Detroit Tigers set to retire Sparky’s No. 11
Sparky Anderson will be dearly remembered for his contribution to Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds. The epic skipper passed away last year, following an illustrious career in the years preceding 2011. Retiring as a Cincinnati
ballplayer, Sparky spent his share of time with the American League Tigers.
Anderson spent 17 years with Detroit and brought in the World Series Championship title in 1984. Being a top manager for the club, the veteran moved out to retire in 1995. He was able to win the division title in 1987, which was
later missed for another 8 years. Nevertheless, he was able to win 1331 games for the team and moved towards the Hall of Fame induction in 2000. That is something one will look at in review of Anderson’s role with the Tigers.
Now, embedded in history as a veteran legend, Sparky will be remembered hard by his peers and baseball affiliates in Detroit. Current manager, Jim Leyland, was in touch with the gaffer last year as the regular league season progressed
on. The veteran made a trip to the Dodgers’ stadium to meet up with the club roster and the team members.
With the spring training session set to start soon, club president and general manager, Dave Dombrowski has come out to announce that the skipper will be honoured with his number’s retirement. Anderson, known for his No. 11 will
be given the official acknowledgement that was honoured to the likes of Hall of Famers; Charlie Gehringer, Al Kaline, Hank Greenberg, Hal Newhouser and Tigers Hall.
Two years ago, Sparky made an appearance at Comerica Park on the 25th anniversary of the World Series title in 1984. Several great Tigers players made special appearances at the show to cast their support for an honoured
retirement of Sparky’s number. Kirk Gibson, Lance Parrish, Jack Morris and Alan Trammell were all present to support the skipper.
"In a way, it was his own way of being honoured by everybody here," Dombrowski said. "You could see the way the players were with him. I don't think you could have - and I can't speak for Sparky - but I don't know that he would've
felt any differently at that point. He was so honoured, the way everybody showed up, and you could just see the love for him. And he and (Tigers owner) Mike Ilitch had a nice conversation during that time. It was just fantastic to see."
When it came to honouring Sparky with the number’s retirement, Dombrowski mentioned that the issue never came up with the veterans on the support.
"I've never been involved, and maybe shame on me, where that topic has been addressed," Dombrowski said. "And I think we're all aware, we all know what he's accomplished. But it's a situation where the whole time I'm here, so many
things go on, and you just (think) things are the way they are in certain situations, and we just never even had the conversation. And really, sometimes you sit back and say, 'Geez,' afterward, but it's one of those things where, when we sat down and we knew
we were going to honour him once he passed away, when I sat down with (Ilitch), if you didn't retire his number, it fell short for us."
2011 is supposed to mark the year Tigers will work towards punching a victory in the American League Central Division and move towards the playoffs. The stretch for glory may be what Detroit need to get to the limelight in Major
League Baseball
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