It was on this day in 1984 that Guillermo “Willie” Hernández won the American League Cy Young Award. He would also win the American Leagues MVP award that year. He is among just 11 pitchers to win the Cy Young and MVP in the same year. He was just one of many players who were a part of the Detroit Tigers magical season.
Hernández put up some great numbers that season. He had a 9-3 record and 32 saves in 33 chances in 1984, with a 1.92 ERA over 80 games and 140⅓ innings. He would go on to have an excellent postseason and got the final out of the clinching Game 5 of the ’84 World Series by coaxing a short fly ball to left field from Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, setting off a celebration.
Willie became only the third player to win MVP honors, the Cy Young Award and World Series in the same season, joining Sandy Koufax (1963) and (Fellow Detroit Tiger) Denny McLain (1968).
Willie was so fun to watch. I was always fascinated watching his screwball in slow motion during the games. What a pitch!!
Hernández was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He sadly passed away on November 20, 2023 at age 69.
The turkey is in the fridge thawing out and should be ready for the oven by Thursday morning. We always cook it in a bag, and it usually comes out ok. I’m looking forward to a simple Thanksgiving holiday.
I’ve always loved this picture of Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson from Sanford and Son
I follow Joe Lennon Cartoons on Facebook and he’s had some great cartoons on his page. He did a whole month of Halloween themed cartoons and he’s posting Thanksgiving themed ones now. Two favorites:
I was sad to hear of the passing of a Detroit Tiger great – Willie Hernandez. He was part of the amazing bullpen that helped us win the 1984 World Series. He had just recently celebrated his 69th birthday. He was so fun to watch! Rest well, Willie.
We had some Christmas photos taken last week. The kids were crazy! They would hardly sit still. Ella, who went to the doctor today, may have been at the beginning of her illness for pictures. She was not her “smiley” self. They should be available for download by tomorrow, but a couple preview pictures wound up on our photographer’s Facebook page.
Can’t wait to see the rest of them. I pray we got at least one good family photo for Christmas Cards!
Speaking of Christmas, I was reminded by my wife that after Thanksgiving, the Elf on the Shelf has to make her return. Last year I really struggled to come up with fun ideas. I don’t even know what to do this year! I guess Sam bought some Elf shirts for the kids that “Twinkles” will bring with her when she returns. I probably should have been planning for the month of Elf stuff long before now….
Today, however, marks the 12th anniversary of his passing. Here is a piece I wrote when the news broke:
So Long, Ernie
All Detroit Tiger fans knew this day was coming. Ernie told us it was coming, when he told us that he had inoperable cancer. And now, the voice that was such a unique part of past summers is silent.
Growing up, I thought I could be a baseball pitcher. When I played catch, I’d have whoever was catching call calls and strikes. I remember a Carlson classmate, Mike, who said in 3rd or 4th grade that he wanted me to be the catcher when he put his team together. I, however, wanted to pitch.
Baseball wasn’t something that I always understood. As a young kid, I remember my dad watching the Tiger game and they would post the stats of the batter on the screen. It would say, “2-3, Single. Homerun.” I’d ask my dad, “How do they know what he is gonna hit!?” I didn’t understand that it meant that those were what the batter had already done at the plate.
Summer – 1984. The Tigers came out of the chute with a ton of wins. First place! They could do no wrong. It was a dream team. Jack Morris, Willie Hernandez, Darrell Evans, Chet Lemon, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Kirk Gibson and the rest! Everyone had Tiger fever that summer!
I vividly remember going to my grandparents house and they’d have the radio on in the sunporch. Ernie called the games with Paul Carey. Ernie called a game like no other. It didn’t matter if you were a million miles away, Ernie painted a picture in such detail, that you felt like you were sitting in the ball park. And he had so many great stories to tell! You connected with him!
