AG: This is my 9th season with the Tigers now.  I started right out of high school because Dan York who was one of the in house announcers also announced for my hometown’s high school sporting events which I also sang the anthem for.  He gave the Tigers one of my basketball game tapes, and the rest is history.

To be honest, I don’t know my record, my dad keeps a good eye on it, so I do know that it’s normally pretty good and not too far off from this seasons, give or take a few. I don’t know why I’ve been so effective in bringing in wins this year, Jim Leyland has come up to me a few times though and told me he really enjoys when I sing…it’s probably just luck, but wouldn’t that be great if it wasn’t?  LoL!

AG: I have done the Anthem for The Wings and Lions as well, but my home base is definitely with the Tigers.  Other than sporting gigs, I sing for my hometown city in support of Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.  I also sing at weddings and other events when asked.

AG: I am in my last year at University of Michigan Dearborn studying Elementary Education.  I also work as a server/bartender at Chelis Chili Bar.  I’ve been there since we’ve been open (6 yrs now) and absolutely love Chris and everyone I work with.  Chris has helped in getting me a few of my singing gigs too.

AG: Oh Boy!  You asked!  I’m Michigan all the way, but I’m from and Irish Catholic Family whose love runs deep for those Irish.  We survived the game through our love for one another…it wasn’t easy, I was there and had 10th row seats.  It was a great game… and their broken hearts will mend right around January I’m sure!

AG: Curtis Granderson all the way…I do love them all though!

AG: The Tigers are definitely making the playoffs this year, and they’re going ALL the way.  Are you crazy asking me that question?   This is our year baby!

AG: I have the utmost respect for Sparky…but I think Jim Leyland is amazing.  I just love him!

AG: That is my main goal.  I’ve been at this for 9 years now, I love Karen…I’ve actually sang with her before at a Dearborn Fundraiser with the Red Wings and firefighters.  She did the Anthem, I did the Canadian.  She is so nice and it was so fun.  I would love to follow in her footsteps for the Tigers.  All they have to do is ask!

JR: I never really had continual contact with the Tigers. Negotiations picked up the last few days right before the deadline. So it ended up being last minute.

JR: I can’t say it had a major factor in my decision other than I just wanted to play baseball. It’s been a dream of mine and I wanted to pursue it. Cabrera’s deal didn’t play into my choice at all. And as far as other positions I have thrown a few bullpens but not sure what will come from it.

JR: The adjustment for me has been fairly easy. The first few days were a big change for me but after that everything has gone smoothly. Everyone has been great to me and its making for an easy transition.

JR: My first home run was exciting for me. Right off the bat I didn’t think it was gone. There were two guys on, second and third, and I was just trying to find a way to get them in. The pitcher threw me a fastball, and when I hit it I thought it going to be a sac fly, but ended up going out.

JR: As far as the offseason I’m not sure what I’ll be doing. They haven’t given me anything yet as far as a training regimen. But I will be back for Instructional League.

JR: My first impressions have been great, I’m really enjoying myself. All the facilities are nice and its just a great complex to play at.

JR: I can’t say that I have a favorite band, tv show or movie. But I listen to a variety of music, watch anything sports on tv and for a movie, the hockey movie Miracle. As far as the uniform I’m old school, I like the high socks and stirrups they have us wear for the Tigers. And I like my hat to have a little curve to it.

AW: Thats right. I signed only a few days after the draft and was flying to Oneonta the next morning. It was very important for me to start right away. My college team did not make the playoffs so I had not been playing competitively since late May. I had been able to play catch and throw bullpens, but there was no competitive play. I was also very excited to get out and start my professional career.

AW: I throw a five pitch mix. 4-seam fastball and 2-seam fastball, the curveball, changeup, and cut-fastball.

AW: The biggest adjustment so far in professional baseball is playing everyday. In college we have games 4 days a week, practice the other 2, and then were required to have 1 day off of no baseball activity. That was a big day to relax and for me go to the beach and recuperate my body each week. But in professional baseball I am playing everyday, and starting every 5th day, rather than every 7th day in college. Another great thing though is that playing everyday allows you to get right back after it if the next day if your previous day was bad, rather than waiting sometimes one or two days like you had to in college.

AW: Right now we are on a strength maintenance program. They want us to maintain our strength during the season therefore we have tailored lifts to do that. Once we are in the offseason is when we have our strength building program to put on muscle and weight.

AW: The biggest thing for me being a left-handed pitcher that does not have really overpowering stuff is to keep the ball down. Pitching down is the key for all pitchers but especially for pitchers who don’t throw extremely hard it takes keeping the ball down very consistently to be successful. The other big thing to my success so far is throwing strikes. Strikes early in the count and many strikes gives me the advantage over the hitter when they are consistently in the hole, rather than me having to pitch in hitter’s counts.

AW: I love watching left handed pitchers. I feel that I can pick something up from many of them by just watching how they pitch. There are a few left handers though that I have watched a lot while growing up. I always went to Angel games when Jarrod Washburn pitched because the stadium was very close to where I lived. I watched Tom Glavine many times, Andy Pettite, Mark Mulder, and Jamie Moyer are just a few to name. But I always watch left handed pitchers.

WC: I think it’s more the latter, which is the more disappointing result. Bonderman has been handled very carefully and smartly, but he’s young and used heavily. (Not abused, just used.) If it’s just inevitable that a heavily used youngster who’s not a freak will break down, well, at least we’ll know.

As for the changeup, no, not really. Glenn Fleisig is the expert here and his research has shown that all pitches thrown well have a smaller than expected difference in force.

WC: No, the wear and tear is simply too much. I don’t think he’s ever really been healthy, which is pretty amazing considering how effective he’s been in spurts.

WC: I wouldn’t limit him.

Ok, that’s a bit dramatic. I did an article at BP a couple years ago which I think is one of the most important I’ve done. (That’s not setting the bar very high.)
I think some type of logical, progressive approach is the future. Some organization is going to do it — and I’m not saying my idea is right, though I think it’s close — and they’re going to be way, way ahead of the game because not only will they know what their pitchers can do, they’ll know how they can use them best.

WC:
No, not really. Almost all teams will try to avoid surgery, which is smart. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t. I think some are starting to take a look at the times when surgery is probably the best possible result, but it’s all about the timing. The Curt Schilling situation is one of the toughest ones, where disagreement and varying timing and biases all end up with the player’s career caught in the middle.

