Detroit Tigers: Once-In-A-Lifetime Home Runs

Daniel Norris

This one comes with a caveat. Daniel Norris, whom Detroit traded away last summer, is currently a free agent. Only time will tell if he ever gets a chance to hit a second big-league home run, but for now, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.

Norris was still in the midst of his first month as a Tigers pitcher on August 19, 2015, when he drew the starting assignment against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Both teams were decked out in 1945-style uniforms to honor their predecessors that met in the World Series 70 years earlier. That nostalgic aspect only added to the festive vibe that was in the air whenever the team from the Motor City arrived in the Windy City’s north side for inter-league action.

Playing in a National League ballpark meant Norris would bat ninth in the Tigers’ lineup. Although he had a grand total of zero professional plate appearances, Norris was ready. The day before the game, the southpaw pitcher hit left-handed during batting practice. He amazed onlookers by hitting six BP home runs. One was a line drive down the right-field line that crashed into Wrigley Field’s brand-new video board and broke a couple panels. Detroit manager Brad Ausmus commented,

“For a guy who hasn’t hit since high school, he’s got a pretty good swing. I just don’t know if that’s going to translate against major league pitchers.”

The major league pitcher that Norris would step in against was 10th-year veteran Jon Lester. Norris got his first crack against the Chicago lefty in the bottom of the second. Nick Castellanos had given the Tigers a 1-0 lead when he led off the inning with a solo home run. Norris came up with a man on first and two outs. The count was even at a ball and a strike when Lester threw a 94-mph fastball that didn’t make it to catcher David Ross’ mitt.

Norris swung, connected, and sent the pitch soaring over the ivy-covered wall in center field. Statcast measured it at 419 feet. Upon making contact, he hustled toward first base before going into a home run trot.

Just like that, Norris became the first American League pitcher to homer at Wrigley in a regular season game, the first Detroit Tigers pitcher to homer since Jason Johnson did it in 2005, and the first Tiger to homer in his first MLB at-bat since Reggie Sanders in 1974.

Commenting on his achievement, Norris told Fox Sports Detroit’s John Keating that it felt “like a dream” and was “pretty cool”, adding that he was on “cloud nine” when he realized what he’d done. Describing the at-bat, Norris said,

“The first fastball, he threw me for a strike. I looked back at Ross and said, ‘Man, I thought that was in the dirt’…I didn’t think I was seeing it well, then sure enough, (he) gave me another one and I put a good swing on it.”

Making the moment even more special was the fact that he’d hit the home run off Lester, whom Norris identified as one of his favorite pitchers. Lester was a lymphoma survivor earlier in his career, and Norris would go on to win his own fight with thyroid cancer.

Unfortunately, Norris’ mood after the Detroit’s 15-8 victory wasn’t as jovial as one would expect. In the fifth inning, an oblique strain knocked him out of the game and out of action for about a month.

Jim Walewander

The foundation of punk rock was laid down in Detroit in the late 1960s, when bands like The Stooges and MC5 were running wild and ruling the stage at the city’s legendary Grande Ballroom. It took a couple decades, however, before the very different worlds of punk rock and Detroit Tigers baseball intersected. Jim Walewander was the player that brought them together.

The Dead Milkmen, who later became known for the song “Punk Rock Girl”, played a show in nearby Hamtramck on July 25, 1987. Walewander, a rookie infielder and pinch runner for the Tigers, was at the Saturday night gig.

The next day, the four band members were Walewander’s guests at Tiger Stadium. They even got to meet Sparky Anderson and posed for a photo in the dugout with the Detroit manager. The Milkmen didn’t stick around for the Tigers’ afternoon game against the California Angels, though. Walewander joked, “I guess they’re not used to sunlight.” That’s too bad. They missed out.

Detroit held a slim 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth when Walewander came up with a man on and two outs. The Tigers’ ninth-place hitter crushed a pitch from Angels’ right-hander Willie Fraser that bounced off the facing of the upper deck in right field for a two-run home run. Walewander said that he swung as hard as he could, but then admitted that he’d also swung as hard as he could at the pitch before that, which he missed. The homer was an unexpected moment for both the ol’ skipper and the youngster.

