Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 38

6D DETROIT FREE PRESS I WWW.FREEP COM 7D Ik. "When you're playing in a season like this, you've got a TOM BROOKENS, talking about his 1984 Tigers, as well as the 2006 version certain swagger and cockiness that you just feel, "This is our year. I i'- '0 VJ fc 4 -4 SUNDAY, AUG. 13, 2006 WORLD SERIES CHAMPION I CATCHING UP WITH TOM 57 Brookens: '06 Tigers look a lot like '84 ft I The Tigers have had the There's more on '84! Check out By JOHN LOWE FREE PRESS SI'ORTS WRITER our expanded feature on Tom Members of the 1984 World Series Tigers team, clockwise from tiger cub Garfield, are Lance Parrish, Lou Whi-taker, Alan Tram-mell and Chet Lemon. v-v -J Detroit Free Press file photo No fire was too great for Tigers closer Willie Hernandez in his '84 dream season.

BILL McGRAW MOTOR CITY JOURNAL PHOTO MEMORIES Free Press photographer fcl) "V' 1 'w Mary Schroeder covered the Tigers in 1984 her first year covering the team and snapped tion of Brookens, who fol American League's lowest team ERA since the season's early days. They haven't finished a season with the league's lowest ERA since 1984. "Wow, what's that tell us?" Brookens said. "Let's get some pitching and we've got a chance to win. And that's no secret." I Like the '84 Tigers, the '06 Tigers are strong up the middle defensively.

"That's the core of your defense, plain and simple," Brookens said. The '84 Tigers had Lance Parrish at catcher, Lou Whitaker at second, Alan Trammell at short and Chet Lemon in center. The current Tigers have Ivan Rodriguez at catcher, PlacidoPolanco at second, Carlos Guillen at short and Curtis Grander-son in center. "If you're going to have a good club, the giiys up the middle have to be said. I The '84 Tigers didn't have anyone contend foi the league lead in homers or RBlls.

But in '84, as now, the Tigers hadinany hitters having solid seasons. That has caught the atten- Brookensatfreep.com, This season, it came when manager Jim Leyland put rookies Justin Ver-lander and Joel Zumaya on the team. In '84, it came when the Tigers traded position players Glenn Wilson and John Wockenfuss to Philadelphia for first baseman Dave Bergman and left-hander Willie Hernandez, a reliever who'd never had more than 10 saves in a season. "I was thinking, 'What the heck are they Brookens said. "They were getting rid of these two guys for two guys that don't seem to be anything special.

I thought, 'They make the decisions, and we live with them. But I don't agree with that decision right "And then Willie goes out and wins the MVP and the Cy Young." By late in spring training this year, no one could question that Ver-lander and Zumaya belonged on the Tigers. But perhaps no one could have expected the two rookies to do as much as they have. ONEONTA, N.Y. As Tom Brookens can verify, similarities abound between the 1984 Tigers and this season's Tigers.

These similarities began to surface 10 days before Opening Day. They have continued to mount. Now, as the season lengthens, a new one has arisen. Like the '84 Tigers, the current Tigers have a comfortable mid-August lead in their division. They have the town enraptured.

So how do the current Tigers make sure to finish off the regular season the way the '84 Tigers did? As a player, how do you make sure the wonderful season doesn't get away from you, when you already have done so much and created so much excitement? "More than anything, you feed off of it," said Brookens, a member of the '84 Tigers. "The excitement itself creates excitement in you as a player. There is no question about that." if- the famous Kirk Gibson photo. Her thoughts on 1984: After they won, I was there for three hours, I had to protect my cameras from being sprayed with champagne. The joy of winning: It was pure, raw emotion.

At the time (in 1984), they (other teams) stank. And as Gibson expressed it, it was "We are the king." Few will remember the pictures from this 2006 Tigers team if they win, but many will always remember the Gibson picture because it was a very defining moment in Detroit history. Afterward, I slept for three days. It was fun. Gibson and I will always be linked together.

lows the Tigers primarily through the box scores. "To tell you such-and-such player is hitting such-and-such, I couldn't tell you," Brookens said. "I know guys are having good years. Which seems to be about all of them." Now we'll see if those good years extend into October and, if so, how far into it. Contact JOHN LOWE at 313-223053 or jlowefreepress.com.