WC:
Several. Not only teams, but agencies. I think the Indians are at the forefront, but there’s a lot of teams that have been doing this quietly.

WC: You know, I actually talked to Brian Griese who had similar surgery about this and he thinks it will take Zumaya a full year, but if his mechanics stay sound, Griese thought he could get back to full strength. Take that for what it’s worth.

Jonathan Mayo: From a pure upside standpoint, I think Ciriaco is still the guy. I know he only hit .224 in his full-season debut, but he’ll still be just 20 when the season starts. I think he has to start taking the raw tools and turn it into performance this year. As for “most likely to succeed,” I’d probably go with Worth or Hollimon at this point. I’ve seen Hollimon play several times and he just looks like a big leaguer to me. He also has the best bat of this group as of right now. Those kinds of offensive skills will play at 2B in the bigs. Worth, even though he hit when he got pushed up to Erie, will be a big leaguer more because of his glove. How much he can hit will determine whether he’s an every-day shortstop or a utility guy.

JM: I sometimes think that too much is made of size when assessing prospects. That being said, catching is one of the few places where it can be a concern – more strength than pure size, actually. It all comes down to how durable he is. Skelton shared catching duties in West Michigan – the Tigers clearly didn’t want to run him into the ground – catching 84 games and picking up 353 ABs along the way. Still, his numbers did decrease in the second half – not precipitously, but enough to make you wonder. I think if he were going to move, it would have to be to the outfield, where his speed, athleticism and arm strength would play well. He doesn’t have the pop to play a corner infield position, in my opinion. For now, I’d leave him behind the plate and take advantage of the arm that threw out 42.5 percent of would-be basestealers and make him prove that he can’t handle the rigors of catching at higher levels.

JM: I’ll go: Vasquez, Bazardo, Tata.

JM: Well, if they take my advice and move Skelton out there… In all seriousness, it’s slim pickings, isn’t it? I’d probably say Brennan Boesch, though I like Deik Scram, not necessarily as a high-ceiling prospect who’ll wow you. I just like the way he plays. I’m operating under the assumption that Ryan Raburn no longer qualifies as a prospect because of his big-league time.

JM: Sure, it will be an advantage for as long as that loophole of sorts is open. Other teams might learn from Detroit’s example, but few will be able to do much about it. Most of the teams who pass on the Rick Porcellos of the world do so because they can’t afford the price tag. Or, more importantly, they won’t. So as long as the Tigers braintrust doesn’t mind getting a scolding now and again, there will always be opportunities to pick up high-end talent that others feel they can’t sign.

JM: It’s so early to tell, but right now, it’s looking kind of balanced. If there is one strength right now, I think there’s a slight edge towards college bats at the high end, but there are some good college arms as well. But at the same time, there are some interesting high school players who’ll be interesting to watch how they progress once the season gets under way. But if you’re going to force me to go in one direction, especially at the top of the draft, I’ll go with the college bats.

Curtis Granderson: Thanks. For me personally, I never really have statistical goals before any season, because they can be looked at in so many different ways. I like to focus on improvements and percentages: hit lefties better, increase my walk to strike-out ratios, and fewer errors in the outfield. I also like goals such as: compete everyday, HAVE FUN!!!, KEEP IT FUN!!!, and continue to learn everyday.

CG: Every year there is always something to improve on from the previous year. Last year like you said were the strikeouts. McClendon came into Spring Training and started working on a few things to try and cut that number down. I’m sure there will also be a great deal of work done this Spring to help get back to hitting lefties like I have in the past.

CG: I would love to have a long term deal with the Tigers, but with my situation of only having just over two years of MLB service time, the Tigers are in a position where they choose what happens. There are a lot guys and situations that the Tigers are handling and will handle before they get to my situation, so in the meantime all I can do is continue to prepare and get ready for the 08′ season.

CG: I would rank it the toughest field in the American League by far. The depth makes it difficult for positioning and also my range. The wind is only an issue because the wind at field level is usually opposite of the wind above the stadium. The day games, we still haven’t figured out why it’s so hard to see there. At first in 04′ we thought it was because of the number tags on the empty seats that provided the glare. Well in 06′ and 07′ we have sell-out after sell-out and it was still just as hard to see. I thought it was just me, until I see opposing centerfielders come in and have the same struggles I have out there.

CG: The blog was a way to provide an insight to the daily routine of a MLB player, to show that it’s not all fun and baseball everyday. I enjoyed doing it, and I was really surprised by the response from not only Tiger fans, but fans throughout baseball. I liked doing it because it’s busy work, similar to college homework, and it gave me something else to do to get my mind off baseball (ex, talking about dinner, movie, music, shopping, etc…). I’m still not sure what will happen next year with the Blog. It was a lot of fun, but doing it three times a week, my ideas and topics were starting to run out as the season started to wrap up. So I’ll have to figure out the best way to keep it fresh, but not too long in between each blog, and also keep it short, which is another reason why I liked doing it.

CG: The broadcasting thing was fun, exciting and interesting. I enjoyed doing it from TBS to ESPN. Both were different, but were a lot of fun and huge learning experiences. It would be something I would consider at the end of my career, but hopefully that is not for a long time to come.

CG: The game will be an event for the entire family, with baseball, football, basketball, boxing, UFC, etc… Fans will all have their respective sports represented during this event. The game will be fun and the fans will also get to see some of us Tigers (Nate [Robertson], Marcus [Thames], Dontrelle [Willis], and myself) compete in a little shoot out as well. The event is to raise money for Detroit and Flint Public schools, and help improve and show the importance of education.

CG: I’m still trying to figure that one out, as some new songs that have recently come out I really like, but by the time the season starts they will be old. So I wait until the Spring hits to come out and decide, or just mix of my old school hits again like i did last year.

Rod Allen: Probably 2nd. As a player in 84 that was pretty special because I made the team out of spring training. So that’s always going to be number 1. But I didn’t play that much in 84. I was sent down to the minor leagues part way through. But they still gave me a World Series ring, they still gave me a share. But I really wasn’t able to share in all the champagne celebrations and what not because I wasn’t in uniform at the end of the year. But it’s special anytime you get around a group of guys and you’re able to accomplish a goal of winning a world championship.

But I’d have to say 2nd to that was last year because it came out of nowhere – even though I predicted at the beginning of the year that we’d be a championship caliber team. No one else really believed it. Just to watch that team and everything come together, to watch the excitement of the Detroit fans and the whole history of the team probably made it a little more special than Arizona.

