Yankee4Life

“I have a ton of confidence in that group in there and understand it’s been bad this week,” Boone said. “But we’ve got a great opportunity in front of us.” -Yankee Manager Aaron Boone. I had no idea he was going into stand-up comedy.

Jameson Taillon was placed on the 10-day injured list with a partially torn tendon in his right ankle. And that my friends is that.

Ok Jim, never mind what he said for a minute. Did any of my post make sense to you? The similarities to last year are too much. They will straighten out again only to have another bad streak.

You described them very well but people are not going to take you seriously and they are not going to take me seriously because the both of us have been angry at this team since a little after opening day. They underachieve, they don't hit, they don't pitch well, they suck at running the bases and their defense needs improving. Other than that they are fine. The only thing that this group of losers knows how to do very well is get hurt. Now I know I have said a thousand times I don't care anymore and I'm done with this team but the truth is that I do care and I will never be done with this team no matter how lousy they play. I'm just frustrated and upset because I'm seeing the same thing over and over again. What did they do last year? They won ten in a row and they made everybody think that they were beginning to play good solid baseball. And then right after that winning streak they fell apart. And damned if the same thing happened again this year. Thirteen wins in a row seems like ages ago because now they have lost nine of their past eleven games and they have looked terrible in every single one of them. As I said, the best thing for this group of overpaid losers is a hard dose of reality where they do not make the playoffs and they have to go home wondering about their jobs. Well, to hell with them. I brought up Severino before and it bears repeating. This guy has not played all year and I am convinced that he does not want to play. The Yankees should send him home today with the instructions that he plays winter ball just so he knows what real life competition is again. And then if he had so much as a headache this winter they should trade him to anyone stupid enough to take him. Is there talent on this team? Of course there is but is overshadowed by lousy play, bad hitting and pitching, a ready-made bunch of excuses, the manager who seems to be afraid of calling out anyone on this team and the propensity to lead all of major league baseball in injuries year after year. They do not play as a team. Look at the Giants and see what they did last year compared to right now. They did not make the playoffs in 2020 but right now they are one of the best teams in all of baseball. The Giants have been doing it all year and the Yankees have only done it for thirteen games.

I know, I know. And it is sad to say that the best thing to happen to this team is that if they don't make the playoffs because they have a lot of -pardon the analogy- a lot of garbage to get rid of. Torres, Frazier, Gardner, Heaney and Sanchez immediately come to mind. Also do you realize that there are only twenty-five or so games left and Luis Severino has not thrown ONE PITCH for the team this year? People used to give Carl Pavano hell for not playing. Severino is doing the same thing but he gets a pass. Not with me. He's a lazy, worthless piece of crap that needs to be dealt away too. **** HIM.

This team is snakebitten. Simple as that. Why couldn't it have been a useless sack of %^&$ like Chapman?

You got to admit the guy has a point here.

Absolutely not.

That's it right there. He wasn't thinking. He never thinks. He's never done anything on the field that makes you say "hey, that was a smart play!" I'd call the guy retarded but that would insult the individuals who actually are retarded. No, I won't do that. Sanchez is a moron and a useless one at that. Cut the crap right now. This is the second time I am asking you. Like I said YESTERDAY that no one posted in here for five days and now you don't like it. Too bad what is being posted. Ritchie is talking about baseball. I was also trying to. That is more than I can say about you or anyone else. Damn no matter what you do around here someone's got to gripe.

You're God damn right. This up and down team is down again. Just like last year. FU***** Tampa must love it. Just sit back and watch these losers beat themselves. **** THEM.

I'm worried as always but I hope not.

Five days and no one on this website posts in here. Well, here we go. Corey Kluber needs time to adjust to live competition again and you really can notr be frustrated with what happened last night. He's needed for September if these SOB's are to do anything.