Free Press file photo er in '84. He's now in his second year as a manager in the beginning level of the minors, at the Tigers' Class A club in Oneonta, N.Y. One recent hot afternoon, he sat in the empty stands at the Oneonta park and talked about similarities between the 1984 Tigers and this season's Tigers: I With 10 days to go until Opening Day, pitching help joined the club. The '84 Tigers emphatically finished the job. After mid-August, their lead never got smaller than TA games.

They won the division by 15 games. They lost once in the postseason as they won the world title. This season's Tigers can deliver Detroit its first World Series title since '84. Brookens is the closest thing to a link between '84 and now. He was the trusty, part-time infield- COMPARE I THE FL AYERS Here's how the two Tigers teams compare, statistically: iJ I I Rf "una L-J LJ-j V-J 1984 TIGERS 2006 TIGERS (46 GAMES LEFT) REGULARS BA HR RBI REGULARS BA HR RBI IB Dave Bergman .273 7 44 IB Sean Casey .285 5 36 2B Lou Whitaker .289 13 56 2B PlacidoPolanco .294 3 44 SS Alan Trammell .314 14 69 SS Carlos Guillen .305 13 66 3B Tom Brookens .246 5 26 3B Brandon Inge .246 21 62 OF Chet Lemon .287 20 76 OF Marcus Thames .267 21 46 OF Kirk Gibson .282 27 91 OF Curtis Granderson .277 12 53 OF Larry Herndon .280 7 43 OF Magglio Ordonez .296 16 79 Lance Parrish .237 33 98 Ivan Rodriguez .298 9 51 DH Darrell Evans .232 16 63 DH Craig Monroe .271 19 62 STARTERS W-L ERA SV STARTERS W-L ERA SV Jack Morris 19-11 3.60 0 Justin Verlander 14-5 2.95 0 Dan Petry 18-8 3.24 0 Kenny Rogers 11-6 4.36 0 Milt Wilcox 17-8 4.00 0 Jeremy Bonderman 11-5 3.76 0 Juan Berenguer 11-10 3.48 0 Nate Robertson 10-8 3.82 0 Dave Rozema 7-6 3.74 0 Zach Miner 7-2 4.05 0 BULLPEN W-L ERA SV BULLPEN W-L ERA SV Willie Hernandez 9-3 1.92 32 Todd Jones 2-5 4.63 34 Aurelio Lopez 10-1 2.94 14 Joel Zumaya 6-2 2.09 1 DouqBair 5-3 3.75 4 Jamie Walker 0-0 1.59 0 1 eLj I' 1 '0.

13 1BJ i '84 TIGERS I WHERE ARE THEY NOW? CM Lemon, 51, Lake County, Fli: President of Florida AAU. mson Simmons, 43, San Diego aria: Mortgage loan officer and a hi school baseball coach. Pick your favorite moments of '84 Bill McGraw covered the Tigers for the Free Press in 1984. His best memories of the season: I Spring training, when Jack Morris made his disdainful "Bleep Baltimore" challenge to the 1983 world champions, and it leaked out of a team meeting and caused a minor bleep storm. I The day in Florida when the Tigers released University of Michigan hero Rick Leach, and Leach had to tell his wife and say good-bye to teammates during a game.

I Owner Tom Monaghan celebrating his 47th birthday by putting on a uniform, playing catch with Al Kaline and saying people should eat pizza for breakfast. I Willie Hernandez arriving after the big trade and announcing: "I wanted to show people I have my attitude together." I The Tigers winning their first regular-season game. And their second. And their third. And their fourth, which was a Morris no-hitter against Chicago on national TV.