Arizona was just so new. They really didn’t even know they had a baseball team, and I mean that jokingly. But there’s 100 years of baseball tradition in Detroit. And they’d had so many losing seasons, but just to see so all the people come out last year was amazing.

Rod Allen: I probably won’t go out on a limb and saying anything like that. But I will say that I think the Tigers have the best offensive ball club in baseball. They don’t have guys that walk a lot as far as on base percentage is concerned. But they added Casey for the entire year and Sheffield for the entire year and I think both of their on base percentages are close to .400, which is outstanding. And you added on a career .300 hitter to the middle of the lineup. It’s going to be a dangerous lineup.

Everybody would probably say the Yankees have the best offensive team, but I think the Tigers have the best offensive team. I really do. And I think they’re going to put up some huge numbers offensively.

Rod Allen: Well they’ve got some of the best pitching in baseball as well. A lot of people are worried about Verlander and the innings he logged last year. Zumaya had a little bit of a wrist thing going on at the end of the year. People wonder if Rogers can duplicate what he did last year. But I think pitching is their strong suit. They’ve got some more youngsters coming too.

As long as they stay healthy I’ think they’ll be the class of the division again. With that being said with their offense and pitching staff they have a pretty good chance of once again playing meaningful games at the end of the year.

Rod Allen: It’ll probably go back to the East this year, I really do. But there are still some good teams in the Central. The White Sox won 90 games last year.

The Twins, I’m not really sold on them even though they play hard every year. Ron Gardenhire their manager and Terry Ryan their general manager do a marvelous job. They always seem to pick the right people. But I just don’t think they’re in the same class the Tigers are – even though they won the division last year. On paper I don’t like that team nearly as much as I like the Detroit’s team.

Rod Allen: No one was throwing the gyroball while I was there, but they had a pitch they called the Shooto which was where right-handers could make a ball run in on the right-handed batter hand – almost like a screwball type pitch. They threw a lot of those.

When I played over there, there were probably only 2 or 3 guys who could have come over to the States and play and compete. Since then there have been so many that have come over, that either they’re getting better or we’re not as good, or dominant, as we used to be as players.

As far as Daisuke, I don’t know that much about him. I’ve heard he’s got a very good arm and control of 4 pitches. But it remains to be seen until he gets into Boston and appears in Yankee Stadium under that kind of microscope.

Rod Allen: I second guessed my decision as soon as I made it to be honest with you. The reason why I did is because so many people in Detroit while I was doing my introductory interviews asked me that same question, probably 5 or 6 times. People asked me why would you want to leave the weather, and your home, and a winning team to come to Detroit? I started to wonder myself why all of you in Detroit are there, but you’re asking me why I’d come there.

But also it was a decision I needed to make. If I was going to grow as a television analyst I had to do it someplace else because the job was promised to Mark Grace when he signed as a free agent 3 years before that. When they brought him over from the Cubs they promised that when he was done playing, he’d be the television analyst. It didn’t matter how well I did or how poor I did, that after that season I was going to need to find another job – either doing radio locally or television someplace else.

And then everything started to come together in Detroit. The whole 84 thing with Trammell and Parrish, and then Gibson moving downstairs. I knew Dombrowski from my prior days as a player and a coach in 2 organizations where he had been. It just seemed like a nice fit. But it didn’t hit me that I was leaving Arizona until I was offered the job. It was an extremely tough adjustment.

Rod Allen: I would probably go down on the field before the front office. You know, I’d like to manage at some point in time. There have been some announcers that have left the broadcast booth and gone downstairs and been very, very successful. But the one thing I continue to fight is that I don’t have a lot of name recognition as a guy who played a long time in the big leagues. I think that hurts me from time to time in doing National gigs because a lot of times in this profession the bigger the name the more people they think are going to watch.

I think sometimes if you don’t have a huge name you’re going to get passed over by guys who have bigger names than you do. That doesn’t mean they’re better, just that they have a bigger name and that’s the appeal to the networks here in the United States. I know I’ve run into that already on several occasions. But even given that I’m still extremely grateful for the opportunity that’s been given to a guy like myself, without the big name recognition, to be able to broadcast games in Detroit on television is a tremendous honor.

But that’s no reason to quit. I know I’m a good announcer. I know I’m good at what I do and I’ll continue to wait my turn. But I think that’s what’s hurting me from getting a managers job is the fact there isn’t a lot of big league name recognition associated with the name Rod Allen as there has been with Larry Dierker, or Bob Brenly, or Jeff Torborg, or Joe Torre. These guys have done the exact same thing that I’m doing but they have been given opportunities to manage. If it happens great, I’d welcome an opportunity like that at some point in time, but I don’t really ever expect that to happen.

Rod Allen: It really starts a couple days prior for me. Say we have the Minnesota Twins coming to town. I might get on their website a couple days prior and start to read some of the clips coming out of Minnesota. I may go back to MLB.com and watch the opposing pitcher’s last start so I have a pretty good idea what he’s doing in certain situations. I can do that from home or my hotel room.

If you’re playing a team on that particular day you’ll pick up the newspaper and read all about that team and research on the internet to see if there are any questions you might have.

When you get to the ballpark about 4:00 that’s when you start asking question to some of the things that you read so you can validate it. You don’t want to say things with out validating them. So you find out what the truth is to some of the things you’re reading.

Then you go from there. That’s just the information you compile. If you have a good game, obviously it takes precedence over any of that information you’ve compiled. But if you have a bad game – and you have a lot of bad games over a 162 game schedule – that’s when you go to some of the information that may be interesting for your listeners to hear.

Rod Allen: I think he was the absolute difference maker – without question. It was one of the most spectacular managerial jobs I have ever seen. For him to take that team with a losing attitude and losing culture, and not only the team but he changed the culture for the state, for the city, and for all Tigers fans. It was an unbelievable job done by a magnificent manager.

No disrespect to Alan Trammell, but he had never managed before and it’s a tough job to do. It goes back to what I was saying about myself, that would be like me getting an opportunity to go downstairs and manage. Although, I do manage upstairs pretty much all the time. I do a lot of first-guessing, I know what’s going on. You surround yourself with good people, and you allow the good people to work, and you kind of do your job.

Without question Jim Leyland was the difference maker in that team’s run to the World Series last year.

