Michigan Radio & TV Buzzboard

matt1 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 11, 2023 8:51 am

I thought that Mickey Stanley died a few years back.

My own research on the ol' interwebs turned up no mention of an obituary for Mitchell Jack "Mickey" Stanley. Baseball-Reference.com does not list a date of death for him, so I'm operating on the assumption that he still walks among us. I would imagine that, considering his standing in Tigers lore, Stanley's passing would be thoroughly noted in Detroit media, and there's no mention of his death anywhere that I can find.

Interesting thing I've noticed about the '68 Tigers: Who do you think was the highest-paid player on that team? Kaline? Cash? Lolich? Freehan?

Nope, it was none other than future-HOF'er Eddie Mathews. His 1968 salary was listed as $75,000, which outpaced Al Kaline's $70,000 salary by $5,000. For that money, the Tigers got 31 games and 52 at-bats all season from Mathews. He appeared in two games in the WS, pinch-hitting in game 1 and starting at third base in game 4, a 10-1 loss. In that game, he went 1-for-2 with a walk in his last game as an MLB player.

MichMash wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 11, 2023 12:20 pm

Interesting thing I've noticed about the '68 Tigers: Who do you think was the highest-paid player on that team? Kaline? Cash? Lolich? Freehan?

Nope, it was none other than future-HOF'er Eddie Mathews. His 1968 salary was listed as $75,000, which outpaced Al Kaline's $70,000 salary by $5,000. For that money, the Tigers got 31 games and 52 at-bats all season from Mathews. He appeared in two games in the WS, pinch-hitting in game 1 and starting at third base in game 4, a 10-1 loss. In that game, he went 1-for-2 with a walk in his last game as an MLB player.

To think Kaline once turned down $100,000 because he didn't think he was worth it. I believe Denny McLain signed for $65,000 following his 31-6 season. Multi-year contracts were unheard of under the Tigers' Fetzer/Campbell regime, and perhaps throughout MLB at the time.

I thought that Don Wert died quite a few years ago also.

paul8539 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 15, 2023 9:45 pm

I thought that Don Wert died quite a few years ago also.

He must still be alive, at least as of two weeks ago. His birthday is July 29, 1938, and his hometown paper in Lancaster, Pennsylvania published an item in its sports section that day noting that he was turning 85 years old.

https://lancasteronline.com/sports/mlb/ ... 857d0.html

The Tigers are marketing the game on Saturday, Sept. 9 vs the White Sox as a 55th Anniversary Celebration of the 1968 WS champs.

From an email I received from the team:

"55th Anniversary of the 1968 World Series Championship
Join us in honoring the 55th anniversary of the Detroit Tigers 1968 World Series Championship! Three members of the famed 1968 team will sign autographs pregame on the Main Concourse from 4:45-5:15 PM."

There is an image in the Tigers' email showing three Tigers alumni appearing to be sitting on the dugout bench in their replica '68 jerseys (I tried to copy it from the email and upload it here, but I am having trouble making it work). No jersey numbers are visible, but Willie Horton is the player on the left, and I am pretty sure that Don Wert is on the right (his face is pretty recognizable among the surviving players). But I am unsure who the third player is (might be Tracewski). Hopefully Bally Sports features them at some point during their telecast.

The Tigers hosted six 1968 alumni at last Saturday's game: Willie Horton, Mickey Stanley, Jon Warden, John Hiller, Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. The team uploaded a photo to their Facebook page on Saturday, showing the six players in a Comerica Park suite around a table that held the 1968 WS trophy.

Mickey Lolich was seated in a wheelchair, unfortunately. John Hiller, conversely, looked like he was ready to go an inning or two.

MichMash wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 11, 2023 1:07 pm

The Tigers hosted six 1968 alumni at last Saturday's game: Willie Horton, Mickey Stanley, Jon Warden, John Hiller, Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. The team uploaded a photo to their Facebook page on Saturday, showing the six players in a Comerica Park suite around a table that held the 1968 WS trophy.

Mickey Lolich was seated in a wheelchair, unfortunately. John Hiller, conversely, looked like he was ready to go an inning or two.

I saw that picture, I didn't even recognize Lolich! I recognized Hiller right off.

Wayne Comer has died at 79 years old. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Comer

https://www.whsv.com/2023/10/04/former- ... omer-dies/

A more in-depth story about Comer's passing from a media outlet near his hometown.

matt1 wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 04, 2023 12:52 pm

Wayne Comer has died at 79 years old. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Comer

Another touching sports tribute you'll see only at 11.