How Long It's Been: The Cincinnati Reds Won a World Series (Or Even a Pennant)

Barry Larkin (11), Eric Davis (44) and Paul O'Neill (21)

with the 1990 World Series trophy.

October 20, 1990, 30 years ago: The Cincinnati Reds beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1 in Game 4 of the World Series, at the Oakland Coliseum. What had been predicted as an easy victory, possibly even a 4-game sweep, by the A's, the defending World Champions on their 3rd straight American League Pennant, became a 4-game sweep in the other direction, by the National League's Reds. 

As he had in Game 1, José Rijo outpitched Dave Stewart, to win Most Valuable Player honors. With the A's leading 1-0 going into the top of the 8th inning, Barry Larkin singled, Herm Winningham beat out a bunt for a hit, and Paul O'Neill reached on an error to load the bases. The tying and winning runs scored rather undramatically, on a groundout by Glenn Braggs and a sacrifice fly by Hal Morris, respectively.

It remains one of the greatest upsets in World Series history: The Reds won 91 regular-season games to the 103 for the A's, but outscored the A's 22-8. This title also reversed the result of the 1972 World Series, when the Reds, in their "Big Red Machine" era, lost to the A's in 7 games, despite Oakland's best player, Reggie Jackson, being unavailable due to injury.

This time, the Reds lost both Eric Davis and Billy Hatcher, who batted a record .750 (9-for-12) in the Series, in the clinching Game 4, but didn't need them.

It was the 5th World Series won by the Reds. They also won in 1919, 1940, 1975 and 1976, while winning Pennants but losing the World Series in 1939, 1961, 1970 and, as said, 1972.

The Reds haven't won a Pennant since. They led the NL Central Division when the Strike of '94 hit. They won the Division in 1995, and swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series, but were then swept by the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series. They lost a Playoff for the NL Wild Card in 1999 -- to the Mets. How embarrassing.

They didn't get close to the postseason again until 2006, finishing 3 1/2 games out of 1st place. They won the Division in 2010 and 2012, but lost the NLDS to the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants, respectively. In 2013, they lost the NL Wild Card Game to the Pittsburgh Pirates. They then had 6 straight seasons of 86 or more losses, 4 of them of 94 or more, until this season, when they made the COVID-19-forced expanded Playoffs, and got swept in 2 straight for the Braves.

So, in the last 30 years, the Reds have had their moments. But it's been 30 years to the day since they last won the World Series. And 30 years and 8 days, since October 12, 1990, since they won a Pennant -- or even a single NLCS game. How long has that been?

*

Those Reds were managed by Lou Piniella, the former Yankee outfielder and manager, who was hired the year before, after the biggest of all Reds legends, Pete Rose, was permanently banned from baseball. By a weird turn of events, Piniella and the Oakland manager, Tony La Russa, grew up in Tampa and were teammates on an American Legion baseball team.

He inherited a team that had Larkin, who went to the Hall of Fame; O'Neill, just coming into his own, a right fielder who would go on to help the Yankees win 4 World Series; Hatcher, who had previously helped the Houston Astros win a Division title; Davis, a center fielder who looked like he would become an all-time legend, but who would be limited by injuries to 282 home runs, 349 stolen bases and 3 Gold Gloves; and Chris Sabo, a former Rookie of the Year who would be a 3-time All-Star.

The pitching was good: Rijo would go on to lead the NL in strikeouts in 1993. That year, Danny Jackson would help his team win the Pennant, although that team would be the Phillies, not the Reds. Tom Browning had thrown a perfect game, and won 123 games before a broken arm ended his career. And they had a trio of relievers known as "The Nasty Boys": Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers, the latter a member of the Mets' 1986 World Series winners.

Major League Baseball had 26 teams, but had not yet expanded to Florida or the Mountain Time Zone. The Montreal Expos hadn't yet moved to Washington. There were no Asian players, no Interleague Play, and, a year earlier, the SkyDome in Toronto (now the Rogers Centre) became the 1st MLB stadium with a retractable roof.

The Chicago White Sox were about to move from the 80-year-old Comiskey Park to a new stadium with the same name (now U.S. Cellular Field). They were 1 of 4 teams still using a ballpark built before World War I, 6 using one built before World War II, and 8 built before the Space Age. (Now, each of those 3 categories is down to 2.) Today, only 7 teams are using the same stadium they were using in 1990: The A's, the Royals, the Red Sox, the Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the team now known as the Los Angeles Angels. In 2002, the Reds closed Riverfront Stadium, and moved to the new Great American Ball Park the next season.

The Giants hadn't won the World Series in 36 years (and not at all since moving to San Francisco), the Cleveland Indians 42 years, the Red Sox 72 years, the White Sox 73 years, and the Cubs 82 years. All but the Indians have since ended their droughts.

The Colorado Rockies, the Miami Marlins, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks hadn't begun play yet. Those 4 teams, plus the Blue Jays, the Angels, the Houston Astros, the Texas Rangers, the Braves since they moved to Atlanta, and the Expos/Nationals franchise hadn't yet won the Pennant. The Marlins, the D-backs, the Jays, the Angels, the Braves since they moved to Atlanta, and the Expos/Nats hadn't yet won the World Series. All of those achievements have since been reached.

A month earlier, Bobby Thigpen of the White Sox set a new record of 57 saves, which would stand for 18 years. A few weeks before that, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners became the 1st father and son to play on the same team at the same time, and hit back-to-back home runs.