And 1 will never forget them coming home, 5-0, and winning Opening Day, and Dar-rell Evans hitting a home run and then talking about having seen a UFO in California, naturally. I April 13, a Friday, when the Tigers beat the Red Sox in Boston, and many of the numbers added up to 13, including the Tigers' runs and the number of the player Lance Parrish who weirdly made all three outs in the first inning. I How the Tigers became national celebrities for opening the season 35-5, an amazing two months that included Rusty Kuntz, a career .216 hitter, batting .414 and winning games in the clutch. I The way the Tigers flocked to see "The Natural," the famed baseball film starring Robert Redford, and how Chet Lemon said, "It almost made me cry." I How the Seattle Mariners ended the streak with a series sweep that dropped the Tigers' record to a disappointing 35-8. I The passions of fans, and how they started the Wave, the collegiate creation that received some of its first national exposure at Tiger Stadium that summer, and how they scared the Tigers brass into reducing beer in the bleachers, and how they rebelled against the playing of John Denver's cheesy "Country Boy" on the stadium public-address system.

I The southeastern Michigan diaspora, scattered across the Sun Belt because of the poor economy of the 1980s, cheering the Tigers like a home team on the road. I The night Dave Bergman spent seven minutes at the plate against Toronto's Roy Lee Jackson, fouling off seven two-strike pitches and slamming a three-run dinger into the upper deck for a 6-3 victory over the Blue Jays. I Lemon's back-to-the-plate catch in August of Mike Easler's deep fly ball, a maneuver that resembled Willie Mays' catch in the '54 World Series. .1. Wa vvmfmtMmmmmm -Jfollto' Catcher Lance Parrish might have only hit .237 for the Tigers, but his 33 home runs -tops on the team certainly played a big part in Detroit getting to pop the champagne after the Series.

COMPARE I THE TEAMS 1984 2006 Tigers with 10 HR 8 7 Top hitter SS Alan SS Carlos Trammell Guillen (.314) (.305) BA .271 .278 OBP .341 .331 SLG .432 .454 ERA 3.49 3.66 All-Stars 6 3 Winning at home .646 .661 Winning on road .638 .650 in Extra ,846 .571 Innings Winnings vs. Chi- .667 .273 50X Winning vs. Bos- .467 .333 ton Winnings vs. New .538 .250 York Longest winning 9 8 streak Longest losing 4 4 streak Tigers after 116 75-41 76-40 games Division lead at 8 over 6'Aover the time TOR CWS April record 18-2 16-9 May record 19-8 19-9 June record 18-12 20-7 July record 16-12 15-10 Current status of the former champs and their current residence. PITCHERS Glenn Abbott, 55, North Little Rock, Pitching coach with the San Diego Padres' Double-A Mobile Bay (Ala.) Bears.

Doug Bair, 56, Cincinnati: Pitching coach for the Reds minor league affiliate Billings (Mont.) Mustangs in the rookie advanced Pioneer League. In the off-season he is a mortgage loan officer for Guardian Savings Bank in Cincinnati. Juan Berenguer, 5L Minneapolis area: Will be opening a pre-owned auto dealership in Bloo-mington in September. Guillermo (Willie) Hernandez, 5L Puerto Rico: Sold his construction business and now owns and operates a farm. Aurelio Lopez: Was mayor of his hometown of Tecamachalco, Mexico, when he was killed in an automobile-related accident in 1992.

Roger Mason, 47, Bellaire: Sold his restaurant, Mason's Big League Pizza, and now heads up Northern Michigan House of Prayer. Sid Monge, 55, Tucson, Pitching coach for the State College (Pa.) Spikes, a Cardinals Class A affiliate. Jack Morris, 5L Minneapolis area: Does some commentary for Minnesota Twins radio broadcasts. Randy O'Neal, 45, Orlando: Is a players' agent for the Legends Management Group. Dan Petry, 47, Farmington Hills: Sales representative for XPEDX Seaman Patrick in Livonia, a division of International Paper.

In off-season he co-hosts "Inside Tiger Town" each week. Dave Rozema, 50, Grosse Pointe: Program manager for Steptron Technologies in Fraser. Bill Scherrer, 48, Grand Island, N.Y.: He is a scout and special assistant to Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams. Milt Wilcox, 56, metro Detroit. Owner of Ultimate Air Dogs, which conducts dog-jumping competitions.