Rod Allen: You know, I really don’t have a Tiger, but if I were to name one I’d say Pudge Rodriguez. For just the type of energy that he plays with every single day, To play that position at age 35, 13 time All Star, 12 time Gold Glover, he’s won an MVP. He’s going to go down as one of the two best catchers in the history of the game, whether you like him or Johnny Bench. Most old guys like Bench, most young guys like Rodriguez.

For a guy of that stature, 5’ 9” to dominate at that position, to dominate a game, to shut down running games. A couple years ago when no one else would come to Detroit, people said “he came for the money.” Well of course he came for the money, no kidding. Most guys go for the money. But as soon as he put that uniform on, the team was back on the map once again.

He’s my guy. He’s the guy I enjoy watching on a day-to-day basis. He’s the guy who takes all the heat in the organization. He’s just a bona fide superstar. For him to stop by Detroit for the last 5-6 years of his career (if he stays that long) Detroit fans should be absolutely elated. Any time you have Al Kaline saying it’s the best free agent signing the Tigers have ever had, there’s some truth to it.

Rod Allen: And he maybe the fastest as well. He’s a dedicated player. He gets rubbed the wrong way because he’s a superstar and everybody wants his time and everybody wants a piece of him. And sometimes if everybody doesn’t get a piece of him, that’s when the media starts to write negative things about you. I’ve been around a lot of superstars. I’ve been around Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. Guess what, they all act the same way. It’s something about those guys that makes those guys as good as they are. And maybe it’s that edginess and their unpredictability and that they just don’t give you everything you want.

Dan: It’ll be hard to draw a line between the two. Obviously I am fan because I grew up a Tiger fan. I think it probably is the most satisfying because it is your job and you’ve been part of something that’s been a lot of fun, but without a lot of success. And then, if it wasn’t out of nowhere, then it was certainly unexpected tremendous success. So to be a part of the organization, to be a part of watching that team, it was incredibly satisfying and gratifying. It was a lot of fun to be a part of it.

It was amazing to me to see them go from a situation where over the previous two years you’d go into a series and think “they have a chance” to going into every game expecting them to win. And for that to transform that quickly was an incredible thing to watch.

Dan: I was only 9 in 68 so I can’t probably include that. To me, because I was a part of it everyday, personally I’d go with 2006. When I think of 84, it was the first time as an adult that I got to watch a reallygood team all season long and follow a really good team. But that team had been building for several y ears to that point. This team [2006] just came out of nowhere to go from 71 to 95. I’d rank 2006 as tops.

1987 was one of my favorite seasons just because of the way it ended. I’ve always loved that season. That race with Toronto was one of the most incredible things in baseball. I don’t think they were seperated by more than 2 1/2 games for a month and a half except at the end the end when they fell down 3.5 for a day I think it was. [ed note: From 8/12 to 9/23 the lead was within 1.5 games and went to 3.5 on 9/26 before closing] So I always loved 87.

Between 68 and 84 I don’t think I could pick one. Sixty-eight meant a lot to me because it sucked me into baseball. There’s no question as a 9 year old when the team was that good it was very easy to become a baseball fan and a Tigers fan. That season is always dear to me. I think about as kids, and everyone did it, but we’d imitate everyone of those 68 Tigers stances when we’d play whiffle ball in the backyard. It’s just what you did.

And 1984 was so much fun because as a young adult I could watch that and enjoy every single minute of it.

Dan: That part was pure reaction. I think you can hear it in my voice. I think my voice really does capture how amazing it was. It’s one thing to have a deep fly ball, but this was such a no doubter. I get chills thinking about that moment because of how great those home games had been up to that point. The 4 playoff home games had just been unbelievable with the atmosphere. But that was pure reaction.

People say “did you write it out” and I think what I found out was with the Kansas City game when they clinched the playoff spot it was my first experience with the post season and I knew there would be a lot of attention paid to the big out. And I, if not scripted that one, I knew exactly what I was going to say when they clinched. And I said it, and when I heard it back I thought “that sounded pretty scripted.”

So I thought you had to have an idea what you wanted to say, but then let the moment dictate how it comes out. That’s probably the best way to describe it. I knew I wanted to capture how far they’d come in 3 years. You anticipate what that last out might be or what that last hit might be. I was picturing a ground ball or a pop-up or something. I certainly wasn’t picturing a walk off homer. Even when he stepped to the plate I was expecting a single just because he seemed to be so good at coming up with a base hit in that situation.

So you have to react to the moment. You certainly don’t want to be speechless (laughing). So you need an idea, but you can’t script it.

Dan: (laughing) That just came out

Dan: I think it’s really funny. Since this is all they’ve ever known, you hardly get a reaction out of them. We’ll be in the car sometimes and they’ll say, “Oh, that’s you” and with the call on a fair amount it just kind of washed over them. I think when they were really young I think they thought everyone’s dad was on the radio. To me it was great, it’s not a big deal to them. Although it was interesting the other day, my son said “Dad you’ve got a cool job.”

They’d just been to Tigerfest and I think had seen some of the excitement. My son is getting to the age where he can get caught up in the excitement. To him going to the games has been seeing the fireworks and going on the ferris wheel. Now he’s starting to play a little bit and he’s enjoying the game.

I wouldn’t say they’re blase about it, but really it’s all they’ve ever known. It’s not a big deal to them and I think it’s great.

Dan: I haven’t heard the Brandon one in awhile. I always like that one because it reminded me of something Ernie had said to me in my first year. They started 9-23 when I first started this job, and how do you deal with that? This is my favorite team and they’re terrible. It served as a reminder that each game stands on its own and you’ll never know what you’ll see, like a great individual performance, a great game between two bad teams, or something you’d never seen before. I always think of that Brandon Inge home run and that it reminds you a great moment is a great moment. It doesn’t matter how bad the team is. That was a great moment and those guys celebrated like they were 30 games over instead of 30 games under. I always think of that as a really fun call.

If I had to rank them I think the Ordonez call has stood up over repeated listenings. I thought they were going to kill it there for awhile, but I think it stands up. If that’s the test of whether it was a good call or not, I think it passes that test

Dan: You noticed it right away. I was on the West caravan and we went to MSU first. We were at Breslin and there was good turnout. I introduced the players and you could notice it right away, the intensity. There was kind or a roar. And it was fun to see the players faces when they came out and it was like “Oh! this is what it’s like now.” I think they really enjoyed it and realized how intense the devotion is and how much fun it’s going to be this year.