Sparky: “Here I was sitting in the dugout, trying to figure out how to scratch out a couple more runs, and then Jimmy hits one. When it left his bat, I said, ‘That SOB is going out.'” Jimmy: “I knew I hit it good, but I thought it might go up the gap to the wall. I was kind of surprised it went that far.”

The Tigers won 6-2. Although Walewander’s favorite band wasn’t on hand to witness his heroics, his parents were. It turned out that Mr. and Mrs. Walewander weren’t actually the only ones at the ballpark who were there to see Jim play. After he crossed home plate, a group of attendees from Marquette, Michigan, announced its presence by unfurling a 20-foot “Jim Walewander Fan Club” banner in the center field bleachers. The banner then ripped in half to punctuate the moment.

It was quite a weekend for Walewander, who sported a Dead Milkmen t-shirt while talking with reporters after the game. He was asked what he would do with the home-run ball. His answer was classic. The rookie replied,

“I’m going to put it in my glove compartment with the one from my first hit. When I get enough balls to fill the glove compartment, then I’ll buy a new car.”

(Note: in the video below, footage of the home run and the fan club’s banner can be seen in a 1988 ESPN feature about Walewander, which begins at the 16:57 mark.)

Bruce Kimm

In the summer of 1976, fans flocked to Tiger Stadium whenever rookie sensation Mark Fidrych was scheduled to pitch. The excitement peaked on August 17 when Fidrych and his Detroit Tigers hosted the California Angels. There were 51,822 people on hand to watch this Tuesday night matchup between two teams with losing records. It was the largest crowd of the season at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. That’s how strong Birdmania’s appeal was.

Nobody had a better vantage point to watch it all unfold than Bruce Kimm, who caught each of Fidrych’s 29 starts that year. Kimm and the rest of Detroit manager Ralph Houk’s lineup would be facing some tough competition in this one. The Bird’s counterpart on the mound was left-hander Frank Tanana, the native Detroiter and future Tiger. Tanana went on to finish third in AL Cy Young Award balloting in 1976, right behind runner-up Fidrych. It was likely to be a low scoring game.

The Angels tallied single runs off Fidrych in the fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Kimm drew his second walk of the game. His first one went for naught when he was caught stealing to end the third inning. This time around, he scored on Ron LeFlore’s triple to put the Tigers on the board. Alex Johnson’s sacrifice fly tied the contest at 2-2.

It was still knotted up heading into the bottom of the eighth. Tanana returned to the mound for the Halos. Kimm led off the inning for the Bengals. The right-handed hitting rookie banged the southpaw’s first offering against the facing of the upper deck in left field. Triumphantly, Kimm threw both fists in the air as he made his way around the bases, literally jumping on second base, according to Detroit Free Press beat writer Jim Hawkins.

The Tigers took the lead for the first time all night thanks to Kimm’s home run and held on for a 3-2 victory. Fidrych picked up his 14th win of the season. Afterward, the Bird chirped that he was just as happy as his batterymate, “and he’s really happy.” Kimm, who wasn’t used to being the center of reporters’ attention after a game, especially after one of Fidrych’s starts, said,

“I knew when I hit it, it was gone. I’m always excited when I do something good, but this was great…I just went up there looking for a good ball to hit. I had been taking the first pitch all night. Ralph had me taking to try to get on base…I’m not known as a great hitter…My last time up in a game, I expect a pinch-hitter every time… It’s a strange feeling to be surrounded like this. It feels great.”

Houk had pinch-hitting options available to face Tanana, including right-handed hitting veterans Bill Freehan and Mickey Stanley. Instead, Houk opted to send Kimm, Detroit’s ninth-place hitter, up for one more plate appearance. Whether it was a hunch or a vote of confidence in his catcher, the decision paid off in a big way. Houk remarked,

“I wasn’t going to pinch-hit for him. He had been getting on base, and I didn’t think it was worth the gamble to send a pinch-hitter up there who hadn’t seen Tanana all night.”

Denny McLain

Denny McLain was born in and went to high school in Chicago. After graduating in June 1962, he signed his first professional contract with the Chicago White Sox and received a sizeable bonus. McLain was one of three “bonus baby” pitchers that would have to spend the entire 1963 season on Chicago’s 25-man roster or else there would be ramifications for the team.

