Okay now that we’re mostly out of pennant contenders (though the Tigers could have conceivably made the playoffs in 1988), I’m going to switch up the format a bit, as the previous format was far too time-consuming, keeping me from posting more often on the blog. It was also discouraging me from continuing the project. As interesting as some of this in-depth info was, it was just too much.
Detroit Tigers
So we have Paul Gibson (Glenn Gibson‘s father), Don Heinkel, Gary Pettis, and Luis Salazar. The real star of this group was Salazar, shockingly. He had a 95 OPS+ in 1988, and a 1.9 WAR. Paul Gibson looked like he was going to be a star, but fizzled not long afterwards. He surprisingly lasted til 94, but never lived up to what was projected for him.
Pittsburgh Pirates
I combined these two posts, as the Pirates post is pretty sad. Orestes Destrade, Jim Gott, and Barry Jones. Pretty ick. Destrade is notable for trying to pull a Cecil Fielder with the Marlins in 1993 and falling flat on his face in 94. In 88, he was just a hitter who was too old to be a prospect. I guess Jim Gott would be the centerpiece of this sad little lot, though. He did okay as a reliever in 88, putting up a .5 WAR in relief and striking out 76 in 77 IP. That’s notable, I guess.
Let’s hope tomorrow’s team is more inspiring!
NatsTown 