The Yankees, besieged by injuries, finished last for the only time since 1966. George Steinbrenner fired Bucky Dent as manager while the Yankees were playing a series with the Red Sox at Fenway Park, site of Bucky's greatest moment as a player. When he was invited to return for Old-Timers' Day -- the one OTD between 1951 and 1998 that neither Joe DiMaggio nor Mickey Mantle appeared -- Dent got a huge ovation, and a "Steinbrenner sucks!" chant went up.

George would soon be suspended by Commissioner Fay Vincent for hiring Howard Spira, a Mob-connected compulsive gambler who had worked for Dave Winfield's charitable foundation, to dig up dirt on the slugger. He failed, George got caught, and was given a lifetime ban, with the opportunity to be reinstated after 2 years (which he was). George had already traded Winfield to the Angels by the time he was banned. With Gene Michael put in charge of baseball operations, the rebuilding of the Yankees began.

Emblematic of this awful Yankee season was Andy Hawkins pitching 8 innings of no-hit ball against the White Sox in the last game the Yankees ever played at Comiskey, but losing 4-0 because of his walks and 3 8th-inning errors. Although he pitched a complete game and didn't allow any hits, MLB decided to not credit him with a no-hitter. Nolan Ryan was, for the 6th time, and also won his 300th game (although not in the same game).

In the NFL, there were 2 teams in Los Angeles, and no team in Oakland, St. Louis or Baltimore. Those cities would get teams again, while Los Angeles lost out, and then gained 2 new teams -- actually, 2 old teams, 1 of which was 1 of the 2 they lost in 1994. There was no team in Carolina, Jacksonville or Tennessee, but those places would get teams. There was a team in Houston, but it was the Oilers, not the Texans.

The NBA has since added Toronto, Vancouver (who moved to Memphis) and a new Charlotte team to replace the one that moved to New Orleans; while the Seattle SuperSonics were moved to Oklahoma City. The NHL has added 11 teams, and moved 5: Since 1990, Minnesota, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Hartford and Atlanta have all lost their teams; while only Minnesota and Winnipeg have gotten their teams replaced.

Baseball legends Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Warren Spahn, Billy Herman and Charlie Gehringer were still alive. Ryan, George Brett, Robin Yount and Carlton Fisk would hang on as active players until 1993. The other defining players of my childhood had all retired.

In addition to Larkin, Ryan, Brett, Yount and Fisk, the following players were then active, and are now in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Bert Blyleven, Goose Gossage, Dave Winfield, Gary Carter, Jack Morris, Andre Dawson, Alan Trammell, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Paul Molitor, Tim Raines, Lee Smith, Harold Baines, Ryne Sandberg, Cal Ripken, Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, Kirby Puckett, Greg Maddux, Edgar Martinez, Tom Glavine, Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Larry Walker, Ken Griffey Jr. and, a rookie that season, Frank Thomas.

And, from the defeated A's, Dennis Eckersley and Rickey Henderson, along with manager La Russa. But not Dave Stewart or Dave Parker (neither quite had the career stats), and not Mark McGwire or

José Canseco (now known to be steroid cheats).

Mariano Rivera had just debuted in professional baseball that summer. Derek Jeter had just started high school. Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Jimmy Rollins were in junior high, Albert Pujols was 10, CC Sabathia was 9, Robinson Cano and current Royals ace James Shields were 8. David Wright, Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera were 7, Max Scherzer was 6, Felix Hernandez was 4, Buster Posey was 3, Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg were 2, Madison Bumgarner was 1, Giancarlo Stanton was 11 months old, José Altuve was 5 months old, Gerrit Cole was 6 weeks old, and Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto weren't born yet. (Those players are all listed in descending order of birth, oldest to youngest.)

Current Reds manager David Bell was in the farm system of the Cleveland Indians, for whom his father, Buddy Bell, had played. Aaron Boone of the Yankees was in high school. Luis Rojas of the Mets was 9 years old.

Tom Thibodeau of the Knicks was an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Barry Trotz of the Islanders was an assistant coach for the minor-league Baltimore Skipjacks. Lindy Ruff of the Devils was playing for the Rangers. David Quinn, now the head coach of the Rangers, was out of hockey due to battling a long-term illness. Steve Nash of the Nets and Ronny Deila of New York City FC were in high school. Gerhard Struber of the Red Bulls was 13 years old. Adam Gase of the Jets was 12. Joe Judge of the Giants was 10. And Walt Hopkins of the Liberty was 5.

In addition to the A's, the defending World Champions were the San Francisco 49ers in football, the Detroit Pistons in basketball, and the Edmonton Oilers in hockey. (The Oilers haven't won since, either.) The Heavyweight Champion of the World was James "Buster" Douglas, who had knocked out the previously unbeaten Mike Tyson 6 months earlier, but was about to lose it to Evander Holyfield.

The Olympic Games have since been held in America twice, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, Australia, Greece, Italy, China, Canada, Britain and Russia. The World Cup, which had recently been held in Italy, with Germany winning it (as they did this year), has since been held in America, France, Japan, Korea, Germany, South Africa and Brazil.

There were 26 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The idea that corporations were "people" and had the rights thereof was considered ridiculous -- but so was the idea that a person could legally marry a person of the same gender. No Justices then on the Supreme Court are still on it.

