Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • B5

FREEP.COM MONDAY, JULY 22, 2019 5B Cover story Baseball The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., grew quite a bit Sunday with the addition of six players in this class. Harold Baines and Lee Smith, picked by the Game Era committee, join Baseball Writers Association of America picks Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera. Since no Tigers going in this year sorry, Sweet Lou we thought take a look at how the six fared against the Tigers in their careers: Harold Baines Whether you think of him as a White Sox or Orioles hitter plaque will feature him in a White Sox cap Baines spent a lot of seasons facing the Tigers in double-digit games. In all, he faced the Old English in 213 games (199 starts) over his 22 years in the ma- jors. Over that span, he hit .279 against the Tigers, slightly below his .289 career batting average.

Still, 30 of his 384 homers about 7.8% came against the Tigers. His best sea- son against the Tigers came in 1995, when he had 19 hits (eight for extra bases) in 36 at-bats and walked seven times while striking out just three times, for a slash line. Lee Smith Smith came out of the bullpen for eight teams over his 18-year career, but spent much of that time in the National League, mostly before the advent of interleague play. Still, Smith faced the Tigers 18 times in his career, all in relief. He was fairly dominant, too, strik- ing out 25 and allowing just three earned runs over innings.

He was particularly tive in 1989 with the Red Sox, picking up saves with 10 strikeouts in six innings. Roy Halladay Halladay spent 12 of his 16 years in the ma- jors with the Blue Jays, and the Tigers prob- ably wish moved to the Senior Circuit a bit earlier; dominated the Tigers, post- ing a 2.19 ERA against the Tigers in 119 innings over 16 starts. He struck out 73 Tigers and walked just 10 while going 12-2 against De- troit. two losses to the Tigers came about years apart; he lasted just four in- nings though he only allowed one run on Sept. 8, 2001, in a 4-3 loss, then gave up six earned runs in innings on Opening Day 2004 as the Tigers, coming a 119-loss sea- son, opened the season with a 7-0 blanking of the Jays on April 5, 2004.

Edgar Martinez The career Seattle Mariner hit just under his career average of .312 against the Tigers, putting up a .306 average in 445 at-bats against the Tigers. Martinez also had 29 dou- bles, 16 homers and 82 walks, while striking out just 74 times against Detroit. The main culprit for struggles vs. The Ti- gers? Comerica Park. Martinez hit just .232 at the CoPa, with just four extra-base hits in 19 games.

Martinez was much better at Tiger Stadium, posting a slash line in 44 games at The Corner. Mike Mussina Mussina spent his entire 18-year career in the American League, with 10 years with the and eight years with the Yankees. Mussi- na enters the Hall with a 3.68 ERA but was better against the Tigers, putting up a 2.91 ERA in 31 starts. Mussina went 17-7 against Detroit, with 190 strikeouts in innings. Oddly enough, Mussina struggled at Comerica Park, putting up a 5.00 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in three starts at the new park.

Mussina was masterful at Tiger Stadium, however, with a 2.45 ERA and 68 strikeouts in innings there. Mariano Rivera The Tigers had plenty of experience with Rivera, facing him in 55 games, but little suc- cess, scoring just nine earned runs against the Yankees closer, for a 1.34 ERA. Rivera had 55 strikeouts in innings. Rivera was even better, unsurprisingly, against the Tigers at Comerica Park, with a 0.54 ERA in 15 appear- ances. He allowed just one home run at the CoPa, a three-run blast down the right line by Curtis Granderson in the ninth-inning on April 29, 2009.

The Tigers scored runs in that inning only one Rivera but the Yankees still won, 8-6. Tigers took their cuts against these Hall of Famers Ryan Ford Detroit Free Press USA TODAY NETWORK Before then, Detroit vs. Toronto was all about hockey. The Red Wings-Maple Leafs rivalry is one of the NHL's most popular bat- tles. It was violent when Red Wings fans ac- cused Maple Leafs center Ted Kennedy of pur- posely injuring Gordie Howe in the 1950 play- It was ugly when a Toronto fan threat- ened to shoot Howe and Ted Lindsay six years later.

In the mid-80s, the Tigers and Blue Jays were two of the best teams in baseball. Detroit was rounding into World Series form and To- ronto looked to change its reputation from scrappy expansion team to a title contender. Detroit jumped out to a 35-5 start in 1984, but the Blue Jays were never too far behind in the AL East standings. The Tigers weren't to be denied that year, winning the World Series, but Doug remembers Toronto providing some memorable battles. went to the weekend games in mid- September in Doug said via a text mes- sage on Saturday.

excitement during that weekend has not been matched in my opinion. The wave was a new thing and doing it during that series was literally like watching a 'liquid' Toronto won the division in 1985, giving Mark a turn to be the excited fan in the house. His hopes were dashed weeks later after the Blue Jays blew a 3-1 series lead to Kansas City in the American League Championship Series. It was the year the series became a best- of-seven format. Mark still wonders what could have been.

Toronto was close to winning the AL East again with seven games remaining in the 1987 season. The Tigers trailed by 3.5 games. This was when the rivalry was at its peak. on, I recall a lot of bad blood," Doug said. as we got later into the 80s, some of those Blue Jays had thin skins.

George Bell. (Jesse) (Lloyd) Moseby. Those guys were jerks. Of course, we had (Kirk) Gib- son, who was volatile. I recall a lot of choice words in games in 87, especially in that last se- In that series, Detroit swept all three from the Blue Jays at home and clinched the divi- sion on the weekend, ending one of the great divisional races in baseball history.