Updated to 8-29 ...Up until the ninth-inning of the Field of Dreams game and last month’s All-Star game that provided the only joy that I had from watching baseball this season because watching the Yankees up until the All-Star break was like having pain from a toothache that would not go away. They have been playing better but I'm not sold yet although I hope they prove me 100% wrong. I worry, I fret and I get upset at players who look like they're just going through the motions. You must admit with Sanchez I have a point. I will become a Red Sox fan for one day if that guy ever busts it down the line out of the batter's box. He just has to do it once. I'm not worried because it's not in him. I’ll sleep easy. ...On the subject of the Field of Dreams game that they played a few weeks back it really was a big hit. Finally baseball came up with a good idea. The Little League classic is a good one too but it can't touch the atmosphere and location of the Field of Dreams game. The throwback uniforms looked great except for that Nike swoosh on them. I still can't believe that such a small addition can be such an eyesore. I'm looking forward to next year's game in Iowa with the Reds and Cubs. My only suggestion and I know they won't do it is if they continue having these games in Iowa once a year only the teams that made up the original sixteen teams in baseball should participate. It just doesn't look right having a Field of Dreams game watching the Blue Jays play the Mariners. But that’s me, a traditionalist all the way. ...Connect with your City, Dept: For many years I thought that the ugliest uniforms I have ever saw were the ones worn by the Houston Astros of the 1980s that had those rainbow stripes. But when the Red Sox came out with those hideous yellow uniforms back in April to start out Nike's "City Connect" promotion I was once again proven wrong. Those by far are the worst uniforms I have laid eyes on and it would figure that these uniforms represent the city of Boston where ugliness can be seen wherever you turn your head. By the end of the 2023 season all thirty major league teams will have their own version of the City Connect uniform. I don't believe that this has anything to do with a ball club connecting to their city but I do see three obvious reasons why this is happening. First, Nike has baseball by the you-know-what and when they wanted to do this baseball said sure go right ahead. Secondly, Commissioner Rob Manfred. That guy will get on his knees for anything that will line his pockets. Just ask the Fox network. Finally the fans. They are so willing to buy anything that has their favorite team that style and fashion take a backseat to the newest and latest thing. Have you seen the city connect jerseys for the Dodgers that they recently wore? They look like pajamas that a little kid would wear. But never mind that. If the Dodgers are selling it then they are buying it. Baseball fans are the ones who are making this popular and in the end, possible. Even the Yankees, whose uniforms have basically remained untouched for generations, are reportedly interested in having one of these uniforms for themselves so their fans can have the same opportunity to be fleeced like everyone else. They're the Yankees. It's not like they need the money but they have no choice in it. It's Nike's game now. ...Allison Mack, best known for her role as Chloe Sullivan on TV’s Smallville was sentenced to three years in prison on charges she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for the cult-like group NXIVM. Mack had already pled guilty in the scheme with group founder Keith Raniere to recruit women in the purported self-help group, all of which would eventually become his slaves. While in court Mack told the judge that she believed Raniere’s intentions were to help people but she now knows that she was incorrect in believing that and that after months of reflection since her arrest she knows she can and will be a better person. Anyone who has seen her on TV will be quick to agree that this was her best piece of acting she has ever done. She’s getting the three years but with good behavior she’ll maybe get half of that. Then she’ll get out and do the talk show circuits so she can cry and look sad when the camera is on her and after awhile it will be all that Raniere guy’s fault because she just got caught up with everything happening around her. And don’t forget the book. With these people there’s always a book. ...A recent study of female Ivy League students learned that only 6% would be willing to date a Trump supporter. That says a lot because the study doesn’t say would they be willing to marry one. If your a Trump guy you aren’t even getting their phone number let alone trying to get to know them. Why would these bright, highly educated girls date one of these guys when they come calling? If one of them happens to give one of the Trump boys a chance, fifteen minutes into the date the guy will talk about the heroes of January 6th and how they did nothing wrong. One may argue that this is a form of political discrimination but that’s just sour grapes from the guys who are stuck holding their um, phones on a Friday night. You have to be smart to get into one of the eight schools that make up the Ivy League and that’s why it’s easier for these girls to avoid the guys walking around with those red baseball hats on. ...Disband the Tribe, Dept: The Cleveland Indians are no more. They didn't leave town like the Dodgers and the Giants and they didn't sneak out of town like the Colts did to Baltimore. They're still in Cleveland but next year thanks to the complainers on social media they will not be called the Indians anymore. Now they are going to go by the twitter approved generic name of "Guardians." From now on say the name Indians in dark alleys in the dead of night where nobody knows who you are and no questions are asked. Hide the custom Francisco Lindor jersey that you own under your hoodie so no one sees it and by all means act like you don’t know who Chief Wahoo is if other people fondly bring him up. Protect yourselves against the finger pointers at all costs. What I’d really want to know is when is this going to stop? And why go after Cleveland? What