The President of the United States was George H.W. Bush. His son George W., having failed spectacularly in business, had recently (with more than a little help from his "friends") bought the Texas Rangers. Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, their wives, and the widows of Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy were still alive.

Bill Clinton was about to be elected to a 5th term as Governor of Arkansas. Barack Obama was President... of the Harvard Law Review. Joe Biden was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kamala Harris was newly hired as an Assistant District Attorney in her native Alameda County, California -- Oakland, the city just dethroned as World Champions of baseball. Mike Pence was a lawyer who was about to become 0-for-2 in races for Congress. And Donald Trump was between wives and bankruptcies. His life was a mess. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Governor of New York was Mario Cuomo, whose son, current Governor Andrew Cuomo, was Chairman of the New York City Homeless Commission, reporting to Mayor David Dinkins. The Governor of New Jersey was Jim Florio. The Governor of Ohio was Richard Celeste, although former Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich was about to be elected to replace him. The Mayor of Cincinnati was Charles Luken.

The current holders of those offices? I've told you of Andrew Cuomo. Current New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was an aide to Dinkins. Current New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was a rising star at Goldman Sachs. Current Ohio Governor Mike DeWine was in Congress, and was about to be elected Lieutenant Governor on Voinovich's ticket. And current Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley was in high school.

There were still living veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, the Philippine Campaign, the Mexican Revolution, the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War. There were still living survivors of the Johnstown Flood of 1889, the sinking of the General Slocum in 1904, and the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was about to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was a bishop in Buenos Aires in his native Argentina.

The Prime Minister of Canada was Brian Mulroney. The head of state for Canada, and Britain, was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed -- but Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was about to lose her job to John Major, due to her support of an onerous poll tax. There have since been 5 Presidents of the United States, 7 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.

England's Football League had recently been won by Liverpool for a record 18th time -- but they haven't won it since. Manchester United had won the FA Cup, their 1st trophy under manager Alex Ferguson, who said he was determined to beat Liverpool and "knock them off their fucking perch." It would take until 1993, but he would do it.

Major novels of 1990 included Clear and Present Danger by Tom Clancy, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy, Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard, The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum, and The Burden of Proof by Scott Turow. The last of these became a TV miniseries the next year, while the rest all became major feature films. Stephen King was working on Needful Things. George R.R. Martin, frustrated that his screenplays and teleplays were getting cut, or dropped completely, decided to return to fantasy novels, and began the process that led to Game of Thrones. J.K. Rowling was on a long train trip from Manchester to London, when she got the idea that would become the Harry Potter series.

Major films of the Autumn of 1990 included Goodfellas, Pacific Heights, Avalon, Henry & June, Miller's Crossing, Mr. Destiny, Jacob's Ladder, Rocky V, Misery, and Home Alone. Steven Spielberg was directing Hook, a story of a grownup Peter Pan (played by Robin Williams) returning to Neverland, and George Lucas helped him out on it.

TV series that were beginning in the new 1990-91 season included The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Law & Order, Beverly Hills 90210, Evening Shade, Tiny Toon Adventures, Captain Planet & the Planeteers, the even more cartoonish Dream On, and The Flash, starring John Wesley Shipp as DC Comics' Scarlet Speedster.

Michael Keaton was reaping the benefits of the previous year's Batman film, Christopher Reeve was still thought of as Superman, Lynda Carter was still thought of as Wonder Woman, and Nicholas Hammond was still the most recent live-action Spider-Man. Timothy Dalton had played James Bond in the previous year's Licence to Kill, but quit, and legal wrangling kept the 007 franchise in limbo for a while. So was Doctor Who, recently canceled with the last and Seventh Doctor having been Sylvester McCoy.

NBC made a sitcom, Ferris Bueller, based on the 1986 John Hughes film. But it moved the action from the suburbs of Chicago to those of Los Angeles, made Ferris a year younger than his sister Jeanie rather than a year older, and made Sloane a blonde instead of a brunette. Despite having The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as its lead-in, it tanked, and was canceled after 12 of the 13 episodes were aired. It was replaced on NBC's schedule by Blossom. But even Ferris Bueller was a success compared to ABC's combination of a cop show and a musical, the execrable Cop Rock.

Jerry Seinfeld was known, but no one had yet heard of George Costanza, Elaine Benes and Cosmo Kramer. Or of Deadpool, Buffy Summers, Fox Mulder, Ross Geller & Rachel Greene, Bridget Jones, Xena, Carrie Bradshaw, Jed Bartlet, Tony Soprano, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Rick Grimes, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan, Don Draper, Katniss Everdeen, Walter White or Richard Castle.

Ricky Nelson's twin sons, Matthew and Gunnar, recording as "Nelson," had the Number 1 song in the country, "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection." If people were shocked by how "Rick" looked at the "Garden Party" in 1971, they would have been appalled at the twins' long bleach-blond, metal-esque hair. Still, it gave the Nelson family the 1st father & son Number 1 hits in the Rock and Roll Era.

Paul McCartney was touring for his album Flowers In the Dirt. Celine Dion gave her 1st English-language concert. A band named for basketball star Mookie Blaylock debuted, but soon changed its name to Pearl Jam. 2 Live Crew were acquitted of obscenity charges.

