Akil Baddoo and the Best Debuts in Detroit Tigers History

A few days ago we used Spencer Torkelson’s rough spring as an excuse to dig into some of the worst debuts from Detroit Tigers in history.

In the spirit of equal time, it only seems fair to use Akil Baddoo’s awesome spring as an excuse to look at the best debuts in Detroit Tigers history.

Spring training stats don’t count as debuts, of course, so we won’t be looking for other stellar exhibition performances like Baddoo’s. And we’ve decided to not count any Rookie of the Year winners, so no Harvey Keunn, Mark Fidrych, Lou Whitaker, Justin Verlander, and Michael Fulmer in this piece

But what we do have are some noteworthy debut games and seasons from Detroit Tigers players. Let’s begin just a little more than a decade ago.

Best Detroit Tigers Debut Number 1 – Austin Jackson

Austin Jackson came to the Detroit Tigers in one of Dave Dombrowski’s blockbuster trades, and he had the unenviable task of replacing All-Star and fan favorite in Curtis Granderson in center field. Jackson had been one of the New York Yankees’ top prospects for several years, but with no MLB experience, it was hard to imagine him having much success as a rookie.

And all Austin Jackson did was go out and put up the best rookie year by a position player in Detroit Tigers history (at least according to Baseball Reference’s version of WAR). Granderson was a true five-tool player, and while Jackson couldn’t measure up in the power department — he hit just 4 homers as a rookie — he more than made up for it in other areas. Jackson batted .293, stole 27 bases, and played spectacular defense.

Jackson is still just 34, but he hasn’t played in a game since 2018. He never won a Gold Glove, even though he posted the highest single-season defensive WAR (3.1) in Detroit Tigers history in 2011. He never made an All-Star team, despite posting a 134 wRC+ in 2012. And he finished second in the 2010 Rookie of the Year voting to Neftalí Feliz. But he’s the first name on our list.

Best Detroit Tigers Debut Number 2 – Andy Van Hekken

In the late 1990s the Seattle Mariners started raiding Michigan for MLB Draft talent. From 1996-1999 they took five Michigan natives near the top of the draft, from Dan Garey of St. Joseph, to J.J. Putz of Trenton. And in 1997 they used their 3rd round pick on Andy Van Hekken, a left-handed pitcher from Holland High School. Van Hekken spent just one season in the Seattle organization before he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for speedy center fielder Brian Hunter.

Van Hekken was considered one of Detroit’s top ten prospects, and on Septembers 3, 2002 he made his MLB debut. And what an interesting debut it was. Van Hekken threw a shutout on 114 pitches, blanking Cleveland despite allowing 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out just one batter. That pitching line (9IP, 8H, 0ER, 2BB, K) has been achieved dozens of times in MLB history, but Van Hekken is the last to do it (oddly enough, Greg Maddux did it just 6 days earlier).

Andy Van Hekken made four more starts that season, but never won another game, and he never reached the Majors again. He’s still the last pitcher to throw a shutout in his MLB debut.

Best Detroit Tigers Debut Number 3 – Dave Rozema

Dave Rozema never made an All-Star game, and he never won any awards. He was a key part of the late ’70s Tigers squads, but by the 1984 season injuries had rendered him a secondary member of the team. He remains a beloved figure among Detroit Tigers fans of a certain vintage, in part because he’s a fixture at Tigers fantasy camps, but his contributions aren’t remembered as fondly as those of Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, and Lou Whitaker.

That wasn’t always the case, though. A 4th-round pick in 1975, Rozema was still only 20 when he made his big-league debut in 1977. He didn’t have much of a fastball, but Rozema had a plus changeup and excellent command, which he used to keep opponents off balance all season. His final numbers for the season: 15-7, 3.08 ERA, 218.1 IP, 92 K, 34 BB. He pitched 16 complete games, and he accumulated 5.7 WAR, which is the 3rd most by a rookie pitcher in Detroit Tigers history.

Best Detroit Tigers Debut Number 5 – Dale Alexander

The Detroit Tigers teams of the 1930s were an offensive juggernaut, with future Hall-of-Famers Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer, Goose Goslin, and Hank Greenberg regularly guiding the offense to more than 900 runs a season. But that run of success arguably started in 1929, when the offense was led not by a future Hall-of-Famer, but by a 26-year-old rookie named Dale Alexander.

Despite being a plodding first baseman, Alexander is tied with Austin Jackson for highest ever WAR (5.1) for a first-year Tigers hitter. He batted .343 and led the team with 25 home runs, 215 hits, and 137 RBIs. He had one more strong year for the Tigers, but then he mysteriously stopped hitting home runs, and in 1932 Detroit traded him to Boston. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Alexander’s career is the gruesome way it ended in 1933:

Alexander hurt his leg sliding into home plate. Red Sox trainer Doc Woods used a new deep-heat method to try to reduce pain, decrease inflammation, and thereby speed healing: diathermy. Unfortunately, Woods left the machine on too long (apparently leaving the treatment room and not returning for quite some time) and burned Alexander’s leg. “They’d just barbecued his leg,” said son Steve. Don Alexander reported, “It really sort of atrophied. It really was smaller than the other. Just like it was a burn. Scarring tissue. It was discolored.”

Dale Alexander never played another season in the majors.

Best Detroit Tigers Debut Number 6 – Denny McLain

There has never been any debate about Denny McLain’s pure talent. Unfortunately his decision-making, personality, and work ethic kept him from fully realizing his Hall-of-Fame potential. He certainly showed flashes of it in the late 1960s, but his skill was on display from the moment he first saw a big-league field.

McLain was just 19 when he made his MLB debut against the White Sox on September 21, 1963. He briefly flashed some nerves, walking leadoff man Mike Hershberger, but he then he promptly picked off Hersheberger and struck out the next two batters to end the inning. He gave up a run in the top of the 5th, but then came to the plate in the bottom half and hit a home run in just his second big-league at-bat. It ended up being the only home run of his career.

The Tigers took a 3-1 lead into the 8th, but Chicago tied it after some sloppy defense. Then in the bottom of the frame Norm Cash put the Tigers up 4-3 with a solo home run. McLain came out for the 9th and retired the lineup in order, striking out the final two batters he faced. His final line: 9IP, 7H, 3R (1ER), 4BB, 8K, and 1-for-3 at the plate with a HR. The 8 strikeouts remains tied for the most by a Detroit Tigers pitcher in his first game, and he’s one of two starting pitchers in MLB history to throw a complete game and hit a home run in his debut.