did they do? There are a lot of major sports teams that have Indian names but I have never once thought that they would be insulting to any Indian.I mean I never once heard an Indian mutter that life is pretty damn good except for those Cleveland Indians. And as I said it seems that only certain teams are being singled out by the small but loud and effective group of complainers. The Washington Redskins had to go through an entire NFL season without a nickname because all of a sudden that name was not good anymore. I think if you ask any Indian (the real ones, not the ones in Cleveland) they will tell you that they have a lot more things to concern themselves in their lives than what sports teams are called. You know like jobs, providing for their families, education and health care. I have read quite a few articles on the name change for the Indians and not one of them stated that the new name that Cleveland is going to have was bad. I get it. They don't want to be targeted by the social media cowards because those people are always looking to harass someone else all in the name of social justice. The reason why I say this is that none of them said why are the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago Blackhawks or the Kansas City Chiefs being left alone? The way I see it those are Indian names just as much as Redskins or Indians. So what is the difference? Why are those teams getting a pass? Are those somehow less offensive names? People are afraid to bring that question up because the knee-jerk reaction from most people will be that they are racist or insensitive and when you have the fear of being labeled like this just because you have a question it means that your free-speech rights are slowly being taken away. How about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish? No, that's not an Indian name but let's be ridiculous here for a moment shall we? What if the fine folks of Irish descent in this country suddenly take offense to that name? The Irish are just as important as the Indians but so far no one out there has decided to be the hero for the Irish people. Then again maybe someone will as soon as the college football season begins. That’s because on the surface one would erroneously assume that the name derives from the habits of the Irish immigrants to this country in the 1800’s as they were a hard fighting group of individuals especially after a long days work and a few beers. The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame actually got their name from sportswriters back in the day when they were trying to explain the makeup of the school’s athletic teams and how they all seemed to have a never-say-die fighting spirit and the Irish qualities of grit, determination and tenacity. Nothing insulting about that just like the baseball team in Cleveland has never tried to insult or make fun of Indians. As for me the Indians will always be the Cleveland Indians and never in all my years have I considered it insulting to the Indian race when I thought of that baseball team. Same for the Redskins in the NFL. There has to be a part where people as a whole stop and see for themselves that this political correctness is out of control and the more power and attention it receives the more your basic rights are taken away. ...Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who never misses an opportunity to get behind any cause that benefits him first and baseball second, has pledged to donate up to one hundred million dollars over the next ten years to The Players Alliance, a nonprofit group that seeks to improve the diversity at all levels for the Black community such as providing more support for baseball programs in schools and community centers which will as they are hoping will raise the number of Black youth and young adults in the game. At least that’s the plan. And if you want to know where the money is coming from to pay for all of this just check your wallet. In this day and age you have to explain everything you write online or else someone from oh, I don’t know, let’s say Boston will read what you say and without asking you will call you racist. No I’m not but I see when something is doomed to fail right at the beginning. I think it’s a great idea that they want to give those young kids a better opportunity to play baseball. And if this can improve their playing fields, provide uniforms and get kids to look at baseball for the first time then that’s fine. With all the new rules that baseball has now it is still better than all the other sports combined. I don’t care if there is a White, Latin American, Asian or Black player on the Yankees. No matter what color they are, they're going to strike out and get hurt too much. CC Sabathia is the vice president for The Players Alliance. That’s a big reason why I don’t like this nonprofit organization. This loudmouth has been complaining for a long time that there has been a lack of Black players in the major leagues and because of that it can make it difficult to publicly advocate for social justice causes. This never managed to shut him up though unless you put a bottle of vodka in front of him and the only injustice he’d see then is that there weren’t two bottles of vodka in front of him. If this were the late 1940’s you could make the argument that there were not a lot of black players in the game. But right there is where you have your answer. Back then the black athletes wanted to be a ballplayer. Not anymore. Not when the NBA and NFL is king. One hundred million dollars is not going to change that. ...People will talk, Dept: Actress Florence Pugh, age twenty-four and smarter than her years, has been for over two years now been going out with forty-six-year-old actor Zach Braff and the judgmental division of Twitter, also known as the people who have no idea how to mind their own business are having none of it. They don’t think it’s right for two people with that much of a difference in ages to be going out together and what’s worse Pugh writes about it on her social media account about the things the couple do and how happy she is. The nerve of this woman! To her credit Pugh is not taking this criticism lying down. She let all of the finger pointers know that it is