The Geto Boys, The Rembrandts and The La's released their self-titled debut albums, Bob Dylan Under a Red Sky, George Michael Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1, Neil Young Ragged Glory, Warrant Cherry Pie, AC/DC The Razor's Edge (including "Thunderstruck"), Megadeth Rust In Peace, Roseanne Cash Interiors, Mary Chapin Carpenter Shooting Straight In the Dark, and Paul Simon The Rhythm of the Saints, including what remains his last hit, "The Obvious Child," which has the lyric, "The cross is in the ballpark."

Kris Jenner was in the process of divorcing Robert Kardashian, so she could marry 1976 Olympic hero Bruce Jenner. None of the children of any of the 3 of them was famous yet. Kanye West and Shakira were 13 years old; Sean Murray and Stana Katic 12; Katie Holmes, Heath Ledger and Pink 11; Cote de Pablo 10; Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Hyden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Natalie Portan, Chris Evans and Beyonce 9; Britney Spears, Sienna Miller, Cobie Smulders, Hayley Atwell, Kirsten Dunst, Cory Monteith and Elisabeth Moss 8; Matt Smith, Anne Hathaway, Henry Cavill and Andrew Garfield 7; Emily Wickersham 6; Katy Perry and Scarlett Johansson 5; Lady Gaga, Robert Pattinson and Lea Michele 4; Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Naya Rivera and Rose Leslie 3; Rhianna 2; Emma Stone and Daniel Radcliffe 1; Taylor Swift 9 months, Kristin Stewart and Emma Watson 5 months; and Cardi B, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Halsey, all of the members of One Direction, all of the members of BTS, and all of the Modern Family kids hadn't been born yet.

Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.99 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 25 cents, and a New York Subway ride $1.15. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.22, a cup of coffee $1.49, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $5.23, a movie ticket $4.23, a new car $15,045, and a new house $150,100. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the preceding day, a Friday, at 2520.79.

The World Wide Web was about to debut, but hardly anybody would know about it for a while. Mobile phones were still the size of the original Star Trek series' communicators. The Hubble Space Telescope had been launched, but it wasn't working, and would need to be repaired by a later shuttle mission. The 1st digital camera was sold in the U.S. The leading home video game system was the Sega Genesis. The birth control pill was long-established, but there was, as yet, no Viagra.

In the Autumn of 1990, Operation Desert Shield was launched, to ready American troops to push Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army out of Kuwait. Presidents Bush and Gorbachev met in Helsinki, Finland to discuss the situation, and those of the breakaway Soviet republics. Germany was reunified for the 1st time since 1945, and under a free government for the 1st time since 1933. A devastating civil war began in the African nation of Rwanda. China opened its 1st McDonald's and its 1st Pizza Hut. Walmart opened its 1st store in the Northeast, in York, Pennsylvania. 

Leonard Bernstein, and William S. Paley, and Cookie Lavagetto died. Jennifer Lawrence, and John Wall, and John Tavares were born.

October 20, 1990. The Cincinnati Reds won the World Series, after winning the National League Pennant. They have never won another of either.

Will they win them in the near future? Stay tuned.

Detroit's All-Time Baseball Team

I was pleased to see that the team the Yankees would face on August 30, 2006, what would have been my the 100th birthday of my grandfather, an original "Bleacher Creature," was the Tigers, a team he would have recognized.

Too bad the Tigers had to ruin it -- or, rather, Scott Proctor had to ruin it, when, one strike away from nailing down the win while Mariano Rivera was rested after pitching 3 days in a row, gave up a home run to Craig Monroe. The Tigers went on to win the AL Central Division, then beat the Yankees in the Division Series, then beat the Oakland Athletics for the Pennant, before losing the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.

7. Detroit's All-Time Baseball Team

Despite the fact that northwestern Ohio is closer to Detroit than to Cleveland, and that region's highest-ranked team, the Toledo Mud Hens, has been a Tigers farm club since 1987 (and has been so, on and off, since 1934), I've limited the Tigers' "region" to just the State of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula, which is closer to Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

An interesting note: The Mud Hens are best known for their unusual team name, and for being the favorite team of Toledo native actor Jamie Farr, and his best-known character, M*A*S*H Corporal Max Klinger. Prior to his assignment as company clerk (including an eventual promotion to Sergeant), Klinger was so desperate to get out of the Army that he would try all kinds of things (including, most frequently, wearing women's clothing) to convince the Army that he was psychologically unfit for military service.

A "mud hen" or marsh hen is another name (or two) for a bird that is indigenous to the marshlands where the Maumee River flows into Lake Erie. The bird is most often called (by people who study birds) the American Coot. So Klinger, who wasn't really crazy except about the Mud Hens, really was "crazy as a coot!" In another irony, in 1952, the team left Toledo, was replaced by a new Mud Hens in 1953, and that team left after 1955, leaving the city without baseball until yet another ud Hens arrived in 1965, and has stayed ever since.

Anyway, this team has lots of Michigander-turned-Tigers, plenty of power, and one amazing pitching staff, with a good mix of righties and lefties, power and finesse, starters and relievers. I wouldn't want to put my hitters up against them.

Another note of interest: There are also some University of Michigan Wolverines on here (Michigan is the "Wolverine State"), as well as some Michigan State University Spartans. The Detroit team became the "Tigers" because their socks had orange and black stripes. Whether this was reminiscent of actual tigers or Princeton University, whose teams are called the Tigers, depends on who's telling the story.

