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Matt Kinzer Matt Kinzer pitched 1 2/3 innings on May 26, 1990 in a 10-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Acquired in an offseason trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, Kinzer was assigned to AAA Toledo in Spring Training 1990. He was recalled from the Mud Hens on May 25, making his season debut the next day. Entering the game in the 8th inning with one out and White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen on first, he surrendered a walk, a double, and two singles leading to four Chicago runs before finally getting out of the inning. He returned to pitch the top of the 9th, this time issuing only a leadoff walk to White Sox catcher Ron Karkovice before retiring Craig Grebeck, Lance Johnson, and Robin Ventura. Two days later, he returned to Toldeo, never to be seen on a major league mound again. Of note, however (as mentioned by RedRamage), Kinzer is, to date, the only person to have appeared in a game for both the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions. On October 11, 1987, Kinzer served as a replacement player as much of the NFL was on strike. Having been the punter during his time at Purdue University, he punted seven times for 238 yards as the (mainly) replacement Lions beat the (mainly) replacement Packers in overtime by a score of 19-16. Once the NFL players and owners reached an agreement later that week, Kinzer's NFL career came to an end.

Jay Sborz Jay Sborz pitched 2/3 of an inning on June 22, 2010 as the Tigers were thumped 14-6 by the New York Mets in interleague action. Sborz, who had been recalled from Toledo earlier in the day, entered the game in the third inning in relief of an ineffective Justin Verlander and had an inauspicious start to his career as he hit the first two batters he faced (on consecutive pitches, no less). He then managed to induce a groundout and a strikeout (though it was Mets pitcher Jon Niese bunting foul), followed by three consecutive hits to Mets batters Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, and David Wright. At that point, manager Jim Leyland had seen enough and went to the mound (presumably cursing under his breath (barely)) to retrieve the shell shocked Sborz. Two days later, Sborz returned to Toledo, never to be seen on a major league mound again, saddling him with a career ERA of 67.50. He did, however, make it on to several trading cards.

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Don Leshnock Don Leshnock pitched one inning against the California Angels on June 7, 1972. It was his only career major league game despite spending the entire month of June on the Tigers' active roster after being recalled from Toledo on May 30. Leshnock pitched the 9th inning of a 5-1 Tigers loss, during which he struck out Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan and future Tigers batting coach Vada Pinson. He surrendered two hits and no runs, giving him a pristine career ERA of 0.00. Ryan pitched a complete game 3-hitter, striking out 5 Tigers batters to pick up his 5th win of the season. Leshnock spent three more seasons pitching for assorted minor league teams and was inducted into the Youngstown State University Hall of Fame in 1986.

Ed Irwin Ed Irwin played third base for the Tigers on May 18, 1912 as part of a squad of replacement players. Many readers here know the story of Ty Cobb being suspended by American League president Ban Johnson for attacking a heckler in the crowd, and the team's subsequent refusal to take the field until Cobb was reinstated. After Johnson threated to fine Tigers owner Frank Navin $5000 for any forfeited games, the notoriously tight fisted Navin ordered Tigers manager Hughie Jennings to "find players". The Tigers were in Philadelphia to play against the Athletics, and sources report that Jennings recruited any young men he could find in the neighborhood of Shibe Park, the Athletics' home. Irwin was one of those young men, and in his only major league game, he astonishingly hit two triples in three at bats. Tigers starting pitcher Allen Travers, also making his only MLB appearance, said that he was actually pitching well "until they started bunting. The fellow playing third base had never played baseball before." According to Wikipedia, Irwin died four years later when he was "thrown through a saloon window in Philadelphia, a shard of glass penetrating his jugular vein." There is no report on whether the squad of replacement players was issued Tigers uniforms, or if they just played in whatever attire they happened to be wearing when found. Also, this is what the internet offers for an image of Ed Irwin.

Chris Bando Bando appeared as a defensive replacement for the Tigers on September 13, 1988 in a 9-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Having previously served as the backup catcher for the Cleveland Indians since the 1981 season, Bando had been released by the Tribe on August 14 after struggling to a .125 batting average. The Tigers signed Bando on September 2, adding him to the active roster thanks to the September expansion. Despite spending almost a month with the team, he came into a game only once, replacing starting catcher Matt Nokes in the 8th inning, with Nokes having been pinch hit for by Mike Heath (who grounded into a double play) in the 7th. Bando caught reliever Paul Gibson in the bottom of the 8th inning in Toronto, which featured Gibson retiring future Hall of Famer Fred McGriff on a ground ball to third. Bando was released by the Tigers following the '88 season, after which he played in one more career game for the Oakland Athletics.

This is the first in what will hopefully become a series of posts examining players who have appeared in exactly ONE career game with the Tigers. It may not be updated daily, but hopefully at least a few times per week. With that said, let's begin...