her life to lead and no one else’s and that she did not need anyone out there to tell her who she should and should not love. It’s sound advice and so easy to follow but I wish one of her friends had a talk with her to let her know that what she said will do no good no matter how knowledgeable she came across. Twitter does not like being told anything. They like to be the ones with the voice. They’re like a group of old ladies sitting on a bench making comments about everyone that walks past them and no matter who goes by they’ll find fault even if they have to come up with something themselves. To be honest I’ve never heard of Florence Pugh until now but I’m glad her first reaction was not to apologize because like she explained it’s her business. It certainly is. ...For any of you who have Listerine in their medicine cabinet try something one day because I've been attempting this and I haven't done it yet. When you use the Listerine try to keep it in your mouth for at least thirty seconds. I can't do it. I can't even get close. I don't know what's in it that makes your mouth burn but whatever it is they're not fooling around. ...You almost have to feel sorry for Trey Sweeney, the shortstop the Yankees got from Eastern Illinois in the 2021 MLB draft. Sweeney, is a left-handed hitting six-foot four, two hundred pound shortstop who can hit and hit with power. They are going to build this kid up to make him sound like the second coming of Robin Yount, Barry Larkin and Derek Jeter all rolled into one. Instead with the way the Yankees draft they probably found the next David Eckstein. ...Somebody forgot to tell Detroit Tigers television announcer Jack Morris that no one should have a sense of humor when talking about the Angels Shohei Ohtani. I mean what was the man thinking? Doesn’t he know?? Ohanti is baseball's newest Golden boy so no negative comments up and to including any attempts at humor should be directed at him at any time. However, it is encouraged for any and all announcers to fall all over themselves and kiss his you-know-what. In case you missed it when the Angels were in Detroit last week playing a series against the Tigers play-by-play announcer Matt Shepard asked what Detroit should do with Ohtani coming to the plate and Morris, in an Asian accent, said, “Be very, very careful.” It was nothing but a joke and it was meant solely as a joke. Many years ago in this country jokes were told by people who were comfortable in making them without having a second thought when they did it or what people will say. Can you imagine if Don Rickles was still around today? Twitter would demand he apologize before he even said a word. I’m not trying to compare Morris to Rickles because they are a different as night and day. Rickles made a living in comedy and Morris is a baseball man. Today if you are quick to make a joke you better be just as fast to apologize for what you said and that is exactly what Morris did the next time that Ohtani came to bat. Morris apologized to him and the Asian community for what he said and the next day when Ohtani heard about it he said he took no offense to what Morris said during the broadcast. That should've been it but people don't work that way anymore. They had to have their pound of flesh and Morris was indefinitely suspended and was pulled off the job as a racist and, at the age of sixty-six, was ordered to undergo “sensitivity training” which if you don't know what that means is forced counseling to show him the error of his ways and to point out to him that in his 60+ years he has been doing everything wrong. He will not be back on the job until Bally Sports Detroit, the people he works for, determine he has been showed up and embarrassed enough to satisfy people who have never heard of Morris since last week, because it is those loyal and paying customers that matter the most. I don't listen to the Tigers broadcasters a lot because I don't watch their games too much but from what I've heard they do a good job. I don't know how Morris feels about continuing on with this job but after all he's done for the Tigers I think he deserves a lot more consideration than he is getting and should not be treated as a pariah just for trying to make a joke. When he comes back -whenever that is- he’s not going to be the same because every word he says is going to be analyzed. I heard the audio clip of what he said and I am convinced that he was not trying to be mean to Ohtani in any way. My hope is that at the end of the season he can hook up with another team and leave Detroit behind forever. ...If you have not noticed by now I have no respect for what comes out of Twitter or the people who are on it that ruin lives with the posts that they make. ...What was that, Dept: I am sure that any of you who have watched a game on TV can not help but notice the people in the box seats that the TV cameras can not help but show while the player is at bat. No matter what game or what city it’s in I am convinced that the people that sit in these seats are only concerned with getting their mugs on television while ignoring what is going on out on the field. Well, recently I was watching the end of a Padres - Rockies game that was being played in Denver and behind Jake Cronenworth there was a woman sitting in her seat enjoying the game. Now I can almost hear all of you now saying to me “so what’s your point here?” That my friends is exactly my point. Watch a game today, any game. If you see a woman in the box seats she will usually be doing one of four things. Talking on her phone, looking at her phone, talking to someone else who is trying to watch the game or is just looking around with a bored expression on her face. Not her! She had great seats and was watching the ball game on a beautiful summer afternoon. Fans like her are rare. Imagine going to a game and actually watching it! ...The first Sunday of the NFL season starts in two weeks but I’m not that geared up for it. Oakland will start out well as they usually do but then Derek Carr will remember who he is and then he’ll start overthrowing receivers, throwing interceptions and will give the Raider punter ten chances a game to be on the field. And there is one extra game this year! How nice.