But it was at Princeton, in orange on black (since revived, but reversed to black on orange) that Herbert "Fritz" Crisler developed the famous "winged" helmet design that he brought to Michigan in yellow (or "maize" as they put it) on navy blue.

1B John Mayberry of Northwestern H.S. in Detroit. A 2-time All-Star with the Kansas City Royals, he finished 2nd to Fred Lynn in the 1975 balloting for American League Most Valuable Player. He moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays, and closed his injury-shortened career with the Yankees in 1982. He hit 255 home runs and had an OPS+ of 123.

His son John Jr. now plays for the Phillies, and was born in Kansas City, and thus qualifies for that region's team, by birth if not yet by performance.

2B Charlie Gehringer of Fowlerville. Considering the performances of Nap Lajoie, Eddie Collins and Rogers Hornsby earlier in the 20th Century, I am going to say that Gehringer is the best 2nd baseman of the last 85 years. He was a local guy all the way, going to the University of Michigan, playing his entire career for the Tigers, and living in Michigan for his entire life.

Known as "the Mechanical Man" for his effortless, usually flawless fielding, he had a lifetime batting average of .320, and OPS+ of 124, and 2,839 hits including 574 doubles and 146 triples. In 1929 he led the AL in runs, hits, doubles, triples and stolen bases. He led in runs and hits again in 1934, cracked a staggering 60 doubles in 1936, and led in batting with a .371 average in 1937, earning him the MVP. He was the AL's starting 2nd baseman in the first 6 All-Star Games.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame. The Tigers retired his Number 2, and dedicated a statue of him at Comerica Park dedicated by the Tigers. When The Sporting News announced its 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999, he came in at Number 46.

SS Derek Jeter of Kalamazoo. He started out as a Jersey boy: He was born in Pequannock, Morris County; lived the 1st 4 years of his life in West Milford, Passaic County; and spent a lot of time at his grandparents' house in North Arlington, Bergen County.

But it's where he was trained to play baseball that counts for these teams, and he grew up in "Kazoo" and played at Kalamazoo Central H.S. (In the photo above, "KC" stands for "Kalamazoo Central" -- not "Kansas City.") The Yankees chose him with their 1st pick in the 1992 Draft.

And the rest is history: A .312 batting average, 3,316 hits (he will soon surpass Paul Molitor for most hits of anyone born after April 1941), 525 doubles, 65 triples, 256 home runs (certainly a decent total for a shortstop batting righthanded at Yankee Stadium), a 117 OPS+, 13 All-Star Games, 5 Gold Gloves, 16 postseason appearances, including 7 Pennants, 5 World Championships, and the 2000 World Series MVP. He also holds club records for most seasons (he's about to start his 20th, breaking the record of 19 he shared with Mariano Rivera and 18 by Mickey Mantle) and games (2,602 coming into 2014, breaking the record of 2,401 set by Mantle).

Honorable Mention to Mickey Stanley of Grand Rapids, who was mainly an outfielder, but got moved to short in mid-1968 when Tiger legend Al Kaline returned from an injury, which got Ray Oyler out of the lineup (he was a great fielder but was so hopeless with the bat he made Rey Ordonez look like Cal Ripken) and got the Tigers to a 103-win season and a World Championship.

3B Chris Sabo of Novi. The National League Rookie of the Year in 1988, he made 3 All-Star teams and helped the Cincinnati Reds win the 1990 World Series. Injuries insured that his last full season would come at age 31 and his last game at 34, but for a while it looked like the sky was the limit. He was elected to the Reds Hall of Fame.

LF Willie Horton of Northwestern H.S. in Detroit, although born in Virginia. Another local guy who went on to his hometown Tigers. By the time I saw him in the late 1970s, he was a fat guy playing out the string and bouncing around the AL, looking for someone to acquire him as a DH.

But he was a 4-time All-Star, who had a 120 OPS+, 325 home runs, and 3 100-RBI seasons – his first at age 22 with the '65 Tigers, and his last at 36 with the '79 Seattle Mariners. For all his power hitting, he's probably best remembered for Game 5 of the 1968 World Series at Tiger Stadium, when he threw out Lou Brock, the best baserunner of that era, at the plate, turning the Series around and leading to the Tiger victory.

The Tigers retired his Number 23 and dedicated a statue to him at Comerica Park -- thus far, the only such honoree who isn't yet in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was a major league coach for a few years, including with his former Tiger manager Billy Martin on the Yankees, and now works in the Tigers' front office. He is regarded as a good guy by all who know him, not just by Tiger fans.

He definitely should not be confused with Willie Horton the convicted felon, who was used by the Republican Party as a symbol of how 1988 Democratic Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis was "soft on crime." (Like hell he was: It was his opponent, George H.W. Bush, who was Vice President in the Iran-Contra Administration.)

Honorable Mention to Charlie "Paw Paw" Maxwell of Lawton. Although his 1st big-league team was the Red Sox, this is another Michigander who played for the Tigers. Twice an All-Star, he was a member of the 1961 Tiger team that won 101 games, but finished 8 games behind the Yankees. Career OPS+ of 116.

CF Ron LeFlore of Detroit. A wild story. He served time in the State Prison of Southern Michigan (a.k.a. Jackson State Penitentiary) for armed robbery, played on the prison baseball team, and his talents reached then-Tigers manager Billy Martin (who always seemed to be one incident away from the Big House himself, and I don't mean the University of Michigan's football stadium).