Dan: I do. I think the Sheffield trade was just a very solid move. Of course they had to be convinced that his wrist was good, and they were. If they’re convinced I’m convinced. I don’t think Dave Dombrowski invests that kind of money if his wrist is sound. I think he’ll be a productive hitter.

I think that guys that are his type of hitter, hit for average, hit for power, drive in runs, if you’re still that way at 38 you tend to stay productive right up until 40. That’s when it seems to be the magical cutoff for hitters. And there’s no reason to think he couldn’t be productive for all 3 years, but certainly 2 of the 3 years before he hits 40. I think that addresses a huge need. A guy that doesn’t strike out a lot for a power hitter. A guy that walks more than he strikes out. I think he can have an effect on others guys in that lineup.

The things is that you look historically at teams that jump up, like the Tigers did, they tend to fall back the next year. Those are the odds. I think the teams that don’t, like Atlanta in the early 90’s, have superb pitching. I think that’s where the young pitchers, Bonderman and Verlander leading the way, are the really keys. That if there’s a slight fall back, you stay in the 90’s. If you’re in the 90’s you’re right there at the end.

DD: I love to get my hands on as much information as I can. At heart I’m probably just a complete stathead. I think that’s probably one of the things that got me into the game was the numbers. I played stratomatic baseball as a kid, I think that probably helped cement my love for the game. I love the numbers, I love the stats. I know you can’t do too much of that on a broadcast, but I do think it helps you understand how to evaluate players, how to try and evaluate players anyways, how teams build their rosters.

I like to read as much as I can. I like to read opposing papers and try and get a weeks worth of clips or more, print them out, and try to get a feel for what that team is doing now. Most of the information would come from the internet. Newspapers, websites. The team websites have become more valuable because you get some good feature stories. There’s no end to the baseball websites. If you’d click on My Favorites you’d see quite a few baseball websites I go to. I don’t know if you go to Hardball Times, but I think that has really become an outstanding website.

You can never have enough, and the fascinating part is how does it all fit, and a lot of it doesn’t fit into a broadcast.

DD: It is

DD: I didn’t go to a lot of those websites because I didn’t really know if it was a lot of guys making comments, and some of those sites are guys just posting stuff that is idiotic stuff. But then I did see your website, and I saw some of the stuff you do. I like some of the historical stuff as well as current stuff.

DD: If it’s home, usually I’d get down there before 2:30 and 3:00. I like getting down there early, and 3:00 is aout as late as I want to get there for a home game. The clubhouse opens at 3:30, and if you get there early then you’ve got an hour to set your computer up, and start thinking about what you’re going to do that night.

I head down to the clubhouse between 3:30 and 4:00, and work both clubhouses. That’s one of the things I got from Ernie, because as much as I like stats, Ernie was very much people oriented. I think in the early days he introduced me to a lot of the people he knew and opened some doors for me. Just to see him go down to the opposing clubhouse, if not everyday then at least every series. He’d pop his head in the manager’s office, sometimes just to say hi and move along. Other times he’d have a specific target in mind, and if he didn’t know him, he’d introduce himself, or if he did know him he’d just go in and chat. To me it’s just not that easy to walk into a strange clubhouse, introduce yourself, and launch into some specific questions about his career, but I try and make sure I do that.

So I go down show my face, and sometimes strike up a conversation. Sometimes you get on a topic you weren’t expecting, sometimes it’s personal stuff, sometimes it’s baseball stuff. I just think that is one of the most fun parts of the job is that you get to ask the people who know so much about the game. No matter how much you and I think we know, we’ll never know the game at the same level these guys do. They see things in a different way, and to be able to go in and talk to a Carlos Pena, a Craig Monroe, a Brandon Inge about something that happened. Maybe it was a mistake they made but I want to have it in my mind whether it was a mistake that could have been avoided, or something that happened that I didn’t see on the play. Sometimes you’ll find out stuff that you didn’t realize, like “I hitched on the throw because the second baseman wasn’t at the base” or “That ball caught the lip of the infield and shot up into my gut.” The things that aren’t obvious on a replay or aren’t obvious at the time. To me that’s the real value in getting to know these guys, is they’ll tell you things that help you understand what went on in a game or what is going on in their lives as they struggle through a 2-25 slump. To me that’s a lot of fun and I’ll stay down there until 5:00-5:30.

Then I’ll get back up and get the lineups and fill out the lineup card and scribble in some notes by each guy’s name if there is anything that seems like it might fit. I know it seems like the last 2 hours always zoom by. It’s funny, you start righting stuff down and think “what about this” so you look it up in the computer, or “what did he do last year,” just little things that might pop up as your writing down a guys name. I try to keep bios on each player and a print out of the opposing team. You just kind of see what ends up on your paper that day. You talk to opposing broadcasters and get their take on things. You have dinner and you’re ready to go at 7:00pm.

DD: I think especially for the deep ones it seems to work. It just came out one day. One day I said “Long Gone” [Ernie Harwell’s trademark call] and I was so mortified I made sure I had a different way to say it. When it’s way back you want to give the impression that it’s not one scraping the fence, it just seemed to work one day. I don’t use it every time because not every homer is deep, but if it was a Carlos Pena homer from the second half, it was deserving of that.

I try to vary it, but I guess the more you do it, the more you realize that “Gone” works, like “Score” in hockey. You’re hitting it, you’re punching it, and giving it your signature with your voice and the way you say it. I think a lot of guys say it, and I try not to get too fancy with it. I’ll use different calls from time to time, but when people hear “Gone” they know what’s going on.

DD: I always think of the Brandon Inge versus Troy Percival[Sunday, August 23rd, 2003]call because it was 2003, and it was a 9 or 10 game losing streak. They had not scored on Troy Percival, only like 2 runs in his career so it was the ultimate mismatch. Bottom of the ninth, down by a run with a man on and Inge hit a home run to win the game. There weren’t many memorable moments that year, but I came out of my seat on that one. There was so much going wrong and for him to hit that home run it was a very joyous moment in a season that hadn’t had many.

A great moment is a great moment. That team was bad, having a terrible season but then they won 5 of 6 to end the season, they were down 8 runs that Saturday and won 9-8, those were great moments. It’s always good to remember that no matter the record a great moment is still a great moment.

