It's an honor to bring in a friend of mine and one of the best players the Tigers have ever had, Lance Parrish. He has written a thrilling book. It's really an easy read. It's called The Enchanted Season, The Historic nineteen eighty four Run, and My Life as the Big Wheel. Pick it up because it's worth the read. And he joins us here on exes and Bros. Lance, my friend, how are you today?
I'm doing great, Chep.
How are you doing, Tom, I'm doing fantastic. Thanks for the time. I appreciate what inspired the book.
Well, you know, this is the forty year anniversary of our eighty four World championship. So we were approached Tom Gage and I I are approached by Triumph Books if we were interested in this project. It was like, yeah, I was very excited to do it.
Yeah, I don't blame you. How are you different? What's the difference between Lance Parish and the Big Wheel.
Well, I guess the Big Wheel is kind of an on field persona a association with the Detroit Tigers and my teammates, which was all great at the time. I to be honest with you, don't really look at myself as the Big Wheel. But when it comes up, I obviously identify, Yeah.
A special season. Obviously my favorite team of all time for a lot of different reasons, so influential to so many people. One hundred and four wins starting out thirty five and five, which gets all the recognition, but I think just as impressive, and perhaps even more impressive, was the fact that you guys started seventeen to oh on the road. At what point were you feeling like this team is in incredibly special and we cannot be beaten.
Well, honestly, I don't know if I ever felt that way, and I don't know if anybody in our team during that time felt that way. I mean, we're obviously off to an amazing start, which I don't think we could even comprehend at the time, but the beginning of that season was obviously very special. Thirty five and five, starting out seventeen and oero on the road. I don't see anybody else doing that ever again. So you know, to be a part of that, even to this day and
reflection is pretty special. A great group of guys. Obviously we've finished the job, got it done, one world championship, so that all plays into it. So it was you know, obviously a very very special year.
Lance Paris joined us here on Exes and Bros. On this Wednsday morning. His book is called The Enchanted Season, The Historic nineteen eighty four Run, and My Life as the Big Wheel. I think he should be a Hall of Famer. He's an eight time All Star, he's a three time Gold Glover, he's a six times Silver Slugger. You were a first round pick of the Tigers, but it was kind of unexpected. Can you take us through that journey early on in life and how it came to be.
Well, you know, I try to touch on that a little bit in the book, and obviously what I've tried to portray is is, you know how I was not really wrapped up in professional sports when I was a kid. I was more of an outborsy kind of guy and roaming around catching lizards, snake and you know, things that young kids do. And I just I played sport as
you know, I guess, something to occupy my time. And as I got a little better with it and got into high school, and you know, schools started taking notice, professional teams started taking notice. This thing just kind of evolved. So when I was drafted, I had no idea that I was good enough to be drafted the professional baseball It wasn't like I had any scouts coming around talking to me. I mean I talked to plenty of college people because I was being recruited to play football and
baseball at that level. But I don't think I ever had a conversation with a professional baseball scout. Even though I heard that there was guys sitting in the stands, I didn't do they were. So when right before the draft, there was a high school baseball coach at our league that came up to me and said, you know what, You're going to be a number one drafter And I was like, yeah, right. So anyway that you know, the Tigers drafted me in the first round, and I was pretty excited about that.
You were a quarterback in high school. I mean in the book, you've got some great pictures of you in your early days. You've got your senior picture in high school. You got you thrown a pass at the quarterback position, you got you signing the contract. Who was looking at you for football? And what swayed you to go to baseball route?
Well, you know, I actually went on five recruiting trips to different schools during that time period. My senior year, I went to UCLA, USC, Nebraska, Arizona State, and cal Berkeley, which you know, I throw out there that I honestly wasn't really interested in going to cal bert But the guy that was recruiting me was the most amazing guy, and I enjoyed being around him so much so it was almost like I couldn't refuse him when he offered me the opportunity to go up and visit their campus
and all that. But the irony and looking back on that, even though you know you mentioned that I was a quarterback and I wanted to play quarterback in college, the two quarterbacks they had at the time at cal Berkeley were Steve Barkowski and Vince Farragamo, so I'm not so sure I would have cracked that lineup or not. In fact, Vince Farragamo couldn't beat out Barkowski, so he transferred to the brass.
Isn't that something that's a great story? Man, Lance peis joining us here on Exus and Bros. While writing the book, there's so many memories that flooed back right, it's tough to pick out just one from your career and especially from the nineteen eighty four season. But look, the nineteen eighty four season is a big reason why you wrote
the book. Is there anything that you recollect first and foremost when you think of nineteen eighty four besides winning it all, handling Kansas City and the obvious fantastic starts.