LeFlore was paroled, and although Martin was fired by the time he reached the majors, he was one of the players who helped the Tigers, who had collapsed following the aging of the Kaline-era team, revitalize into a respectable organization again. Before Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines and Vince Coleman, there was Ron LeFlore, who went from stealing money from liquor stores to stealing bases: 58 in 1976, 68 in '78, 78 in '79, and (by then with the Montreal Expos) 97 in 1980.

Injuries ended his career at age 34, and he went to umpiring school, but flunked out. He has since managed in the minor leagues, but has twice been arrested for failing to pay child support – including following the closing ceremonies at Tiger Stadium in 1999. And in 2011, he lost a leg to cardiovascular disease. After Roots, but before Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation, LeVar Burton starred in the 1979 CBS TV-movie One In a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story.

RF Hazen Shirley "Kiki" Cuyler of Harrisville. That's "Kigh-kigh" and "Kye-ler," not "Kee-kee" or whatever else you might think it is. And if you were born "Hazen Shirley (Last Name)," you'd think "Kiki" was an improvement, too.

He batted .321 lifetime, and had an OPS+ of 125, 2,299 hits, 394 doubles, 157 triples, and 328 stolen bases, leading the NL 4 times. He helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1925 World Series, but was mysteriously benched late in the 1927 season. It didn't cost the Pirates the Pennant, and his presence probably wouldn't have stopped the Yankees (who swept) from winning that World Series, but he was still traded to the Chicago Cubs after the season.

Big mistake: The Cubs won Pennants with Cuyler in 1932 and 1935, and the Pirates didn't win another until 1960. He was elected to the Hall of Fame, although none of the uniform numbers he wore after they became common have been retired. (He wore 3 as a Cub.)

Honorable Mention to Kirk Gibson of Waterford. Like Steve Garvey, he played both baseball and football at Michigan State. Unlike Garvey, he won a Big 10 football title with the Spartans, in 1978. (However, a previous coach had gotten them put on probation, and they couldn't go to the Rose Bowl.)

Two Sports Illustrated covers should catch your eye. One was in spring training 1980, calling him a "RIP ROARIN' ROOKIE." He had to wait until 1981 to really break out, batting .328. In 1984, he helped the Tigers to win the World Series against the San Diego Padres, hitting 2 homers in the clinching Game 5, the 2nd an 8th-inning blast into Tiger Stadium's upper deck off Goose Gossage. 

But just a year later, in the 1985-86 off-season, he was again on the cover of SI, as "THE MAN NOBODY WANTS." It was the time of the team owners' "collusion," and he was forced to sign a new 2-year contract with the Tigers.

After 1987, when the Tigers won another Division title, they wouldn't re-sign him. Big mistake: They just missed the AL East title in 1988, and it would be 19 years before they reached the postseason again. Meanwhile, the Dodgers signed him, and he won the NL's MVP that season as the Dodgers won the Pennant. Injuries to both legs meant he only came to bat once in the World Series, but it was a game-winning home run in Game 1, off Oakland's Dennis Eckersley, who then coined the phrase "walkoff home run."

But injuries kicked in, and only twice more did Gibson have at least 400 plate apperances. He returned to the Tigers and hit 23 homers with 72 RBIs in the strike-shortened 1994, but he lasted only one more season, finishing with a .268 batting average (but an OPS+ of 123) and 255 home runs. But he'll be forever remembered for 2 World Series home runs, 1 at Tiger Stadium and 1 at Dodger Stadium, with Jack Buck's words for CBS standing out: "I don't believe what I just saw!"

He became a broadcaster, and is now the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, having taken them to the 2011 NL West title.

C Bill Freehan of Royal Oak. Yes, another Tiger, and also another University of Michigan grad. While Tiger Stadium was a great hitter's park, catcher is not usually a slugger's position, but he hit 200 home runs to go with a 112 career OPS+. It's his glove that gets remembered, though, and he won 4 Gold Gloves, and he made 11 All-Star teams.

His best season, with 25 homers and 84 RBIs, appropriately came in 1968 when the Tigers won the World Series – and, of course, someone had to be on the receiving end of that Horton throw so it could nail Brock.

Honorable Mention to Ernie Whitt of Detroit. With Carlton Fisk as their catcher, the Red Sox could afford to leave Whitt unprotected in the 1977 expansion draft, and he became the Toronto Blue Jays' main catcher in the 1980s. He made the AL All-Star team in 1985 as the Jays won the AL East to reach the postseason for the 1st time. He's now a roving instructor in the Phillies' organization, and has managed Team Canada in the Pan American Games and the World Baseball Classic.

SP Hal Newhouser of Wilbur Wright H.S. in Detroit. Another Tiger, he went 29-9 with a 2.22 ERA in 1944. He went 25-9 with a 1.81 in 1945, and the Tigers won the World Series. Baseball rosters depleted by World War II draft callups and enlistments, you say? In 1946, when the boys came back, Newhouser went 26-9 with a 1.94 ERA. He slipped to 17-17 the next season, but went 21-12 in 1948, 18-11 in 1949 and 15-13 in 1950. Think about that: In 7 seasons, he won 141 games. (In those 1st 3 years, he went 70-21!)

