Favorite Sparky story / moment

[theforty]

Just wondering what everybody's favorite Sparky Anderson story / moment was...

[harlem]

"He don't wanna walk you".

[theforty]

I'll go with Sparky walking Rob Deer out to the mound.

It was '92 or '93, and the opponent was Milwaukee (I think). Rob was plunked, and he glared briefly at the pitcher prior to heading out towards first. En route to first, the pitcher went through a series of gestures, suggesting he wanted to fight / Rob was afraid of him. Rob simply ignored it, but Sparky charged out of the dugout, escorted Rob to the mound, where Rob appeared to have about 4 inches and 50 pounds on the pitcher. The pitcher stopped making his gestures immediately after Rob arrived.

I know it doesn't sound that funny or whatever reading it now, but I found it hilarious at the time...

[theburns]

Probably him not putting up with the bullshit scab players and walking out during 95 spring training.

It ultimately cost him his job, but I agreed with the sentiment.


Other moments:

- Him playing with George Bell's head during the final weeks of the 87 season by saying that the Tigers weren't going to pitch to him which led Bell to swing wildly at almost everything.

- Leading the 1991 team into first place the last week of August when they had no business being in first place (the same day he appeared in the Old Timers game and feebly grounded out).

- Him getting cut by a bottle during the 84 post season

- Him announcing that he would have Fielder bat leadoff in the late stage of 1990 to get him closer to 50 home runs (remember when that was a magical numbers).

- "If you don't like Carl Willis, you don't like ice cream."

[theforty]

Sparky wrote in his book that not managing scab players is the thing he is most proud of in his baseball career. He also wrote that he believes he was never offered another job as a manager after that because the owners were so pissed at him.