Per Major League Baseball’s rules regarding “bonus babies” in effect at that time, no more than one of those prized prospects could be optioned to the minor leagues, although that player would still count against the major-league roster. Essentially, that meant the White Sox would be operating with only 24 active players if they went that route. If they chose to option out a second member of the trio, that guy would have to pass through waivers first.

The White Sox faced a roster crunch as they prepared to break camp in April ’63. Management decided that only one of their three “bonus babies” would go north with the team. Chicago kept Dave DeBusschere, a Detroit native who later went from MLB to the NBA and starred for the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks. Bruce Howard was optioned out, which made him a phantom 25th man. The hometown kid, McLain, was subjected to the waiver wire. The Detroit Tigers swooped in and claimed the young right-hander from the White Sox.

The Tigers were able to send McLain to the minors, where he went 18-6 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.179 WHIP across two levels. He was only 19 years old when he was called up, and he debuted at Tiger Stadium on September 21, 1963. McLain was Detroit’s starting pitcher that afternoon, and his opponents were none other than the Chicago White Sox. After the game, the rookie acknowledged that, besides the nervousness he felt while warming up, he was “a little more anxious” to beat his former organization.

McLain threw four shutout innings before the White Sox tagged him for a run in the top of the fifth. With one out in the bottom half of the inning, he stepped in for his second plate appearance against right-hander Fritz Ackley, a 26-year-old who was also making his major league debut. Batting right-handed, McLain hit a line drive that carried into the lower-deck seats in left field. The Tigers’ next batter, veteran Billy Bruton, quickly broke the 1-1 deadlock with a solo home run of his own.

Detroit added a run in the sixth. Chicago scored a pair off McLain in the top of the eighth to re-tie the game, 3-3. In the bottom half, Norm Cash, another player that the White Sox had given up on too soon, homered to put the Tigers up, 4-3. McLain pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out former Tiger Charlie Maxwell to end the game and seal the victory.

In later years, “cocky” was often a word that was used to describe McLain. That cockiness was already apparent as he fielded questions from reporters after his successful debut. Joe Falls of the Detroit Free Press documented the pitcher’s first sparring session with the press.

Press: “Denny, I notice you’ve got glasses. How often do you wear them?” McLain: “Only when I want to see.” Press: “Was this the first home run you’ve ever hit?” McLain: “It was the first extra base hit I ever got.” Press: “You’re not much of a hitter then.” McLain: “I’m better than Hank Aguirre.”

McLain had a point there. Aguirre, a veteran pitcher on the Tigers, hit only .132 with no homers in 1963. In three games that September, McLain posted a .200 average in his five at-bats.

Hack Miller

The Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians played an early season doubleheader on April 23, 1944. The visiting Tigers, who began the day winless in their first four attempts, took the opener, 6-2. In the nightcap, they trailed, 3-1, heading into the bottom of the seventh.

That’s when catcher Hack Miller took over for starter Bob Swift. Miller, at that point, had only one inning of big-league experience. The 31-year-old rookie had caught the ninth inning in the Tigers’ second game of the season, four days earlier.

It was Miller’s 4-F status (unfit for military service) that made him available as teams continued to scramble to fill their World War II era rosters with able bodies. A veteran of six minor league seasons, Miller had most recently played semi-pro ball in his home state of Texas when Detroit picked him up in spring training.

In the top of the eighth in Cleveland, the right-handed hitting Miller stepped into the batter’s box for the first time as a major leaguer. The Tigers were still down by a pair, but there were two on with two outs. Miller hit a line drive into right field that Roy Cullenbine, who debuted with Detroit in 1938 and returned to the team in 1945, didn’t read off the bat very well. He then slipped while trying to field the ball, which rolled to the base of the right-field wall. Pinky Higgins and Jimmy Outlaw both scored. By the time Cullenbine’s throw reached the infield, Miller had already crossed the plate with the go-ahead run. His inside-the-park home run provided the margin of victory, and the 4-3 triumph gave the Tigers a doubleheader sweep.

