The 1999 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 99th season and—after nearly a century of baseball at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull—its 88th and final season at Tiger Stadium. The team had a record of 69–92 and finished in third place of the American League Central, games behind the Cleveland Indians. On September 27, 1999, Robert Fick had the final hit of the final game at Tiger Stadium, a rooftop grand slam, which was the stadium's 11,111th home run. In the 2000 season, the Tigers moved to Comerica Park.
Offseason October 6, 1998: Doug Bochtler was selected off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers. December 14, 1998: Bill Haselman was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers. December 18, 1998: Luis Polonia was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.Luis Polonia Statistics Baseball-Reference.com
Regular season
Highlights
April 12: The Final Opening Day in Tiger Stadium history. Willie Blair and Eric Milton of the Minnesota Twins engaged in a scoreless battle through several innings. The Twins finally won the game in the twelfth inning by a score of 1–0.The Final Season, p. 12, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2001, April 22: Todd Jones gets career save number 100.The Final Season, p. 22, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2001, May 6: Gabe Kapler hits his first home run in Tiger Stadium.The Final Season, p. 49, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2001, May 7–9: The Tigers played the Baltimore Orioles. Shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. does not appear in one game for the Orioles.The Final Season, p. 57, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2001, May 15: Alice Cooper tosses out the ceremonial first pitch.The Final Season, p. 70, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2001, May 16: Tony Clark hits career home run number 100.The Final Season, p. 74, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2001, May 28: Karim García becomes the 34th player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit a home run over the Tiger Stadium roof in right field.The Final Season, p. 85, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2001, June 4–6: The Tigers played the St. Louis Cardinals. First baseman Mark McGwire does not hit a home run in the series.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Transactions April 16, 1999: Mel Rojas was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Dave Mlicki to the Detroit Tigers for Robinson Checo, Aposto Garcia (minors), and Richard Roberts (minors).Mel Rojas Statistics Baseball-Reference.com May 12, 1999: Mel Rojas was released by the Detroit Tigers.
Roster 1999 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches (pitching) (third base) (bullpen) (bench) (hitting) (first base)
Final game at Tiger Stadium The final game at Tiger Stadium was played on September 27, 1999, between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers were victorious 8–2. The winning pitcher was Detroit starter Brian Moehler. The losing pitcher was Jeff Suppan.
The pregame ceremony
Prior to the final game at Tiger Stadium, a ceremony was held. It was emceed by then current Tiger broadcaster and Ford C. Frick Award recipient Ernie Harwell. The National Anthem was performed by The Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit Singers. At the ceremony, owner Mike Ilitch spoke along with then Michigan governor John Engler, then Detroit mayor Dennis Archer and Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig. Also featured at the ceremony was longtime Tiger right fielder and Hall of Famer Al Kaline.
Notably, several of the players in the game would pay tribute to former Tigers players with their uniforms; in addition to all of the uniforms being deliberately left without the names of the players, several players would wear the numbers of former Tiger legends for the game, with the selections being predetermined with a fan survey beforehand. Right fielder Karim Garcia donned Al Kaline's number 6 and first baseman Tony Clark wore Hank Greenberg's number 5; while center fielder Gabe Kapler went a step further and wore a uniform also without a number in a tribute to Ty Cobb, who played during an era when numbers were not used.September 27, 1999: Tears and Cheers- Tiger Stadium Hosts Final Game
Instead of both managers exchanging lineups before the game, both clubs appointed honorary captains. Representing the Tigers was Kaline and representing the Royals was former MVP and Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett.
The postgame ceremony
The game ended at 7:07 pm. The grounds crew then surrounded home plate. Groundskeeper Charlie McGee, using a pick axe, dug up home plate at 7:13. It would then be transported by Tiger pitchers Matt Anderson, Jeff Weaver, and Francisco Cordero, with police escort, to Comerica Park.
Ernie Harwell then read a history of Tiger Stadium accompanied by music from the movie Field of Dreams. He introduced a film containing images of such Tiger legends as Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Hughie Jennings and Harry Heilmann. In addition, the Tigers Hall of Famers were honored: Heinie Manush, Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Hal Newhouser, George Kell, and Harwell.