DD: That’s a great question, I was having lunch with Dan Petry and another guy from the Tigers and were chewing over a lot of the things that could happen. I don’t like the way the free agent signing period has started. I think everybody has to be taken aback by the prices, or maybe not, maybe Dave [Dombrowski] anticipated the prices for closers. It seems like you have to go to plan B where if you’re going to improve you have to do it through trade.

I still think you can build a bullpen at a relatively low cost, outside of a closer. If you look at the White Sox bullpen last year I think I read it was a $3 million dollar bullpen. The guys they had were good and at a relatively low cost.

You’ve got to shore up the rotation. You have to add a veteran arm, or two. I still think there are options out there like a Matt Morris or Paul Byrd. I don’t know what the Tigers think of those two, but at a relatively low cost, I don’t know what that is anymore, you could sign one of those two. Javier Vazquez name is being floated out there as a potential trade. Carl Pavano also, but I guess not as likely. But I think you need to add the veteran arm to the roation with Verlander coming in.

The bullpen still is a question mark but I think it can be built in a low cost way outside of a closer. I don’t know what they’ll do about closer, but I think it is a high priority. I do think you can acquire a starter or bullpen help in a trade. Obviously with Pena and Young both on the roster, there isn’t room for both in the lineup next year. It seems to me one of those could be possible trade bait if you’re willing to pick up some of Dmitri’s salary, or if a team is interested in Pena.

Pena is the real X factor, I think that is the biggest decision. You watch him hit the last two months and think, “Do I really want to get rid of this kind of left handed power?” On the other side he’s only done it for a couple months the last couple seasons in spurts.

I think Jim Leyland is going to have a major impact on this team. Listening to him in the press conference, he seemed to be really anxious to get back to managing and wipe out the short stint in Colorado. I think he wants to prove he still has the fire, and it sounds like it to me. Everything I’ve read about him from his past in Pittsburgh and Florida is that this is a guy who lets you know where you stand, and what the consequences are if you don’t perform the way he expects. Talking with Dan Petry, you want to play for this guy. You want to do your absolute best. This is a guy who knows how to get it out of you. I don’t know how that translates into in terms of wins, but I think he’ll have a major impact.

DD: I went to my first Tiger game in 1967 at Tiger Stadium. The 1967, 1968 teams really hooked me on baseball. Especially the end of 67, because I was just old enough, I was 8 when it went down to the last out. I do remember watching those last few games and of course the 9-1 start in 1968 and that team just had me hooked on baseball.

DD: Willie Horton was it, he was. Al Kaline, absolutely, but there was just something about Willie as a kid that just captured my imagination. It looked like he could hit a home run every time he stepped to the plate. I think that really got me going, and I just didn’t miss an at-bat on radio or TV if I could possibly help it. I just thought he’d hit a home run every time.

DD: Nope, I never really thought that was a possibility. I remember telling my mom once when I was in my teens, that I was going to replace Brent Musburger someday, that was my dream. The Tiger job to me always seemed out of reach.

I loved sports, and every job I got in radio was news related. I kept trying to get into sports full time and I did for one year in Grand Rapids. When I came to Detroit it was news at WWJ, and part time sports. I was always working to get in sports, but it was just a little bit here and there. Then I did some Lions pre-game and post-game stuff. It was 1995 and it took me 15 years to get a full time sports job and that was a reporter – not play-by-play.

The thought I’d be the Tigers play-by-play guy was out of reach until the late 90’s.

DD: Two years. What got me into the Tigers booth started in 1995 when I got to WJR. I’d go out to the Silverdome and practice my football play-by-play. Ray Bentley, the former football player came over from Grand Rapids and he wanted to practice his color, so we made tapes together just practicing. I gave the tape to Chuck Swirsky, who was the sports director at WJR. There was a need for a fill-in guy for Michigan football two weeks into the season. He told me you’re the guy. They wanted him to do it, but he said “No, Dan’s ready.” To me that was the biggest break because then I got to be known as a play-by-play guy in Detroit, versus a play-by-play guy doing high school stuff in Grand Rapids.

That was the break that led to Michigan basketball. And those two things combined made me a credible play-by-play person and got me into the Tigers booth.

DD: Not really, just because I’d been in the booth for 3 years with him. I think if I was coming from out of town it’s almost an impossible task. whether it’s Detroit or any other town where they’ve had a broadcaster for a long time (pity the guy who follows Vin Scully in LA). Unless it’s a local guy, I think that’s important, someone that you know and are familiar with. I didn’t really have that much apprehension. I think Ernie really helped smooth the way for me.

DD: Yeah, he was going out on his own terms. That’s a big difference

DD: Put it this way, I think it would be a lot more fun if they were playing meaningful games in August and September. The first 3 years on the job we had some not good season in 01 and 02, but in 03 when I was doing the job after Ernie I was really wondering what it would be like at the end of the year. That team started 3-25, that number sticks in my head, and there are numbers you can pull out and just keep going. And I wondered what August and September were going to be like. I really found out in 2003 that the job never got old. I can’t think of a day where I dreaded going to the ballpark or having fun on the job.

It really goes back to some advice Ernie gave me early in my career, when in 2001 the Tigers started 9-23, and that was supposed to be a pretty good team with the Juan Gonzalez trade and the deals they made. I said “How do you do this?” This was my team, they are 9-23 and I was down. He said “Remember, every game stands on its own.” That advice was very simple but it really stuck. You might see something you’ve never seen before, you might see a great individual performance, you might see a great game between two bad teams. And it’s true, it sounds so simple and I think all fans realize that, and that’s why you have fans at games. For some reason, just to hear him say that, it really stuck with me and I found it’s true. In 2003 there was always something to look forward to, like a pitcher on another team. I always looked forward to Jeremy Bonderman’s starts because you never knew when he might do what he did in Oakland when they were 1-18. I think 2003 really drove home the point this is the best job you can have, because it never got old.

DD: It is a bit of a balance. I think it helped to listen to Ernie all those years, because as a listener I appreciated he always gave a good call to both teams. Obviously the better call was to the Tigers. I think there’s a bit of a fine line in that you don’t want to get too down or too up. I think you can let a little bit of the fan in you out during a broadcast. If there’s a disappointing play or a game ending home run that goes the opposite way, you have to make sure you strike the right tone and not be overly down – or over the top. Although I do think I’ve probably gone over the top a few times.

DD: (laughing) They were, so I guess they deserved it. But I guess Ernie helped, and I try to think about what I want to hear.