His Labrador retriever, Sparky, is a national Taking year off after being fired as Tigers manager in October 2005. Wants to resume coaching next season. Lou Whitaker, 49, Lakeland, Serves as an instructor during the Tigers' spring training and is very active with Jehovah's Witnesses. OUTFIELDERS Rod Allen, 46, metro Detroit In fourth season as the color analyst on FSN Tigers telecasts. Kirk Gibson, 49, metro Detroit-Owns real estate investment firm.

Served three seasons as Tigers bench coach (2003-05). Johnny Grubb, 58, Richmond, Head coach at high school alma mater, Richmond Meadowbrook. Larry Herndon, 52, Arlington, In second year as hitting coach for Class A Lakeland Tigers. Ruppert Jones, 51, San Diego: Sells employee benefits to government contractors for the Boon Group. Rusty Kuntz, 51, Pittsburgh: 1 Roving coach in the Pirates organization.

champion. He is also a partner instructor with Detroit Batting Academy in Utica. Carl Willis, 45, Durham, N.C.: Cleveland Indians pitching coach. CATCHERS Marty Castillo, 49, whereabouts unknown: Teammates are trying to find him. A few years ago, he owned the Homeplate Restaurant in Cape Coral, Fla.

Dwight Lowry: While manager of the Tigers' Jamestown, N.Y., farm club, he died of a heart attack in 1997 at age 39. Lance Parrish, 50, Yorba Manager of the Ogden (Utah) Raptors, a Dodgers affiliate in the Pioneer (Rookie Advanced) League. INFIELDERS Doug Baker, 45, Fallbrook, Coaches baseball travel teams and conducts clinics for Major League Beginnings. Dave Bergman, 53, metro Detroit: Partner and senior portfolio manager at Sigma Investment Counselors in Southfield. Founder of the Grosse Pointe Redbirds baseball organization.

Part-time partner and instructor with the Hitting Zone, an indoor baseball training center in Chesterfield Township. Tom Brookens, 53, Fayetteville, Manager of the Oneonta Tigers, a Class A affiliate in New York-Penn League. Scott Earl, 45, Indianapolis: Sales representative for Westfield Steel. Darrell Evans, 59, Long Beach, Manager of the Long Beach Armada in the independent Golden Baseball League. His designated hitter is Jose Canseco, and his pitching coach is '68 Tiger Jon Warden.

Barbara Garbey, 49, Livonia: Batting coach for the Peoria Chiefs, a Chicago Cubs affiliate. In the off-season he conducts private baseball lessons at Total Sports in Wixom. Howard Johnson, 45, Hobe Sound, Hitting coach for the Mets' Triple-A Norfolk (Va.) Tides. Mike Laga, 46, Northampton, Mortgage loan officer at Applied Mortgage Services. Alan Trammell, 48, Del Mar, COACHES Mi nager Sparky Anderson, 72, Thpusand Oaks, Retired.

Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fajne in 2000. Hitting coach Gates Brown, 67, Detroit: Retired. Previously owned an automotive-related company. Bench coach Billy Consolo, 72, Wtstlake Village, Retired and lives 15 minutes from lifelong friend Anderson. Pitching coach Roger Craig, 76, Bofrego Springs, Retired.

Managed the Giants in 1985-92. Won NL pennant in 1989. Third-base coach Alex Grammas, 80, Birmingham, Retired after leaving the Tigers in 1991. First-base coach Dick Tracewski, Detroit Free Press COMPARE I THE YEARS 1984 Present Kirk Gibson's Fu Manchu Ordonez's long locks Rightfielder hair TijerStadJum Lions The Corner Future mini mall? "4-11-1" Fad Hulk-mania Gum Time Debut Miami Vice on TV M.ami Vice in theaters Biggest sports story Carl Lewis runs for gold at Maurice Clarett runs from the Olympics police jr Ohio Hilt single "When Doves Cry" by Prince "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley Gas prices $1.25 $312 Big in computers Macintosh 128K ($2,495) iMac ($1,299) Dallasjjrama TV show T.O. show tigers' 2006 rotation Avg.

