 1999-2001 and winning the 2000 World Series. So did Bill James set up that foundation? The answer is, in large part YES. Bill James was responsible for the following stars of the turn of the century Cruisers:

 

Drafted John Aaron who peaked early and then declined fast but was integral to the Cruiser run

Drafted Brent Clark

Traded for Emilio Romano

Drafted Bailey Manley
Drafted Gustavo Chapa

Drafted Mike Johnson

James and his successor, Pedro Sanchez, both inherited Bob Johnson, Roderick Mosley, and Jonathan Rodgers. Pedro Sanchez ran Detroit from 1997 until 2001 when he then retired a LEGEND, but the dirty secret is that Bill James laid most of the groundwork. Meanwhile, James was over in KC running things while Sanchez basked in the glow.