DD: Yeah, I think you have to. I think that’s the reality even if you aren’t employed by the team, and my first year I wasn’t. I think that’s the reality of being a play-by-play person is that you do a little bit of self censorship, but it’s not to the detriment of the broadcast I don’t think. I think it means you don’t get into the things like the soap opera kind of stuff that gets in the papers sometimes. It’s legitimate reporting, but it’s not something that I believe needs to be in a broadcast unless it has spilled over and is so obvious. It’s like the elephant in the corner, you have to talk about it at some point. I think Jim and I have found that there are times, and I’ll bounce it off of him “We should probably talk about this today.” We’ll bring it up, acknowledge that it happened, whatever it is, and then just kind of move on from there.

But I think there is some of that, and it’s part of being a play-by-play person. You learn some things being so close to the team that other people might not learn. You learn things in confidence from players that gives you some perspective about what’s going on that you’re not going to use in a broadcast. I think it helps the broadcast because you’ve learned about it and you have the perspective in the back of your brain.

In terms of criticizing the team, as a listener I don’t want to hear a lot of criticism of the team anyways. You can certainly point out they’ve lost 8 out of 10. I don’t hesitate to talk about if their pitching has gone well. I’ll try and point out the stretch they’re in. If it’s going bad I’ll point out the stretch they’re in without dwelling on it too much or repeating and repeating. The game is still there, you have to call the game, but I think you can point out the good and the bad as long as you don’t over do either – especially the bad. I’ve never had anybody from the team say anything to me about “you have to be more positive” or “you’ve got to watch what you say about this.” Hopefully that means I’m walking the line and bringing up both the good and the bad.

EH: Well, I think they might tweak it, but I think one of the strengths of the Baseball Hall of Fame is that it?s more difficult to get into than most other halls of fame in sports. And I?d like to keep it that way. I don?t think it?s really bad that you don?t elect anybody. But I also think that probably, in the long run, that the Veteran?s Committee is something that time has bypassed. I think most of the people that really belong in there, with a few exceptions, have been selected by the writers. I don?t like the idea of the second chance that is symbolized by the Veteran?s Committee. I know a lot of people disagree with that because there are some players that are on the cusp, on the margin there that I?d like to see in. But I like that it?s tough to get in.

EH: I don?t think so. I think the voting that we?ve seen indicates that he wouldn?t have much of a chance. He?s very deserving if you look at the stats, and compare him with second basemen who are in there. He ranks right near the top I?d say, but there are a lot of things that factor in. One of them is exposure in the World Series. One of them is the media center in New York. I think a lot of things get factored in and he doesn?t have much of a chance.

EH: I think I?d vote in favor of those two guys.

I really think the steroid situation will die down in a little while. It was brought to the attention of Congress and I think it?s a good that it?s out in the open. And I also felt that baseball could have avoided that if commissioner and players union had gotten together earlier and had nipped it in the bud, and issued a strong policy against steroids which they didn?t do. And they still haven?t done.

Although it was a great embarrassment to baseball, I think it?s good that it came out and maybe something will happen now to strengthen the ruling about using steroids.

The way I feel about records is that you have to take them as they come. I don?t believe anybody would be able to figure it out. Let?s take say Barry Bonds, and you were to make some asterisk to his home run total. I don?t know how you?d figure out when he started taking steroids, or if he did. It?s such a murky situation. I think we sort of have to just accept it, and as we talk about it just say ?well, he probably took steroids while he was playing.?

EH: Yeah, I think so. I think you?ve got to say back in 1909 guys were hitting less than 10 home runs and leading the league ?that was one era, just like you said. Then the spitball came in and went out and that was another era. Then you had the so-called lively ball coming in. Way back you had moving the pitching mound back to 60 feet, 6 inches. And you have more changes like that. You have smaller ball parks, bigger guys, and there are so many variations that come and go in baseball. I think this just has to be another one.

EH: I sort of would have liked to have been around during the dead ball era. I think that was pretty interesting. First the ballparks were primitive. The equipment wasn?t very good. But, maybe things were a little purer then, about the game than they are now. Though they had a lot of rascals, and a lot of things happened that they?d [laughing] put an evil eye on now. But from a standpoint of what we knew how people followed the game at that time, it was really more just a game. The only way people followed the games those days was through the newspapers. You didn?t have the investigation, and all the pressure and media attention that you have now that puts the spotlight on everything and digs in the dirt and brings out somethings we don?t want to know.

EH: Well, I?ve gotten rid of most of them because I gave them to the library. The Detroit Public Library has most of my stuff. And when we moved in 2003, I just couldn?t bring the stuff with me so we had an auction. An auction house in Chicago auctioned off what was left that I didn?t give to the library. So I really don?t have anything anymore. I had a Babe Ruth check at one time. I had my World Series rings, a replica of the 1968 World Series trophy. I had signed pictures from guys. I was proud of all those things, but you?ve got to move on.

EH: Well, I think that it is probably 1968 or 1984. They were pretty equal. 1968 a little bit more maybe because it followed the riots and it was a longer interim between championships between ?45 and ?68 than ?68 and ?84. So I think that one would probably be my favorite.

Ebbetts field in Brooklyn was really great for me because it was my first job, and I really liked the people. The Dodgers had a contending team, a pennant winner my second year there.

There?s so many things. You know the Giants won in ?51 and that was a great thrill. Just going to Baltimore and being the first announcer there was a great break for me as well.

So it?s hard to put your finger on, but I?d probably say it?s the ?68 Tigers.

EH: I?ve got a lot of them. The guy I like the best out of all the managers I worked with was probably Sparky. I think he was probably the best manager that I saw. I liked Durocher, he was a good sharp one. Bob Scheffing was one of my personal favorites. Although he didn?t last too long, we were real close friends. Paul Richards was another one that I had a lot of admiration for. He taught me more about baseball than any of the other guys.

EH: [laughing] I guess Nestor Shylack. I liked his attitude. I liked his enthusiasm. I liked the way he approached the game. I liked the way he was fairly liberal with not tossing guys out. And he was an excellent umpire. There were a lot of great ones, but I think probably he was my favorite.

EH: I tell you we could make a list of a hundred of those. Norman Cash probably. Clint Courtney was another one. A fellow named Ray Murray in Baltimore, a sort of a journey man catcher was another one. Mark Fydrich. And Ted Williams was always an interesting personality I thought.