Trouble was, outside of those 7 seasons, he only won another 67. He hurt his arm in 1950, and that caused him to retire at age 34, but not before winning another Pennant as a reliever with the 1954 Cleveland Indians. His final record of 207-150 was pretty strong, and his ERA+ of 130 was exceptional. He was elected to the Hall of Fame, and the Tigers retired his Number 16 and dedicated a statue of him at Comerica Park.

SP Billy Pierce of Highland Park. That's the one north of Detroit, not the one north of Chicago, the one north of Dallas, or the one in Central Jersey across the river from New Brunswick. Here's one the Tigers had, but let get away, selling him to the Chicago White Sox after the 1948 season.

He won at least 12 games in every season but one from 1950 to 1960, and at least 14 in every season but 2 from 1951 to 1962. He led the AL in strikeouts in 1953, led it in ERA with 1.97 in 1955, and led it in complete games in 1956, '57 and '58. He won 20 in 1956 and did it again in 1957. Strangely, one of his weaker seasons was 1959, when he went 14-15, but the White Sox won their only Pennant between 1919 and 2005.

After the 1961 season the White Sox traded him and Don Larsen (yes, that one) to the San Francisco Giants for 4 guys you don't need to know about. Big mistake for the White Sox: Pierce went 16-6 and helped the Giants win the NL Pennant in 1962, and he was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the World Series (although he also lost Game 3 and the Yankees beat the Giants in Game 7.) Still, the White Sox would go on to retire his Number 19, and erected a statue of him at U.S. Cellular Field, as he went 186-152 for them, 211-169 overall with an ERA+ of 119.

SP Jim Kaat of Zeeland. "Kitty" debuted in 1959 with the original Washington Senators, and turned out to be the last active player who'd played with them. He moved with them as they became the Minnesota Twins in 1961, and in 1962 he went 18-14.

He went 18-11 for the Twins' 1st Pennant winner in 1965, outdueling Sandy Koufax in Game 2 before Koufax returned the favor in Games 5 and 7. He went 25-13 in 1966. An arm injury in the next-to-last game of the 1967 season, against the Red Sox, may have cost the Twins the Pennant that weekend, but he pitched the Twins to the 1st 2 AL Western Division titles in 1969 and '70.

Traded to the White Sox, he won 21 in 1974 and 20 in 1975. Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, he helped them reach the postseason in 1976, '77 and '78. He spent parts of the '79 and '80 seasons with the Yankees, who moved him to the bullpen, and in 1982 he finally won a World Series, appearing 4 times in the Series for the St. Louis Cardinals at age 43. He retired after one more season to become one of baseball's best broadcasters.

His career record is 283-237. His ERA is 3.45, but his ERA+ is 108, and his WHIP is 1.259. He has 2,461 strikeouts and only 1,083 walks. He won 16 Gold Gloves, formerly a record for pitchers, and was a 3-time All-Star. He reached the postseason 7 times and just missed 3 others.

On Baseball-Reference.com, their Hall of Fame Monitor has him at 130 out of 100, meaning he absolutely should be in; their HOF Standards have him at 44 out of 50, meaning he comes close but doesn't make it.

Of his 10 Most Similar Pitchers, 7 are in the Hall: Robin Roberts, Fergie Jenkins, Eppa Rixey, Bert Blyleven, Early Wynn, Burleigh Grimes and Red Ruffing. Another, Jamie Moyer, is not yet eligible. That leaves Frank Tanana, who shouldn't be in, and Tommy John, who should. John is the only 20th or 21st Century pitcher with more wins eligible for the Hall of Fame but not in. Yet Kaat has not been elected to the Hall, as either a player or a broadcaster. That's just wrong.

SP Bob Welch of Hazel Park. He reached the majors at age 21, splitting between starting and relieving for the 1978 Los Angeles Dodgers. In Game 2 of the World Series, he came in to relieve and ended the game by striking out Reggie Jackson with the bases loaded. Everybody remembers that, but they tend to forget that Reggie got his revenge in a big, or at least very long, way by clobbering a Welch fastball deep into the San Gabriel Mountains in Game 6 as the Yankees clinched.

The Game 2 heroics didn't give Welch a swelled head, nor did the Game 6 setback faze him, as he became one of baseball's most reliable starters, helping the Dodgers reach the postseason 5 times and the Oakland Athletics 4, winning the World Series with the 1981 Dodgers and the 1990 A's. Like his Oakland teammate, Dennis Eckersley, he battled alcoholism for years before overcoming it and becoming the pitcher everyone thought he could become.

In 1990, he went 27-6 for the A's, his 27 wins representing the most in the majors since Steve Carlton in 1972, and no one other than Carlton or Welch has even reached 26 since Denny McLain's 31 in 1968. Welch must've overexerted himself that season, because he only won 35 more games, but finished his career at a fine 211-146. B-R doesn't have him even close to the Hall of Fame, but he had a good career.

SP John Smoltz of Lansing and Michigan State University. Not content to wait for him to reach the majors and needing to shore up their rotation for the 1987 AL East race, his home-State Tigers traded him to the Atlanta Braves for the aging Doyle Alexander. It worked in the short term, as they won the Division but lost the Pennant.

In the long term, the Braves benefited as few teams have ever benefited from a trade. From the ages of 22 to 32, he was one of the best starters in baseball, topping out at 24-8 – winning 29 games counting the All-Star Game and the postseason, the most since Denny McLain's 32 in 1968 – with 276 strikeouts in 1996, winning the NL Cy Young Award.

