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Detroit Tigers: Trade history with Yanks, Price not a pace fan, origins of Old English D

By Matt Pelc |

The way Shane Greene has pitched for the Detroit Tigers through two games (16 IP, no runs), the New York Yankees have to be kicking themselves after letting him go as part of the three-way trade that sent Robbie Ray to Arizona and Didi Gregorius to the Bronx.

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Of course it’s early and Greene is not as good as his numbers show while Gregorius is not as bad as his numbers show (.172 average), but this wouldn’t be the first time that the Tigers “won” a trade involving the Yankees. Steve Schrader explains.

Pitchers are notorious for trying to get a competitive advantage in a game that often favors hitting, but David Price is not a fan of the new pace of game rules thinking it is a disadvantage toward the offense.

Finally Michigan Radio does a fascinating piece on the originals of the Olde English D. Did you know that the jersey “D” and the cap “D” are different? I had watched the Tigers for more than 20 years before I finally noticed, and that was with the help of a UniWatch Blog post on the eve of the 2006 World Series. A hand went rocketing toward my forehead eliciting a “oh yeah” out of me. Honestly, how did I not notice?

Greene trade wouldn’t be first Tigers won from Yankees – Steve Schrader, Detroit Free Press

• In 2002, the Tigers got Jeremy Bonderman from Oakland in a three-team deal that saw the Yankees give up Ted Lilly and end up with Jeff Weaver, who was 12-12 over two seasons for them. Bonderman won a lot of games for some bad Tigers teams and was a key part of the rotation that took them to the 2006 World Series.• In 2006, the Tigers got Gary Sheffield for three pitchers who combined for zero wins for the Yankees. Sheffield didn’t hit for average but had 44 home runs in two seasons with the Tigers.• In another three-team deal in 2009, the Tigers sent Curtis Granderson to New York and got Austin Jackson and Phil Coke from the Yankees and Max Scherzer from Arizona.

Tigers’ David Price suggests pace of play hurts batters – Alexander Muller, Detroit Sports Nation

The Tigers have just been one segment of the pitching dominance all around baseball so far to start the season. Price is fully aware of the staggering numbers some of the pitchers are putting up against the best hitters in the game. In an interview with sportsonearth.com, David Price talked about those changes:“We’ve got to slow it down, or we’re going to be pitching from 75 feet in a year or so,” Price joked to Anthony Castrovince of sportsonearth.com. “If pitchers keep throwing the ball this way, they’re going to combat it with something. Either the hitters are going to get aluminum or it’s going to be 220 down the line. Something’s going to change.”Price is referring to the recent pace of play changes that new Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred implemented at the beginning of spring training this season, requiring batters to keep at least one foot in the box at all times (if they did not swing on the previous pitch). He goes on to explain why he thinks it is an issue:

Where did the iconic Detroit “D” come from? – Paige Pfleger, Michigan Radio

In the 1930s, the Tigers tried out a block letter D instead of the Old English one. This met a bit of a public outcry, especially since the Tigers were experiencing a losing streak.They brought back the Old English D in 1934, and in 1935 they won their first World Series against the Chicago Cubs. They stuck by the Old English D after that, and they won again in 1945.But Joe Grimm, formerly of the Free Press, said that it wasn’t until 1968 that the Tiger’s Old English D came to really symbolize the entire city, not just America’s pastime.The Detroit riots of 1967 left the city in shambles — 43 people died, more than 1,000 were injured, more than 300 families were displaced, and the damages were estimated to amount to $50 million, according to Ronald Young’s book Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia.“The city was knocked on its butt,” Grimm said, “and then out of this despair came 1968, when the Tigers went and won the World Series. The whole city found something to rally behind. There was this turnaround from images of Detroit with this fire and the National Guard here and blacks and whites fighting each other, and then you come around to 1968, when they really settled on the D’s we have today.”

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