June 10.  Denver, CO

The big news here in Denver is the injury to first year phenom Clint Barmes.  Apparently Mr. Barmes fractured his collarbone when he took a tumble while walking upstairs with a bag of groceries…er….deer meat.  Nice.  The injury has put the breaks on what was a terrific season for the rookie.  Barmes was on pace to finish the season with a .328 average, 24 homers and 102 RBI.  Those are Rookie of the Year type numbers.  While Barmes’ injury can be classified as freakish, it may not take the cake.  Consider these beauties:  Outfielder Glenallen Hill missed some games because he hurt himself falling out of bed.  He was having a nightmare about spiders and was trying to escape them…. pitcher Greg Minton once drove a nail through his pitching hand while trying to shoe a horse…. Bret Barberie was scratched from the lineup when he inadvertently rubbed chili pepper in his eyes… Steve Sparks once dislocated his shoulder trying to rip a phone book in half…Sammy Sosa sprained a ligament in his back when he sneezed violently….Denny Hocking broke his nose after hitting a walk-off home run.  His teammates were waiting for him at home plate and started slapping him on the helmet.  The bill slid down his forehead and crunched his nose.  Okey Dokey then.

Getting back to the Rookie of the Year stuff.  The Tigers have had three players win the award in club history.  Harvey Kuenn won it in 1953, Mark Fidrych in 1976 and Sweet Lou Whitaker in 1977.

Here are some of the better rookie seasons posted by Tigers:

Player                   Year             AVE        HR       RBI

Hank Greenberg     1933             .301        12          87

Willie Horton         1965            .273         29        104

Steve Kemp           1977            .257         18         88

Matt Nokes            1987            .289        32        87                     

Mark Fidrych          1976  (19-9 2.34)

Dave Rozema         1977  (15-7 3.09)

For the record, qualifications for rookie status and other rules and regulations can be found here.