Following remarks from Willie Horton and former manager Sparky Anderson, there emerged from the center field gate players from times past, including Mark Fidrych, Bill Freehan, Dick McAuliffe, Dave Bergman, Mickey Stanley, Willie Horton, Kirk Gibson, Cecil Fielder, Al Kaline, the combination of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker, and Elden Auker. A line was formed from the center field flagpole to home plate, along which was passed the flag that had flown from the pole in dead center over the finale.
After Auker passed the flag to catcher Brad Ausmus, players threw souvenirs into the stands as some reached over and put dirt from the warning track into plastic bags. It was at this time that Harwell gave his final goodbye: "Tonight, we say good-bye. ... Farewell, old friend Tiger Stadium. We will remember."
At 8:19, the scoreboard was shut off. At quarter to nine, a final team picture was taken, and by 9 the stands were empty. As the last of the fans left, a sign was hung on the famous right-center field overhang which read: "Today, there is crying in baseball. So long, old friend."
Ernie Harwell's farewell
"Ladies and gentlemen, less than six months ago, we began a warm season of farewells, and with each passing day we came a little bit closer to this historic occasion.
"The Lions, Joe Louis and Nelson Mandela. 6,873 regular-season games, 35 postseason contests and a trio of spectacular All-Star Games, Tiger Stadium has been home to this great game of baseball. But more than anything, it has been a cherished home to our memories.
"Will you remember that last base hit? The last out? How about that last pitch? Or maybe it's the first time as a child when you saw that green, green grass that will forever be etched into your mind and soul.
"Tonight, we say good-bye. But we will not forget. Open your eyes, look around and take a mental picture. Moments like this shall live on forever.
"It's been 88 moving years at Michigan and Trumbull. The tradition built here shall endure along with the permanence of the Olde English D. But tonight we must say good-bye.
"Farewell, old friend Tiger Stadium. We will remember."
Player stats
= Indicates team leader
Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBIDean Palmer 150560 147 .26338 100Damion Easley 151 549 146 .266 2065Tony Clark 143 536 150 .28031 99Deivi Cruz 155 518 147 .28413 58Juan Encarnación 132509 130 .25519 74Brad Ausmus 127 458 126 .2759 54 Gabe Kapler 130 416 102 .24518 49Bobby Higginson 107377 90 .23912 46 Luis Polonia 87 333 108 .32410 32Karim García 96 288 69 .24014 35Frank Catalanotto 100 286 79 .276 11 18Gregg Jefferies 70 205 41 .2006 14Bill Haselman 48143 39 .2734 3Kimera Bartee 41 77 15 .1950 0Brian Hunter 18 55 13 .2360 4Gabe Alvarez 22 53 11 .2082 8Jason Wood 27 44 7 .1591 1Robert Fick 15 41 9 .2203 3Luis García 8 9 1 .111 0 0José Macías 54 1 .2501 1Pitcher Totals161202.10001Team Totals16154811433.261212704
Note: Individual pitchers' batting statistics not included
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SOBrian Moehler 32 196.1 10 16 5.04 106 Dave Mlicki 31 191.214 12 4.60 119Jeff Weaver 30 163.2 9 12 5.55 114Justin Thompson 24142.2 911 5.11 83
Relief and other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA SO Willie Blair 39 134.0 3 11 0 6.85 82 Doug Brocail 70 82.0 4 4 2 2.52 78C. J. Nitkowski 68 81.2 4 5 0 4.30 66Dave Borkowski 17 76.2 2 6 0 6.10 50Nelson Cruz 29 66.2 2 5 0 5.67 46Todd Jones 65 66.1 4 4 30 3.80 106Masao Kida 49 64.2 10 1 6.26 50Bryce Florie 27 51.1 2 1 0 4.56 40Matt Anderson 37 38.0 2 1 0 5.68 32Francisco Cordero 20 19.0 2 2 0 3.32 19 Will Brunson 17 12.0 1 0 0 6.00 9Sean Runyan 12 10.2 0 1 0 3.38 6Erik Hiljus 6 8.2 0 0 0 4.15 1Mel Rojas 5 6.1 0 0 0 22.74 6Beiker Graterol 1 4.0 0 1 0 15.75 2Felipe Lira 2 3.1 0 0 0 10.80 3Willis Roberts 1 1.1 0 0 0 13.50 0 Team Pitching Totals1611421.06992335.17976
Farm system
Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
See also
1999 in baseball
References
External links Baseball-Reference.com 1999 Tigers