What Tiger fan didn’t love to hear Ernie say, “Looooooong Gone!?” … or ….”He stood there like the house on the side of the road and watch that one go by….strike three!” … or … “There’s a foul back out of play, and a man from Imlay City will take that one home.” Those were just a few of the famous catchphrases that Ernie used to say. Those phrases were sprinkled throughout many a summer day.
I met Ernie once at Tiger Stadium. He was signing his book. The lines were SO long, and I didn’t get to talk to him long, but he was so gracious. I remember saying what an honor it was to meet someone who spoke so freely about his belief in God, and how his faith in Christ was something he spoke of often. He looked up from signing his book and said, “Amen, brother.” His love for the Lord, his passion for baseball, his kindness, and his zest for life, were all things that were obvious to anyone who ever met him.
When I look back on my life and think of off the great summers growing up, Ernie is there. He might be on the radio at grandma’s or on the radio in someone’s back yard as I walked through the neighborhood. He might be on the car radio as we drove to the store, or maybe on the radio up north at the cabin in Caseville. He was a summer fixture.
Lots will be written about Ernie Harwell over the next few weeks. None of it will be enough. He was a legend. He was a mentor. He was an example. He was a talent. He was one of a kind.
I wrote him a letter once asking for advice. He sent a reply, which I sadly only have in these pictures.
“Dear Keith, Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your loyalty. My only advice is work hard and always be yourself. Enclosed is photo. Best Wishe, Ernie Harwell“
As I look back on the advice he gave me, one can see he followed his own advice. He “worked hard” and “always was himself.” He will be missed.
I am on vacation. We decided to take a little trip down to Florida. We built our vacation around the fact that the Detroit Tigers are playing spring training games. Today we headed over to Joker Merchant stadium to see the boys of summer take on the New York Yankees.
Spring training is an exciting time. We get to see a brand new team. We see many young guys hoping to make it to the roster for the regular season. Some will make it, some will not. In the air excitement for the season ahead.
One thing is for sure, the rich history of the Detroit Tigers is alive and well. In the store, there were T-shirts with Alan Trammell’s name on the back, others had Al Kaline’s, and more had Willie Horton’s. Famous Tigers of the past were on banners hanging from the ceilings. The fans in the stands also had names from the past, too. I gotta admit, it was awesome to see someone wearing a jersey with Sparky Anderson’s name and number on it.
Next to me a guy was talking about how hard it is to listen to the games on the radio because the late Ernie Harwell is not around to do them. He also was talking about how great the games were to watch and hear George Kell and Al Kaline do the play by play. I remember listening to the Opening Day game in 1984. Who knew that those guys were on their way to winning the World Series?!
This is the first spring training game I have ever been to. The rain got us a couple of times and they walked away with a win. I don’t recall how they did in spring training in 1984, but I am sure that those fans who attended those “grapefruit league” games had that same hope that I had today. I hope that a World Series Championship is ours at the end of the season. I ran into a Yankees fan in line to get something to drink and he said, “Looks like you got a good team this year.” I told him I heard the same about the Yankees. He said, “I hope it’s the year for one of us.” I agreed.
The 1984 Tigers were a well oiled machine! Nobody could pull double plays like Trammell and Sweet Lou Whitaker. The pitching staff was one of a kind! Jack Morris, Dan Petry, Milt Wilcox, and Dave Rozema were tremendous starters and Aurelio Lopez, Juan Berenguer, and Willie Hernandez were bullpen aces! Lance Parrish, Kirk Gibson, Darrell Evens, Larry Herndon, Chet Lemon, and Tommy Brookens were household names! What a team!!!
Watching the game today, we were a few feet away from first base. Watching Miguel Cabrera joke with Yankee players on base, the umps, and his team mates only made me like him more. One can only hope that he will have another great year full of home runs, and key plays. There were a lot of names I did not recognize, and who knows, maybe they will be household names, after the season is done. I hope so.
A Tiger fan for life, in good seasons and bad, I hope this is THE year for the next World Series Championship. Good luck, boys! You looked good today.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 