Well, I mean, it was so many special moments during the course of that year. You know, as we've talked about the thirty five and five to seventeen and no Jack Morris throwing is no hitter, the great thirteen pits at that by Dave Bergman, which I was standing on second base when that was going on, So that was
pretty exciting. Just you know, various games throughout course the season where we came back at the end of the game to win, And I think that was kind of the mindset of our ball club at the time, that didn't really matter what the score was at any point in the game. We always felt like capable of coming back, and we always felt like we would come there. So it was you know, it was one of those seasons
where we felt very confident in ourselves. So you know, there was just a number of things that happened throughout close of the season.
I thought, what was amazing too when you look at that team, nobody drove in one hundred runs. You drove in ninety eight to lead the team, but nobody drove in one hundred runs, and you were the only player to hit thirty or more homers that year. You hit thirty three. I think Gibbe had twenty seven. So it really was the ultimate team win night in and night out, with not just one person carrying this team it hits or average, and not just one person necessarily carrying it
in power either. It was really displayed throughout the entire lineup, wasn't it well.
I think that was the beauty of our team, And the strength of our team is not only was our starting lineup, hitching staff, you know, starters and bull play, included guys on the bench. Everybody contributed. Everybody played a part at some point the season for our success. So it was it was a great team effort, and I think that's what was That's what made it so satisfying for all of us that we all contributed. I mean, obviously Willie Hernand has had a great year, Willing the MVP,
and Cy Young Award. But you know the guy that was they came in the games before him, Rileo Lopez, who was kind of Wally's set up guy, had pret dang good year himself. I think he was ten and one with fourteen saves and a two something. He all right,
that's a pretty special year in its own right. But as I mentioned the other night, you know, I thought Kurk Gibson could have been the MVP in the American League that year because he was not only had I had a great year statistically, but he was kind of a catalyst, an emotional catalyst on our ball club. So we had a lot of contributors in different areas, but it all obviously culminated as a whole success of our season.
Lance Paris Joiner is here on Exus and Bros. Check out his book. It's a wonderful read. The Enchanted Season, the historic nineteen eighty four run, and My Life is the Big Wheel. I remember wanting as a kid, wanting everybody on that team to stay together. I mean that's just the way you feel, right, especially when you win a championship, you have a connection. It gets emotional. I get emotional. I get emotional to this day. I remember when when Travel and Morris were elected to the Hall
of Fame. I was on Fox Sports Detroit at the time. I was crying because that took place. But I also remember in nineteen eighty seven when you left and my friends and I also cried. We got together and we were visible shaken, upset because you were still I would
consider the prime of your career. I think you were thirty years old, you were coming off an All Star, you were coming off a Silver Slugger season, and you ended up going to Philadelphia and I was living It pissed me off to no end because we all want our heroes. Yeah, we want our heroes. What was that transition like for you to leave some of the not just friends, but guys you've grown up with through the major leagues and winning a championship and to go someplace else.
Well, if I had to put a finger on the most disappointing e them of my entire career, that that would be it, no question. I mean, I viewed myself and hoped to be a Detroit Tiger for my entire career. I had no desire to go anywhere else. I loved very much the team that I was on people that I played alongside coaching staff. But you know, things happened obviously in life that being in the I guess the center of the Collision era, I fell victims to that.
Even though I've always felt like Jim Campbell would do the right thing, he pretty much forced my hand and kind of forced me out the door. So I was very disappointed by that. And you know, I envy Alan Tram and Lou Whitaker who were able to play their entire career in a Detroit Tiger uniform and achieved the success that they did. And I always wanted to be identified as a Detroit Tiger when my playing career was over.
And you know, even though I played for a few teams after I left Detroit, I still first and foremost considered myself a Detroit Tiger. So you know, it was a tough deal, I mean, but you know, life goes on. I always wonder what would have happened if I had stayed there.
Though, yeah, me too. Nineteen years as a major leader that's incredible, especially as a catcher, and three hundred and twenty four career home runs, that too is incredible. And like I've said before, I think you and Bill free I don't say this because you're on my show. I say it because I've felt it, and I've said it for a long time. I think you, Bill Freehan, and Mickey Lolvich, as well as Lou Whitaker, should be in
the Hall of Fame. I don't think Detroit gets enough respect in that regard, and quite honestly, and I don't expect you to comment, I don't think the Tiger's organization do a good enough job of promoting their greats to Hall of Fame status. But I would ask you this you the other night, I thought it was one of the more enjoyable nights I've had all year, listening to you and Tom Gage talk with our friend Elis there
at your book signing the other day. The story you told you told a couple of really zingers, and I loved it. But the story you told about Jack Morris and a guy stealing home against him, can you reiterate that for our listening audience who didn't have a chance to hear that fantastic?