Zack Britton is probably done for the year and with the way he's been pitching that's in the Yankees favor. Am I the only one who gets extremely nervous whenever Chapman comes in a game? Very proud and happy with the way they have been playing. I attack the hell out of them especially that statue behind home plate but they deserve equal time here. They are hitting and running, stealing bases, pitching well and look completely different than they did before the break.

Yes, it was Odor. Angel Hernandez finally got one right.

What a game Jim saw! What a game!!!! He saw Cole win a game. He saw a batter call time and then change his mind and hit a 3-run home run. Nullified of course. Never saw that before but I remember something that was similar. He saw Andrew Velasquez hit his first career home run. You picked a great day for a game Jim and thanks to your wonderful daughter. Way back in 1976 when the Yankees opened that season in Milwaukee the Brewers hit a game winning grand slam that everyone assumed ended the game and all of Milwaukee was happy. But not so fast. Before the pitch was thrown to Don Money, Chris Chambliss called time out at first base and he was granted time by the first base umpire. Billy Martin ran out of the dugout but he hardly had to argue because Chambliss DID call time before the pitch and the Yankees ended up winning the game. I did not see this game on TV since I don't live in New York but I had my ears glued to my radio. All these years later I never forgot that game and what Odor did today reminded me of it.

Good for you Jim. Have a safe and pleasant trip to and from the ball park and enjoy yourselves! I hope you get to see Gerrit Cole win but most of all that annual trip with your daughter has to be one of the highlights of your year. 🙂

Thank you Andrew Velasquez for providing this formerly boring team with a much needed spark, enthusiasm and the joy of playing the game.