Hal Newhouser, pitching in relief, was credited with the first of his 29 wins in what turned out to be an MVP season. Newhouser had experienced middling success amidst struggles in four full seasons with the Tigers prior to 1944. In his first start of the ’44 campaign, three days earlier, he didn’t make it out of the third inning. Years later, although he misremembered some details, Newhouser selected this game against the Indians as the one that turned his career around. In a 1961 Detroit Free Press column, the future Hall of Famer acknowledged Miller’s contribution and wrote,

That victory gave me a terrific lift. It seemed to straighten me out. I began to get the ball over…I won seven straight games and was on my way to my greatest season. I’ll never forget it because it could have easily gone the other way.

Miller got into one more game for the Tigers in April before being sent to the minors. He returned for single appearances in both July and August that season. In the summer of 1945, he played in a pair of games for the eventual world champs, but that was enough for him to be rewarded with a World Series ring by the Detroit organization.

Pop Dillon

When the American League gained major-league status in 1901, the Detroit Tigers were charter members. On Opening Day, April 25, Pop Dillon became the first man to play first base for the team. The brand-new Tigers got off to a roaring start by sweeping a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Bennett Park in Detroit. Dillon contributed nine hits (including five doubles), walked twice, stole two bases, and scored seven runs in the series. Neither he nor any of his teammates hit a home run.

On April 29, the Tigers played as the road team for the very first time at Chicago’s South Side Park. The White Sox scored a run in the bottom of the first. Their 1-0 lead stayed intact through the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, Detroit’s Ducky Holmes reached safely on an error. That brought Dillon up. Reading the game coverage in a defunct Chicago newspaper called The Daily Inter Ocean makes one wish that video footage of Dillon’s at-bat existed. An uncredited scribe wrote,

The way he smote the ball over the right-field fence carried the old-time fans back to the days of David and the Philistines.

Dillon’s blast of biblical proportions gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Kid Elberfeld followed with a solo homer to give Detroit an insurance run that came in handy. Pop, Kid, Ducky and the boys in the road grays beat the White Sox, 3-2, and ran their winning streak to five games.

Throughout the years, the Tigers have had some prolific home run hitters who were first basemen. Hank Greenberg, Norm Cash, Cecil Fielder, and Miguel Cabrera immediately spring to mind. Perhaps it’s fitting that the first home run in Detroit Tigers history was hit by a first baseman.

Honorable Mention: Mickey Lolich

All of the aforementioned home runs happened in regular season games. This next one didn’t, but it’s too cool to omit. Mickey Lolich chose the biggest stage of all to take his only big-league home run trot.

In Game 2 of the 1968 World Series, the Tigers were looking to bounce back from a grueling 4-0 loss at the hands of St. Louis Cardinals strikeout machine Bob Gibson in Game 1. Willie Horton gave Detroit a 1-0 lead with a home run in the top of the second. Lolich, who was fighting a groin infection that had him feeling groggy before the game, tossed a pair of shutout innings before he took his first turn at bat with one out in the top of the third.

Lolich is rightfully remembered as an excellent left-handed pitcher, but it may surprise some to learn that he was actually a switch-hitter during his career. This time up, though, he was batting as a righty against right-handed pitcher Nelson Briles. Armed with teammate Al Kaline’s bat, Lolich stunned everyone with a drive that soared high and deep to left field in Busch Memorial Stadium. It was gone. Lolich said,

“I knew I hit it good. I saw the left fielder go back and then stop and look up, and then I heard the crowd roar. Just then, I stepped over first base. I had to go back and touch it. (The pitch) was a high fastball around my eyes. I had two strikes on me, and I just tomahawked at it to get it off me. I was shocked. I never hit a home run in professional baseball in my life. Everyone in the dugout was shocked too. They started agitating Earl Wilson, because he’s our home run hitting pitcher.”

His bomb gave the AL champs a 2-0 lead. He wouldn’t need any more run support that afternoon, but he got it anyway. The Tigers were 8-1 victors, and Lolich picked up the first of his three wins over the Cardinals. The Series moved on to Detroit for Game 3. Lolich was greeted like a conquering hero by an estimated 3,000 fans who were waiting for the Tigers’ chartered jet to arrive at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

To this day, Lolich is still the only Detroit Tigers pitcher to hit a home run in World Series play.