With his final season at the All-Star break, where does Miguel Cabrera rank historically? He is... 22nd in MLB history in hits with 3128. He needs 14 more to pass Tony Gwynn for 21st. 8th in team history in hits with 2286. He needs 80 more to pass Alan Trammell for 7th. 27th in MLB history in home runs with 508. He needs 2 more to pass Gary Sheffield for 26th. 3rd in team history in home runs with 370. He needs 4 more to pass Norm Cash for 2nd. 13th in MLB history in RBI with 1861. He needs 49 more to pass Willie Mays for 12th. 5th in team history in RBI with 1338. He needs 90 more to pass Charlie Gehringer for 4th. 14th in MLB history in doubles with 617. He needs 8 more to pass Hank Aaron for 13th. 5th in team history in doubles with 434. He needs 64 more to pass Harry Heilmann for 4th. 15th in MLB history in total bases with 5303. He needs 7 more to pass Adrian Beltre for 14th. 4th in team history in total bases with 3844. He needs 414 more to pass Charlie Gehringer for 3rd. 61st in MLB history in runs scored with 1540. He needs 5 more to pass Manny Ramirez for 60th. 9th in team history in runs scored with 1091. He needs 25 more to pass Sam Crawford for 8th. 56th in MLB history in walks with 1248. He needs 2 more to pass Ty Cobb for 55th. 7th in team history in walks with 926. He needs 100 more to pass Norm Cash for 6th. 9th in MLB history in intentional walks with 238. He needs 9 more to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for 8th. 1st in team history in intentional walks with 168. 15th in MLB history in extra base hits with 1142. He needs 10 more to pass Adrian Beltre for 14th. 4th in team history in extra base hits with 811. He needs 93 more to pass Charlie Gehringer for 3rd.

Assuming no one else expires in the next 35 hours or so, here are persons associated with the Tige

With another season in the books, where does Miguel Cabrera rank historically? He is... 25th in MLB history in hits with 3088. He needs 2 more to pass Ichiro Suzuki for 24th. 8th in team history in hits with 2246. He needs 120 more to pass Alan Trammell for 7th. 27th in MLB history in home runs with 507. He needs 3 more to pass Gary Sheffield for 26th. 3rd in team history in home runs with 369. He needs 5 more to pass Norm Cash for 2nd. 14th in MLB history in RBI with 1847. He needs 14 more to pass Mel Ott for 13th. 5th in team history in RBI with 1324. He needs 104 more to pass Charlie Gehringer for 4th. 16th in MLB history in total bases with 5250. He needs 22 more to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for 15th. 4th in team history in total bases with 3791. He needs 466 more to pass Charlie Gehringer for 3rd. 14th in MLB history in doubles with 607. He needs 18 more to pass Hank Aaron for 13th. 5th in team history in doubles with 424. He needs 74 more to pass Harry Heilmann for 4th. 57th in MLB history in walks with 1227. He needs 17 more to pass Willie Randolph for 56th. 7th in team history in walks with 905. He needs 121 more to pass Norm Cash for 6th. 16th in MLB history in extra base hits with 1131. He needs 6 more to pass Ty Cobb for 15th. 5th in team history in extra base hits with 800. He needs 7 more to pass Harry Heilmann for 4th. 62nd in MLB history in runs scored with 1530. He needs 3 more to pass Frankie Frisch for 61st. 9th in team history in runs scored with 1081. He needs 35 more to pass Sam Crawford for 8th.

With the '22 All-Star break upon us, where does Miguel Cabrera rank historically? He is... 25th in MLB history in hits with 3069. He needs 21 more to pass Ichiro Suzuki for 24th. 8th in team history in hits with 2227. He needs 139 more to pass Alan Trammell for 7th. 27th in MLB history in home runs with 505. He needs 5 more to pass Gary Sheffield for 26th. 3rd in team history in home runs with 367. He needs 7 more to pass Norm Cash for 2nd. 16th in MLB history in RBI with 1838. He needs 2 more to pass Ted Williams for 15th. 5th in team history in RBI with 1315. He needs 93 more to pass Charlie Gehringer for 4th. 14th in MLB history in doubles with 605. He needs 20 more to pass Hank Aaron for 13th. 5th in team history in doubles with 422. He needs 76 more to pass Harry Heilmann for 4th. 16th in MLB history in total bases with 5223. He needs 49 more to pass Ken Griffey Jr. for 15th. 5th in team history in total bases with 3764. He needs 15 more to pass Harry Heilmann for 4th. 59th in MLB history in walks with 1215. He needs 2 more to pass Dave Winfield for 58th. 7th in team history in walks with 893. He needs 133 more to pass Norm Cash for 6th. 17th in MLB history in extra base hits with 1127. He needs 5 more to pass Tris Speaker for 16th. 5th in team history in extra base hits with 796. He needs 11 more to pass Harry Heilmann for 4th. 64th in MLB history in runs scored with 1524. He needs 5 more to pass Kenny Lofton for 63rd. 9th in team history in runs scored with 1075. He needs 41 more to pass Sam Crawford for 8th. 37th in MLB history in games played with 2666. He needs 5 more to pass Rabbit Maranville for 36th. 9th in team history in games played with 1946. He needs 44 more to pass Harry Heilmann for 8th. Check in again at the end of the season for an update.