Mark still has never gotten over that one. At least he have to watch another Ti- gers World Series, as the Tigers were bested in by the Minnesota Twins in the ALCS. Two years later, the Tigers were the worst team in the division with a 59-103 record while Toronto returned to the Blue Jays got their taste of World Series glory, winning in 1992 and 1993. Those were two of favorite years as a sports fan. Joe Carter homer is his Doug said.

But then, the rivalry The door shut when Detroit was shifted to the AL Cen- tral in 1998. Now with unbalanced scheduling, the Tigers and Blue Jays play just two series each season. But there are still clues of a Detroit-Toronto rivalry. Pistons coach Dwane Casey was named NBA coach of the year in 2018 for the job he did with the Raptors. A job done so well, he was after they were swept out of the Last season, Casey's Pistons swept the sea- son series from the Raptors, 3-0.

Toronto got the last laugh, though, winning the franchise's NBA title. Rebecca Dumontier, a bartender at the Dug- out Sports Lounge in Windsor, a melting pot for Blue Jays and Tigers fans, has seen the bar packed with a mix of fans from both teams. a lot of banter that goes back and Dumontier said on the phone Saturday. no signs of a On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Blue Jays fans had a strong presence in Comerica Park. one of those places where Cana- dians can kind of commute from the border to a four-hour drive, some Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman said Friday.

mean, our fans travel to any northern city in America. I feel like always a home game for Fans too young to remember that former Ti- gers slugger Cecil Fielder broke into the majors with Toronto, let alone the Alan Trammell-Bell MVP debate from '87, know sup- posed to hate the Blue Jays, but for some fans that rivalry always burn. a Tigers fan, it never leaves Doug said. always want to beat that team." rivalry will never Rivalry Continued from Page 1B Mark McCready, left, and his brother Doug, in Grand Rapids. DOUG MCCREADY COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.

The chants began even before greatest closer stood to make his speech. Mariano! The former New York Yankees reliever paused and smiled. understand why I have to always be the Mariano Rivera joked at his Hall of Fame induction Sunday. guess being the last one is Rivera and fellow closer Lee Smith, starters Mike Mussina and the late Roy Halladay, and designated hitters Edgar Martinez and Harold Baines were feted on a sun-splashed day in Cooperstown. Taking the podium last as he had predicted, Rivera delivered a speech that included a brief thank you to his native Pana- ma and the fans there.

special for said Rivera, who spoke from notes although he had his speech ready if needed. you for your help. Lat- in American fans, thank you. Thank you for loving me. so humbled and blessed to re- ceive this incredible honor.

God bless you The career saves leader with 652, Rivera was the unanimous Hall of Fame pick by the Baseball Association of America. He pitched 19 seasons in the major leagues, all with the Yankees, and retired with 952 games also a record. A 13-time All-Star, Rivera helped the Yan- kees win World Series titles and seven American League pennants. He led the AL in saves three times and with 40 or more saves nine times, a record he shares with Hall of Famer Trevor widow, Brandy, fought back tears as she spoke. Halla- day was 40 when he was killed in a plane crash in November 2017.

knew I was going to cry at some point. overwhelming the amount of people here to- she said. so grateful here. I tell you how many hugs gotten. They have extended so much love and friendship.

so grateful. thank yous should and could go on for days. There are not enough words to thank you. I say it a lot, but it takes a Smiling from beginning to end, Smith con- gratulated his new classmates before crediting his family and hometown of Castor, Louisiana, for much of his success. been my family.

the main reason standing here to- Smith said. my mom and dad your support has meant everything to Smith pitched 18 seasons for the Cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Reds and Expos and retired as career saves leader with 478, a title he held for 13 seasons. That total ranks third all-time, as do his 802 games Martinez was a seven-time All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner for Se- attle, where he spent his entire 18-year career. Martinez delivered the part of his speech in Spanish before congratulating the other inductees. am honored and humbled to be standing said Martinez, who was born in New York and grew up in Puerto Rico.

is hard to believe that a dream that started when I was 10 years old (ended here). The time I saw Ro- berto Clemente, all I wanted to do was play the game. What an honor to have my plaque in the Hall alongside Martinez won two AL batting titles and led the league in on-base percentage three times. He was named the outstanding designated hitter times, an award that now bears his name. The soft-spoken Baines never displayed much emotion in his 22-year career, but his voice cracked throughout his speech.

I acquired a reputation for not saying much. not sure he dead- panned at the start. teachers to coaches who showed me kindness and discipline, I thank you all for what done for me. If I can leave you with one message, to give back to your community. I stand here very humbled.

It has taken time to sink Mussina pitched for 18 major league sea- sons and spent his entire career in the high- scoring AL East with the Orioles and Yankees. A All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, he posted a record of 270-153 and had 57 complete games in 536 starts. He was the AL pitcher to win at least 10 games 17 times. spent a lot of time on my time in said Mussina, the oldest 20-game winner in MLB history when he reached the milestone at age 39 in 2008, his season in the majors. was never fortu- nate to win a Cy Young Award or be a World Series champion, win 300 games or strike out 3,000 hitters.

Today, I get to become a mem- ber of the Baseball Hall of Fame. This time I made The late Frank Robinson and Willie McCo- vey were honored with a moment of silence before Mussina was introduced. The two Hall of Famers died since last induction cere- mony. Hall of Fame inductees Harold Baines, from left, Lee Smith, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera and Brandy Halladay the widow of Roy Halladay hold plaques Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. GREGORY TODAY SPORTS Rivera plays closer role again at the Baseball HOF induction John Kekis ASSOCIATED PRESS.