Bill Freehan Widely regarded as one of the game’s best defensive catchers and the best catcher in the American League during his prime, Bill Freehan was a fierce competitor and a committed leader on the diamond. Described by sportswriter Arnold Hano as “a thinking man’s catcher” and “an elemental ballplayer,” the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Freehan displayed “an unusual blend of brawn and brains.” Freehan is in select company with Charlie Bennett, Mickey Cochrane, Lance Parrish, and Ivan Rodriguez as one of the most popular and talented backstops in Detroit baseball history. Brought up to the Tigers again in 1963 after a brief appearance in 1961, Freehan got on base nine straight times, managing three home runs, one triple, three doubles, two singles, and three walks in 15 plate appearances. Over the remainder of his rookie season, the 21-year-old receiver committed only two errors in 73 games behind the plate, although he hit only .243. “I wanted to hit well,” Freehan said. “I just never put that ahead of my primary responsibility. The catcher has to be the captain of the field. I felt if I did my job behind the plate, I was contributing to the team in the best way I could.” Always a perfectionist, one Tigers front-office man said, “Bill’s biggest trouble is that he thinks he never should have a bad day.” The next year marked Freehan’s arrival as the dominant catcher in the American League. A right-handed hitter who crowded the plate, Freehan became the first Detroit catcher to hit .300 since Mickey Cochrane batted .319 in 1935. At the time of his first all-star selection in 1964, Freehan had caught fewer than 200 major league games, but over the course of the season, the Detroit backstop demonstrated that he deserved to be an all-star. Freehan committed only seven errors in 141 games—catching the final 56 games of the season and logging a stretch of 517 consecutive innings behind the plate—with a .993 fielding percentage, and he belted 18 home runs with 80 RBI. More importantly, during the 1964 campaign, Freehan became the team’s “spiritual leader,” according to writer Jim Sargent. Manager Charlie Dressen noted that even a veteran pitcher like Dave Wickersham was willing to let the young catcher call the game. “He suddenly grew up,” Dressen remarked, “and his pitchers have confidence in him now. So do the other players. Quick-like, the Tigers had a leader.” Arnold Hano noted that Freehan “leads the way sergeants lead, not second lieutenants. He leads by example.” General Manager Jim Campbell said, “We put the full load on Freehan’s shoulders and he didn’t stumble.” Although Freehan caught 129 games in 1965, he was frequently dinged up by injuries. In spring training, Freehan suffered a severe muscle spasm in his lower back while rounding second base, the injury putting him on the bench for three weeks. On May 29, a foul tip off the bat of Cleveland’s Max Alvis injured his throwing hand and, on June 25, a pitch deflected off Minnesota rookie Sandy Valdespino struck Freehan’s bare hand in the exact spot as the foul tip. While he avoided the disabled list, Freehan only hit a meager .234 in both 1965 and 1966. Still primarily known for his defensive prowess and his game-calling skills, Freehan won the first of five consecutive Gold Gloves in 1965 and, on June 15, 1965, he set a record by making 19 putouts in a single game—thanks in large part to Denny McLain’s 15 strikeouts in 6.2 innings of relief work. At the beginning of the 1967 season, Freehan experimented with moving closer to the plate on the advice of new manager Mayo Smith and batting coach Wally Moses, and his hitting improved. Although he was hit by pitches 20 times that year, he hit .282 with 20 home runs and 74 RBI. It was an exceptional season, as Freehan caught 138 games with only six passed balls and eight errors, and he played in 155 games; no other catcher in the majors led his team in games played. Moreover, much to the consternation of Smith and the Tigers, Freehan caught all 15 innings of the 1967 All-Star Game in Anaheim. On September 10, Freehan was hit by a pitch in the third inning of the first game of a doubleheader, spoiling Joel Horlen’s otherwise-perfect game. During the Tigers’ 1968 championship season, Freehan caught 155 regular-season games and all seven World Series games. In the regular season, he set career-high marks with 25 home runs, 73 runs scored, and 84 RBI, and he was hit by pitches 24 times. Bothered that he was hitless in the first five games of the World Series, Freehan shrugged, “You’ve got to understand that you’re facing Bob Gibson in three of those games. That’s not a joy for anybody.” In the first five games of the World Series, the Cardinals tested Freehan’s