Well, you know, it's just one of those those moments in the career that stand out and you have to look back and laugh at it. Really, you know, I'm sure Jack Morris will be the first guy to admit that, you know, he might have been a little stubborn, looked at things a little differently back in those days. So so the story goes, we were playing a game in the early eighties out in Oakland, and I always ask everybody to just keep in mind that Billy Martin was
the manager of that team. So the events that took place, I'm sure had something to do with, you know, Billy Martin and how his line works. So there was beginning of the game Jack's pitching. It's getaway Day on Sunday afternoon in Oakland. Wayne Gross is on third base. He was a third baseman, and Jack is pitching from a
lind up. So I'm assuming that they were all watching Jack and how slow and deliberate his wind up was, and they probably all thought, you know, if we might be able to take advantage of this, so you know, lo and behold. I think Wayne Gross might have took a couple of trial runs walking down the third base line when Jack was going through his wind up and probably peeking the dugout, and Billy gave him the thumbs
up like, go ahead and do it. So on the next pitch, Wayne Gross takes off when Jack starts his wind up, and Jack kind of tries to speed up his delivery because he sees him steal at home and he you know, he rushed himself through the ball in the dirt, I couldn't hang on to it. So he's ends up being safe at home and consequently stole home, which was kind of embarrassing in itself. So a few
innings later, you know, we have a similar situation. This time their center field at Dwayne Murphy's on third days. So Roger Craig, our pitching coach at that time, takes the initiative, I guess, to call time out and come out to the mount. You know, Jack scuffling a little bit out there, and you know, things were getting a little out of hand, so I think Roger decided to
come out and try and calm him down. So in the midst of his conversation with Jack, trying to calming down a loute that he looks at Jack and says, hey, he goes, uh, why don't you pitch from a stretch right here? Well, you know, Jack knew exactly where he was going. That was like, you know, and rather than do the right thing. Jack was like, you know, I'm not going to pitch from a stretch. I'm going to pitch from a wind up, but I'm going to prove to you that this guy is not going to steal
home off, you know. And and Roger looks at him, like but it says, it's the right thing to do. I mean, you should pitch from a stretch with a guy on there, anyone, you know. And now I'm looking at tram and and whoever else was on the mound at the time, and we're, you know, looking at each other kind of CROSSI like, I can't believe Jack's even arguing with him about it, right, But anyway, Jack was blizing about him said I'm not doing it. I'm bitching
from the stretch. So Roger turns around, he goes, okay, good luck, walks back to the dugout. So we go back to our positions. And I mean, on the first pitch, Jack starts his wind up. Here comes Dwayne Murphy and he's tree he's stealing home and Jack same thing. Deja vu speeds up his delivery, drows the ball in the dirt,
gets by me. Dwayne Murphy safe at home. So now I'm scrambling around by the backtop trying to get the ball, and I look over in the dugout, the opening A's dugout, and they're all over there, laughing and carrying on, like, you know, look at these clowns out here. So when the inning was over, the caper doll is, I walked in the dugout and I wanted to show my frustration, you know, because we had just embarrassed ourselves, you know,
a couple sure, sir. So I took my glove off and I was going to throw it against the back wall the dugout, just to get everybody's attention, show my frustration. Well, when I let my glove go, I realized it was going right at a sticket that was at the end of a pipe that was running down the back of the dugout, and I snapped the stiket off and it was like a fire hydrant exploding in that dugout, and our dougout was filling up with water, and everybody was sprambling,
grabbing their stuff, jumping up on the bench. And Sparky was not too happy, I can tell you.
Yeah.
It wasn't like they could just turn the water off. We had to.
Yeah, he ends up calling you out. Well, listen, it's great stories. There's a ton of those types of stories in the book. It's a fantastic read. It's an easy read, and it's easy to get anywhere you get your books, Amazon and your local bookstore. Lance Parrish, you're the best man. Thanks a lot, appreciate all the storytelling and appreciate your friendship. Luck with the book and we'll see you soon, my friend. Take care.
Thank you, Chip, thanks for having me. Pale