At 33, an injury kept him out all season. From 34 to 37, he was one of the game's best relievers, setting the NL record which still stands with 55 saves in 2002. At 38, 39 and 40 he was again one of baseball's top starters, going 16-9 in 2006 – though it says something about the way the game has changed that his 16 wins were enough to lead the NL that season.

He has moved into broadcasting, and will be eligible for the Hall of Fame next year. He should have no trouble getting in. He was an 8-time All-Star. He won 213 games (losing just 155) and saving 154 others. His career ERA+ is 125, his WHIP 1.176. He is a member of the 3,000 Strikeouts Club

And he reached the postseason 14 times (13 with the Atlanta Braves, not counting 2000 when he was hurt all season, and the last with the Cardinals), and his 15 postseason wins are 2nd all-time to Andy Pettitte, against just 4 losses. (However, he has only one World Championship, with the '95 Braves. Don't blame him, however. In 1991 he pitched 9 shutout innings in Game 7 before the bullpen lost to the Twins. And 2 of those losses were in the World Series to the Yankees, to Pettitte in Game 5 in '96 and Roger Clemens in Game 4 in '99.) The Braves have retired his Number 29. And a friend of his named Eldrick "Tiger" Woods says that he's the best golfer in baseball.

The Michiganders who didn't make the all-time Detroit-area starting rotation could fill out 2 more pretty good rotations: Steve Gromek of Hamtramck; Art Houtteman and the aforementioned Frank Tanana, both of Detroit's Central Catholic H.S.; Milt Pappas of Detroit's Cooley H.S., Rick Wise of Jackson (but grew up in Portland, Oregon), Steve Trout (born in Detroit while his father Paul "Dizzy" Trout pitched for the Tigers), Scott Sanderson and Derek Lowe of Dearborn (but both Trout and Sanderson grew up in the Chicago suburbs), Jim Abbott of Flint and the University of Michigan, Steve Avery of Taylor, and, somewhat less honorably because of his connection with the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, Eddie Cicotte of Springwells, who was 209-148 when he was banned for life at age 36, having gone 28-12 at 33, 29-7 at 35 and 21-10 at 36.

RP Dr. Mike Marshall of Adrian and Michigan State University. He has a degree in kinesiology from MSU, which means he is well-versed in how the various parts of the human body move. He put his theories to work, suggesting that a pitcher actually benefits by throwing more, not less. This is probably why he is not a pitching coach today.

But he might have known what he was doing. In 1973, with the Montreal Expos, he made 92 appearances, all in relief, for a new major league record, finishing 73 and saving 31. In 1974, traded to the Dodgers for an aging Willie Davis (not one of the trades that ensured the Expos would eventually move, it only seems like it), he broke that record by appearing in 106 games, finishing 83 and saving 21, going 15-12 with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.186 WHIP, becoming the 1st reliever in either league to win the Cy Young Award.

The Dodgers won the Pennant that season, his only postseason appearance, and he saved their only win of the World Series in Game 2 but got tagged with the loss in the clinching Game 5.

Apparently, for team owners' and GMs' tastes, he was too much of an egghead and too much of a flake, as he bounced around the majors. In 1979, with the Twins, he set the AL record for most appearances with 90, finishing 84 and saving 32. But, at 36, that was the last time anyone trusted him as a regular reliever.

He wrapped it up 2 years later, going 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 20 appearances for a terrible Mets team. Overall, he was 97-112, ERA 3.14, but ERA+ 119. He is not related to another Mike Marshall who played for the Dodgers, who came from the Chicago suburbs and became an All-Star outfielder in the 1980s.

As with the rotation, the Michigan bullpen is very strong: Bob Kuzava of Wyandotte (who closed out the 1951 and '52 World Series for the Yankees), Phil "the Vulture" Regan of Wayland (went 14-1 with 21 saves for the Pennant-winning '66 Dodgers, and was also the top reliever on the ill-fated '69 Cubs), Dick "the Monster" Radatz of Detroit (saved a then-record-tying 29 games for the weak '64 Red Sox), Bill Campbell of Highland Park (17-5 for a not-that-strong '76 Twins and 31 saves for the '77 Red Sox), and Jim Kern of Gladwin, a 3-time All-Star who went 13-5 with a 1.57 ERA for the '79 Rangers, but a year later lost his control so badly – 3-11 with a 4.83 ERA – that he told reporters, "I'm working on a new pitch, it's called a 'strike.'"

MGR Joe Altobelli of Eastern H.S. in Detroit. It wasn't easy succeeding Earl Weaver as manager of the Orioles, but in his 1st season, 1983, he took them to the World Championship. He had previously gotten the Giants to an 89-win, 3rd-place season in 1978, and coached with the Yankees in the 1981 World Series. He briefly played 1st base and the outfield for the Indians in the 1950s, and, like Kaat, was an original member of the Twins in 1961.

I considered Bill Virdon, born in Hazel Park, but he grew up in West Plains, Missouri, so it can't be him. A good outfielder who won the 1955 NL Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals, he moved on to the Pirates and won the World Series in 1960 and led the NL in triples and won a Gold Glove in 1962. As a manager, he got the Pirates to an NL East title in 1972 and nearly another in '73, the Yankees nearly to an AL East title in '74, the Houston Astros nearly to the NL West in '79, getting them one in '80, and nearly another in '81.