age in 1984: 6 Current ERA: 3.73 711 Peckville, Retired with Anjderson in 1995 after 30 years asla player and coach with Ti- 1 ge s. i COMPILED BY BILL DUW CENTERFIELD '84: Chet Lemon '06: Curtis Granderson Give Curtis Granderson credit for far surpassing first-year expec SECOND BASE SHORTSTOP '84: Lou WhitakerAlan Trammell '06: Placido PolancoCarlos Guillen FIRST BASE '84: Darrell EvansDave Bergman '06: Sean Casey Sean Casey's recent arrival barkens fond memories of Darrell Evans' soothing presence in that '84 clubhouse. He was the Tigers' first prominent free-agent acquisition, and even CATCHER '84: Lance Parrish '06: Pudge Rodriguez This is the only positional category that's reasonably close when assessing the two teams. You run on Pudge Rodriguez at your own peril. The same was true with Lance Parrish 22 years ago.

Parrish was a free-swinging .230 hitter, but he was a feared power threat in the four-hole. tations offensively and defensively. He strikes out more than Why are we even having this discus ESP! tnough his bio power numbers THIRD BASE '84: 3B-by-committee '06: Brandon Inge You've got to give 2006 an edge somewhere, don't you? This truly becomes a dominating team when Brandon Inge becomes an incredibly valuable utility man. But, in the Interim, he's made third base a far more stable position than the three-headed monster of Howard Johnson, Tom Brookens and Marty Castillo in 1984. His on-base percentage is frightening for an everyday player, but he will make a pitcher pay for mistakes more than the average No.

9 hitter (tied for the team high with 21 home runs), and he's worked hard at improving defensively. EDGC; CLOSER '84: Willie Hernandez '06: Todd Jones Hernandez was money case closed. All you need to say Is 32 saves in 32 opportunities with a 3-to-l strikeout-to-walk ratio -112 strikeouts and 36 walks. Hernandez benefited from great timing. He spent his entire career in the National League before the Tigers acquired him and Bergman from Philadelphia Just one week before the start of the season.

He took home both Cy Young and Most Valuable Player honors, confounding unfamiliar AL batters with great control and a crazy screwball. Todd Jones is what he is. He'll get his saves, but they won't come without him far too often putting the game-tying run on base. The best closers create a sense of resignation from the opposing team in the ninth Inning, But Pudge, being the only certifi LEFTFIELD '84: Larry Herndon '06: MonroeThames Career fourth outfielders Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames perhaps personify this team more than anybody else existing so far over their heads that their noses bleed for a week. They've combined for 40 homers entering the Chicago series this weekend, but the front office looked long and hard at acquiring a significant upgrade In left at the trading deadline.

It might be a flirtatious mirage that turns to sand down the stretch in September, but you've got to tip your helmet to Monroe with his recent hitting. He was previously branded as a late-season stats padder when the games proved Irrelevant. But his second-half numbers easily roll him past Larry Herndon, whose quiet consistency was taken for granted because of his reticence to talk. BULLPEN '84: Aurelio Lopez '06: Zumaya-Rodney Aurelio Lopez didn't know it at the time, but the portly flamethrower was one of the forefathers of what became the situational eighth-inning set-up man. The '84 Tigers were 62-0 with a lead after eight innings, and Lopez never got the credit he deserved in holding those leads for Willie Hernandez.

They didn't need much else because Morris and Petry regularly pitched seven innings. The game has become more situational 22 years later, mandating a deeper, more versatile bullpen. Joel (Zoom-Zoom) Zumaya's 100 m.p.h. heat provides the flash and it would score much higher if Fernando Rodney had better command of his set-up responsibilities. EDGE: STARTING PITCHING '84: Morris-Petry-Wilcox '06: Bonderman-Verlander-Rogers Nowhere Is the comparison of these two seasons more ridiculous than this category.

