Relics

Another buried treasure found within that plastic storage bin was a couple of Topps baseball cards from 1987. To be exact, a Kirk Gibson and a Lou Whitaker card, pictured below.

I never really was a collector of cards. My fourth grade teacher was a true baseball fanatic. He used to give out baseball cards now and again to pupils as a prized reward. For some reason, he didn't deem me worthy. (Tokens of sympathy are welcome.) I think he was right at the time. I didn't value them enough, and wouldn't have taken proper care of them. Anyway, somehow I obtained and hung onto these two cards. Kirk Gibson was my original Tiger. When I fell hard for the Tigers in 1983, Gibby's fiery attitude and penchant for clutch performances captured my attention right away. The only two things Lou Whitaker has ever done to disappoint me are tearing cartilage in his knee while dancing at a party in 1988, and deciding not to attend the 25th anniversary celebration of the 1984 World Series at Comerica last year. Why Lou, why didn't you want to come to Detroit and revel in the memories of that victory? We wanted to laud you, and you let us down.

Now if you're looking for a real site about baseball cards, and one that also includes thoughtful posts about baseball, click over to Grand Cards. It's a terrific site, which may inspire you to run out to your nearest store, fight the last minute Christmas shopping maniacs and buy a pack or twenty of baseball cards.

The Lost Wednesday

So, I was looking for something today in one of those plastic storage bins, and I came across a genuine piece of my history with Tiger baseball. It was my ticket stubs from a game I attended at Tiger Stadium on July 10, 1985. I would love to tell you that this was a memorable game, and I have a bounty of riveting highlights to share. On the contrary, I've recall zilch from this game. I had to look up the game log on Baseball Reference to find out that I was at quite a little gem of a game.

Tom Seaver faced off against Jack Morris that fair Wednesday. I say fair because the game wasn't rained out. In reality, my recollection of the weather is no better than the game itself. I'm sorry. I suck. I would like to blame my blackout on some traumatic event, in which a period of my life was tragically overshadowed, and therefore blocked from memory. Nope. I have unforgivably forgotten a game I attended, one with a Hall of Fame pitcher dueling a potential Hall of Fame pitcher.

Jack Morris came out one top that day, pitching a complete game, 5-hit shutout, with four walks and 9 Ks against the Chicago White Sox (managed by Tony LaRussa). Tom Seaver wasn't bested by much. He went eight strong, allowing four hits and one earned run, no walks, and five strikeouts. That's right, the final score was 1-0 Tigers. I know, how is it possible not to remember it?

Lou Whitaker got the lone RBI, a two-out single scoring Tommy Brookens in the bottom of the eighth inning. Brookens had hit a double with two outs in the previous at bat. I would love to say that reading these details sparked my memory of Whitaker's single up the middle, a ball that just got by the second baseman, allowing Brookens to score easily from second base without a slide. Again, I let you down. I got nothin. In fact, I just made all that up about the single going up the middle. The game log didn't indicate the field to which the ball was hit. The no-slide score by Brookens? Also fabricated. Who knows whether he slid or not? NOT ME! Feel free to post abusive comments. I deserve them.

The win put the Tigers at 47-34, good for 3.5 games back of Toronto in the AL East. The game was well attended, with 33,748 other fans joining me at the ballpark. I wonder how many of them remember this game? In my defense, I was a little young to remember this game, and I had only gone to my very first baseball game in 1983. I'm sure I had no idea who Tom Seaver was at the time, and would have had no appreciation for what a great matchup it was. Well, I wasn't really all that young, but I'm trying to come up with a credible excuse here--please play along.

Hey, thanks for coming along for a ride on the amnesia express. It was fun, wasn't it? Wasn't it? More fun than reading ESPN's Rumor Central? More fun than pondering the Tigers' 2010 season, with true rookies playing center field and second base? (Actually, it will be fun to watch the young fellas develop, as long as your expectations are well, let's say tempered).