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5 Times The Detroit Tigers were Affected by Snow

By Tom Zahari |

Snow has swamped the state of Michigan for the last week causing car pileups, delays, and closings.

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Even though baseball is played in the warmest months of the year, snow still finds its way into some games in the northern part of the country. It does not happen all that often, but the Detroit Tigers have been delayed and postponed due to snow and have played through the elements. Here are five times the Detroit Tigers were affected by snow:

April 15, 2014 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Indians Snowed Out

The most recent snow postponement for the Tigers was in 2014 against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park. Detroit received 3.1 inches of snow that morning which was the final snow needed to break the record for most snow in one winter. The Tigers cancelled their game that night and later rescheduled the matchup as a part of a split double-header on July 29. The Tigers lost the makeup game 6-2 in Drew VerHagen’s 2014 debut with the Tigers. The winning pitcher for that game was the eventual AL Cy Young Winner, Corey Kluber. The Tigers also lost the 2nd half of the double header 5-2.

April 23 and 24, 2005 – Detroit Tigers vs. Minnesota Twins Snowed Out

The Tigers were snowed out twice early in 2005 against Minnesota. ESPN highlighted how Torii Hunter wanted to steal more bases in 2005 and the fact that he was playing all aspects of the game very well. Hunter stole 10 bases in the first 17 games in 2005 and ended up stealing 23 bases in an injury shortened season where Hunter broke his ankle.

The next day, ESPN highlighted the Twins bullpen getting much needed rest.

“Juan Rincon, J.C. Romero and closer Joe Nathan have combined for a 3-1 record with a 0.79 ERA so far, helping Minnesota weather a fast start by the division-rival Chicago White Sox.” So both Hunter and Nathan were performing at their peaks at the time.

The Tigers made up one game on April 25 which they won 6-4. The second game was a part of a double header on July 23 as a part of a rare 5-game series. The Tigers split the games in which Kyle Farnsworth recorded his 4th save of the year in the first game and Justin Verlander made his 2nd big league start in the night cap.

April 22, 1984 – Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox

This is the most recent game I found where the Tigers played while being affected by the snow. The Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-1 and completed a 3 game sweep of the Sox after a 90 minute snow delay. This made the Tigers 12-1 after their 9-0 start in route to their 35-5 start on the way to the World Series title. Interesting note, the White Sox, who were in the AL West at the time, were managed by Tony LaRussa.

April 26, 1923 – Detroit Tigers at St. Louis Browns

The Tigers lost their home season opener against the St. Louis Browns 4-3 in a game that was played in a wintery rain-snow mix that turned to snow as the game was played. According to The Glory Years of the Detroit Tigers: 1920-1950, Jim Conway, a groundskeeper, noted that a Tigers rookie had never seen snow before. “One of the Tiger rookies that year was Johnny Kerr. He was a California boy and had never seen snow before.” According to Baseball Almanac, Kerr did not play in the game. Urbain Shocker got the complete game win for the Browns. The two teams also faced off on April 18, 1923 with the Tigers winning 9-6. Ty Cobb went 3 for 4 in that game with 3 runs and one run batted in.

April 15, 1911 – Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox: The Blizzard Game

According to the website Stuff Nobody Cares About, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-0 at Bennett Park. The game started in normal conditions, but snow started to fall in the 6th inning. Looking at pictures on the website, the snow was really starting to fall and the game was deemed the “Blizzard Game.” Ty Cobb scored the game winning run in the 7th inning of play. The same game ball was used from beginning to end and it was frozen. The conditions were eventually too bad for the batter, catcher, and umpire to see the pitcher and the ball, and the game was called due to the weather conditions with the Tigers recording the 2-0 victory.

Next: Iglesias health, VerHagen in majors, Shane Greene

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