EH: Well you know, everybody has a different reaction I guess. One of them that I liked a lot was the rookie in the Southern League. Joe Engel was sort of the Barnum of Baseball in the minor leagues, sort of an early Bill Veeck. He had a shortstop that was holding out. In those days a telegram was a big deal. You negotiated by Western Union. He got a telegram from this guy who said ?Pay me $5000 or count me out.? So Joe Engel sent back a telegram that said, ?One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten.?

Another one I like is Gene Mauch, when he retired as a player he actually got a hammer and nails and nailed his shoes up against his locker.

Those things, there?s millions of them and it is sort of hard to put your finger on one. I sort of like the one about the two-tone bat. It started when Dixie Walker went to Louisville and he found a bat in a bucket of paint. About half way up the bat was one color, and the rest of the way up the bat was another color. That started the two-tone bat.

But all those things I like to delve into them because they are a little bit different.

EH: Well, retirement is going beautifully. I just took another direction, I’m still as active as I was, I’m just not doing play by play. I’m the spokesman for Blue Cross Blue Shield. We signed a ten year contract with a ten year option so I’m going to have to live to be 106 to fulfill it. But I’m going to do it or die trying, one or the other. It keeps me busy. I do a lot of speaking, a lot of commercials. They use me on the billboards at Ford Field, Comerica Park and all over Michigan. It’s been pretty productive for us and it’s been a great association.

Also I’ll be writing my column for the Free Press. It starts next week and I’ve been doing it every summer for 15 years now.

And in addition to that I do about 27 vignettes on FSN Detroit that they use. Just sort of stand up and tell a story and reminisce a little bit.

And other than that I’m just sort of hanging around here. I don’t miss the play by play much. I did it for seven decades and 55 years, so I feel like that was enough. I did enough damage and I’m just going to let other guys do it now.

EH: Yes I do. I went down to spring training. I got to schmooze around with them a little bit. I had dinner with Alan Trammell and some of the other guys. I keep an eye on them, more as a fan now than as a worker. But, I don’t follow them quite as closely, naturally, because I don’t travel with them. But I go down to the ballpark now and then.

EH: I listen on the radio most of the time, but if there’s TV I might look a little bit at that.

EH: Well, I think everybody’s optimistic, but that’s part of it being spring time you know? I feel everything is going good. I think they’ll be better. I’m not quite as optimistic as some people. So much depends on that young pitching staff. We’ve got to wait and see if they continue to be promising and see how they establish themselves as major league starters.

EH: Well, I had been in Detroit for quite a while before that started. I’d say it was probably in the mid 70’s or early 80’s. I don’t have any idea that I can put my finger on it precisely. But I was reading that in the bible and it sort of struck me that this reminded me a lot of spring training and Opening Day, and I began to use it and people picked it up so I kept on using it.

EH: Detroit was always a favorite city of mine when I traveled in the American League when I went to Baltimore in 1954. The first two games the Orioles played in their new Major League situation were in Tiger Stadium. I used to come to Detroit with the Orioles and I really liked the town a lot, and made some friends here. Then when Van Patrick was out as the announcer after the 1959 season, the Tigers got in touch with me and wanted to know if I’d be interested in leaving Baltimore. I felt like I had a good job there, and I was very happy there but I’d be foolish not to listen to an offer. They made me a good offer and I decided I’d come.

The franchise at that time was a well established franchise. It was a great baseball town, Michigan had terrific support for the Tigers. All those things enticed me to come here.

EH: He’s had a tough time. I’ve called him several times. The last time I called him he couldn’t’ get to the phone, but I talked to his wife Carolyn. He has had a struggle.

When he was playing he got hurt in Baltimore, and he was up and around the press box so I said come on, get on the air with us. He did a few innings on the radio with us and seemed to like it. Then he got a job with CBS on the pregame show. He landed a job here [Detroit], and when an opening came up he called me in New York right at the end of the season in ‘59. He told me the Tigers were interested in me and asked if I’d come. So there was a little payback there and we had a great association.

EH: I did that for a little while, but that was sort of a Red Barber thing. He did that in Brooklyn, and would give the score and then turnover the egg timer. But it took a little bit too long I think, to drain the sand out and I felt you ought to give the score a little more often than that. I really made that my number one priority. If you don’t do that the listener really can’t set himself or herself psychologically as to how to listen to the game. I believe that’s the first thing that an announcer has to do is to keep people informed about what the score is.

EH: I never did that. I just thought it would be more effective if you just react to whatever happens. You can never anticipate how it’s going to happen. Sometimes, like Aaron’s homer you can look forward to, but it’s too contrived to prepare what you’re going to say. So I always just let it go and react in the way that it hit me when the event happened.

EH: No, I’d prepared a little bit of a speech there as I remember it. I felt like I had to do that. It was uncharacteristic, you’re right about that. I can’t remember another time. I think in Baltimore we came back and did something after the game was over. And I think in Toronto [Ernie's final game] we did it right at the end of the game.

EH: Ideally I think they should make some kind of a shrine out of it. Maybe keep it alive and have sandlot baseball or something like that. But it seems like it is such a large problem to get money to maintain it, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think eventually it will either fall down or be the victim of the wrecking ball.

I know a lot of people in the years since the closing of the stadium had been imminent have had grandiose ideas about what to do but, nobody has come up with any money. They have a lot of neat things that they think should happen, but nobody comes up with the backing. I just don’t think it’s going anywhere.

EH: Well, I think so. It’s a matter of practicality. I think it would probably cost a lot more money to knock it down than have it fall down. Either way it is going to be a sad occasion, but I think the better way to do it would be to have the wrecking ball take over.

EH: Oh yeah, I’d bring it up to date. I’ve been tempted to do that. I think ESPN or CBS or somebody had a TV game opening the season and they asked me to change it a little bit and I did for that occasion. But I always felt that I should leave it as is. If I ever recite it I always say that times have changed and a lot of things have happened to the game, good and bad. But I really think the spirit of the game between the lines is pretty much the same as it was.

I’ve had people know it’s written in 1955 because you say things like Honus Wagner hit a triple 46 years ago [laughing], and there are a lot of great players that aren’t even mentioned in that. You have to be selective when you make it. For instance I didn’t mention Ted Williams although he was contemporary then. Then people that came later like Hank Aaron, and Roger Maris, and Barry Bonds aren’t even in there. That’s why I think it’s better to keep it the way it is and give a little preface.