John Wockenfuss

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Roger King

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Apr 13, 2020, 10:54:21 PM4/13/20
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I think many of us have had a soft spot for some key Tiger role players over the years.  John Wockenfuss was one of these guys.  He was mainly known as the Tigers back-up catcher, starting 230+ games there over the course of his 10 years with the Tigers (1974-1983).  And that's how I always think of him.

But once Sparky became Manager in 1979 - and Lance Parrish became the regular catcher - Wockenfuss became a Tony Phillips-Don Kelly-Niko Goodrum kind of player, moving around to different positions.  He played 60 games in the OF in 1978, 31 games at 1st base in 1979, 52 more games at 1st in 1980 + 23 games in the OF etc...plus anywhere from 20-38 games at DH from 1980-83.  

I just think of him as the cliche light hitting back-up catcher but not only was he the multiple position guy I mention above but he actually learned to hit right along with adjusting to those new positions.  I was really surprised how good his numbers were.

From 1977-1982, his OPS was above .800 in 4 of those seasons, with a high of .860 in 1982.
He was an on-base machine in a couple of those seasons with a .390 OBP in 1980, in 444 plate appearances.  And .388 in that 1982 season.  
Not a huge power guy but he managed to hit 15 home runs in only 254 PA's in 1979 and 16 HR's in 1980. 

From 1977 to 1983 (his last year with the Tigers), he never had an OPS lower than .769 except the strike-shortened season of 1981 when he came in at .717 in only 202 PA's.

He finished with a career OPS of .782.  

He was of course part of that key trade before the 1984 season where he went to Philadelphia along with Glenn Wilson for Dave Bergman and some guy named Willie Hernandez.  He managed a .807 OPS for Philly that season before being released in 1985 after only 37 at bats.  And that was it for his career.

I really did not recall him having these kinds of numbers.  Sparky was such a master at getting the best out of role players. 

This post does not connect to anything we've been discussing on the list lately.  I just randomly thought of Wockenfuss and decided to look up the numbers, so there you go!


Roger King
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Jeffrey Withey

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Apr 13, 2020, 11:12:38 PM4/13/20
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Wockenfuss was a big favorite of mine and he had one of the all time great weird batting stances. 

Jeff

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On Apr 13, 2020, at 10:54 PM, Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com> wrote:


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Peter Welch

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Apr 14, 2020, 12:21:14 AM4/14/20
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Johnny B. Wockenfuss was one of my favorites as well.  He could hit and had excellent bat control.  They would often use the hit-and-run when he batted.  He had a goofy closed stance and he would wiggle his fingers waiting for the pitcher to throw.  A friend of mine's parents at the time were friends with Wockenfuss and got his autograph for me.

I was bummed when they traded him and Glenn Wilson to the Phillies for Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman.  I thought Hernandez was just a decent middle reliever but nothing more and Bergman didn't have a lot of power for a 1B.  I thought Wilson was going to be a star RF (he had a gun for an arm) and I was just a fan of Wockenfuss as a utility guy.  I got that one wrong.  Wockenfuss only lasted 2 more years and Wilson never developed into a star.  As we know Hernandez was one of the key reasons the Tigers won the '84 WS and Bergman was a decent platoon 1B/pinch-hitter for several years and had one of the most epic at-bats in Tigers' history in the '84 season:
On June 4th, 1984 the Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 in 10 innings. Dave Bergman hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning, after an epic 13 pitch battle.

Peter

From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Jeffrey Withey <jwi...@med.wayne.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2020 11:12 PM
To: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Cc: Tigers List <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: John Wockenfuss
 

Roger King

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Apr 14, 2020, 12:40:34 AM4/14/20
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Here's a Wockenfuss at bat, so you can see the batting stance.  George Kell & Al Kaline doing the broadcast.


Peter Welch

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Apr 14, 2020, 1:00:47 AM4/14/20
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Eddie Miller at leadoff.  LOL!

Peter

From: Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 12:40 AM
To: Peter Welch <pw...@hotmail.com>
Cc: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: John Wockenfuss
 

Dave

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Apr 14, 2020, 6:14:53 AM4/14/20
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On a sad note, Wockenfuss is suffering from dementia.  He is not as bad as Freehan who pretty much lies in bed all day long.  Here is a newspaper column on Wockenfuss:

Roger King

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Apr 14, 2020, 9:37:26 AM4/14/20
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Thanks for posting Dave. Wockenfuss seems to believe that home plate collisions contributed to his dementia. Given he and Freehan were the Tigers two catchers for a couple of years and they are both suffering from the same thing, there may be truth to what he says.
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Roger King
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Peter Welch

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Apr 14, 2020, 11:15:05 AM4/14/20
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Sad about Freehan and Wockenfuss.  
That has to be a concern for ex-catchers.  I know Alex Avila suffered several concussions when he was with the Tigers.  I'm sure he has to be worried about the long-term effects of that.

Peter

From: detroit...@googlegroups.com <detroit...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Roger King <pnag...@pnagency.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 9:37 AM
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Subject: Re: John Wockenfuss

Shawn Parker

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Apr 14, 2020, 12:57:25 PM4/14/20
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CTE is bad news. It's amazing how a few years ago before it was even thought of people would've just thought they had their bell run instead of the actual thing of a concussion.

Brad

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Apr 14, 2020, 2:09:46 PM4/14/20
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Thanks for that link Peter! A favorite memory, to be sure. I'm not sure Bergman didn't strike out on that 7th pitch, but the ump must've been right.
-Brad
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