arm, stealing 11 bases in 16 attempts, but he managed to corral the running game in Games Six and Seven. Freehan’s role in one of the most controversial plays in World Series history is familiar to most Tigers fans. The Cardinals led 3–2 when speedster Lou Brock tried to score from second on Julian Javier’s single to left field. Freehan caught Willie Horton’s perfect one-hop throw and blocked the plate, and Brock, who decided not to slide, was tagged out. “I’ve got to thank [University of Michigan football coach] Bump Elliott if I block the plate well,” Freehan said. Writing about the play, the Los Angeles Herald’s Milton Richman said, “What makes [Freehan] so extraordinary is that he plants his two big feet firmly in the ground, doesn’t bother giving the base runner barreling down on him from third base so much as a sidelong glance and plain refuses to budge even when said base runner hits him at midship like a torpedo. For that he has the respect of ballplayers everywhere. “They know they don’t make catchers like Freehan anymore.” White Sox manager Eddie Stanky added, “On any close play at the plate, it’s like running into a freight train.” Freehan also caught Tim McCarver’s foul popup near the first-base dugout to secure the final out in Game Seven. The sight of Mickey Lolich leaping into Freehan’s arms will always be an iconic image in Detroit baseball lore. “When Lolich jumps on you, well, he’s not a small man,” Freehan said. “But it was a great feeling!” Finishing the World Series 2-for-24 with a double, Freehan observed, “I know I wasn’t very successful in hitting, but I’ve got the same World Series ring as everybody else.” Remarkably, Freehan was the only AL player to finish among the top three in MVP voting in both 1967 and 1968. Freehan made a strong comeback from the surgery in 1971. Under Billy Martin, the Tigers bounced back into second place, and Freehan topped AL catchers with a .277 batting average, 21 home runs, and 71 RBI, while he caught 144 games, more than anyone else in the league. Freehan had the opportunity to start the All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium in place of the injured Ray Fosse, and had a three-homer game in a 12–11 loss to Boston that August 9. He split time at catcher and first base under new manager Ralph Houk. With his poor showing the previous season and with the rise of Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk as the league’s premier catchers, Freehan felt he had to reestablish himself, but only two months into the season, the American League’s all-star catcher for the past 10 years was shifted to first base. In the Tigers’ biggest offensive bonanza of the year, Freehan belted a grand slam and drove in seven runs against the Yankees on September 8, 1974. Although his offensive production improved from the previous year—he hit .297 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI in 1974—Freehan was the cornerstone of a December deal that would have sent him with Mickey Stanley—“remains of a bygone era,” according to Detroit sportswriter Jim Hawkins—to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Bob Boone. As Freehan was preparing his family for the move to Philadelphia, the deal was nixed by the Phillies at the last minute. Nevertheless, after the trade failed, Freehan could see the writing on the wall. Going into spring training in 1975, Houk tabbed Freehan as the Tigers’ starting catcher, unless “one of these other guys proves he’s better than Bill is.” At age 34, Freehan caught 113 games, hitting .246 with 14 home runs and 47 RBI, and he returned to the All-Star Game for the eleventh time. But over the winter, the Tigers traded for Milt May, putting Freehan in a reserve role for the first time in his career. May caught only six games before being sidelined for the season with a broken ankle. Freehan, as part of a backstop triumvirate, caught 61 games in 1976 as did Bruce Kimm (John Wockenfuss was behind the plate in 59 contests), and on December 12, 1976, the Tigers gave Freehan his unconditional release. A driven leader and the best catcher in the American League for almost a decade, Freehan was an intelligent and durable backstop who caught more than 100 games for nine consecutive seasons. He won five Gold Gloves, was selected for 11 All-Star teams and played in eight All-Star games, retiring with a .262 lifetime batting average, 758 RBI, and 200 home runs (100 at home and 100 on the road). When he retired, Freehan held the major league career records for most chances (10,714) and putouts (9,941), and highest fielding average for a catcher (.993).

Voit was too busy complaining about playing time.

What the hell is this?

It was a wonderful night for him and I hope this builds his confidence!