The 2006 Tigers' strength is its starting pitching depth. They can go five deep whereas the 1984 edition could only go three deep with Jack Morris, Dan Petry and Milt Wilcox. But who knows how the Tigers' untested 20-some-things will respond should the playoffs await; they've never been there before. That's why you can't measure these guys to 1984. We know that Morris and Petry totaled 473 innings in the regular season.

We know that Morris was a postseason horse, going 3-0 with two complete-game victories in the World Series. Verlander and Bonderman might develop Into a tandem worthy of Morris-Petry distinction, but came a year later when he led the league RIGHTFIELD '84: Kirk Gibson '06: Magglio Ordonez This one's Interesting because Magglio Ordonez seemed ticketed for Cooperstown after he put together a four-season run in Chicago in which he averaged 33 homers and 123 RBIs and then he severely damaged his left knee in 2004. He might never reach those numbers again because it seems he still can't generate the necessary torque with that left knee. He's solid and reliable, but Gibby that year was a waiting explosion at any given moment from the No. 3 hole 27 homers and 29 stolen bases.

He was the most exciting player to watch on that team, bringing a football ferocity to the ballpark. And besides, Gibson remains the enduring image of the Roar of '84 after his second home run in the Game 5 World Series clincher. I don't think Maggs could jump that high now even with a hot sion? Whitaker and Trammell will forever be judged jointly. They were the you'd like for a lead-off hitter. is someone you able Hall of Famer from either team, closes the gap.

EDGE: Even IfX SHARP I '06 team mirrors '91 Braves From Page ID mistic with a World Series championship that came out of nowhere in 1969. They were a collection of discarded or lightly regarded role players combined with the core of a young dominating pitching staff Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry and a spot starter by the name of Nolan Ryan. Or how about the 1991 Atlanta Braves? They never finished higher than fifth in the National League West in the previous six seasons, including three consecutive last place finishes from 1988-90. But there were some veteran free agents finding one last breath merging with an impressive young pitching staff anchored by then 25-year-old Tom Glavine, 24-year-old Lansing Waverly standout John Smoltz and 21-year-old Taylor native Steve Avery. Those are more logical comparisons.

But this is Detroit and when seeking a championship measuring stick, it always comes back to 1984's start-to-finish supremacy. So for argument's sake, play along. Contact DREW SHARP at 313-223-40 or dxharpfreepress.com. tOP NO. 1 iiJMEU with 40 home runs, he gave Parrish suffi id and No, 2 hitters that sea cient protection yr Catcher Lance Parrish is the first to congratulate Jack Morris after the tossed a no-hitter in the fourth game of the mm envision evolving into a Garret Anderson-type player, a productive No.

5 or No. 6 hitter. His role will change in time. He's a future leftfielder with the hotly anticipated development of premier prospect Cameron Maybin. But there's no way you take him over Chet Lemon, voted into the American League All-Star starting lineup in 1984, who was unmatched in patrolling Tiger Stadium's vast centerfield dimensions.

EDGE: and Jones doesn't instill fear only anxiety. EDGE: CU'-i 'J! i i I -V. EDGE: son, responsible for Detroit scoring in the first 21 times during that 35-5 start. They combined for 67 runs in those 40 games. The trades that brought Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen here for Ugueth Urbina and Ramon Santiago, respectively, might qualify as grand larceny along the lines of acquiring the '72 East title from the Senators for Denny McLain's withered right arm in 1970.

But nobody tops "Tram-aker." EDGE: in that lineup batting fifth. But the key variable in this debate is Dave Bergman. They traded for him primarily for his late-inning defensive prowess, but he also produced seven homers and 44 RBIs that season, First basemen shouldn't bat in the bottom third of the lineup, but that's what it has become with these Tigers. '06 until then, you '06 foot. rj mm must go with the proven com modity.

EDGE: '8fc i' TV; 'A 'S4 yMA' OVERALL: '84: 104-58, World Series champs '06: 106-56 (projected), TBD EDGE: 'Bt rS4t Pi'rlr -r" 'T-t-m JM 1-1 Mm, irirTi-i-fm MARY SCHIiOEDERDetrolt Free Press '8t I WHM- I Inn sis l--l-lliB4iilil.