No Higgy This Spring, And It Doesn't Seem All That Strange

Not in camp this spring: Bobby Higginson

The full Tigers squad reports to Lakeland today, and for the first time in 13 years, Bobby Higginson will not be among those pulling on the creamy white uniform with the Old English D on its left breast.

Higginson is no longer a Tiger -- but hadn't really been much of one for several years prior to his official departure. So even though this is the first spring camp since 1993 that will not have Higginson amongst its participants, his absence doesn't create one of those stark, "Boy this is weird without Bobby" things. Because the Tigers have been pretty much without Bobby Higginson's services for most of the 2000's anyhow.

Higginson's career as a Tiger died a slow death. You could even say that the cemetery plot was being picked out as early as 2001, when Higgy had just signed a fat contract largely based on his 2000 season, when he batted .300 with 30 HR and 102 RBI and 104 runs scored. Over the next four seasons (2001-04), Higginson averaged 13 HR and 63 RBI with a composite BA of .260. He bottomed out in 2005, managing just two hits in 26 AB (.077).

Last spring, manager Alan Trammell showed deference to Higginson and his tenure as a Tiger by keeping him on the 25-man roster, despite a typically poor Florida performance and the hot hitting of fellow outfielder Marcus Thames. The inference was clear: most other players would have been lopped off the roster. But Bobby Higginson, with his 11 years as a Tiger, would remain. It was a decision that caused some rancor. Dmitri Young, in fact, publicly declared that Thames got "screwed" -- Young's word -- by being sent to Toledo despite such a solid spring.

But there's no need for such drama this March. Higginson is gone, out of the Tigers' hair for good. We could speculate all day about why Higginson's production dropped so dramatically after signing the rich contract between 2000-01. There were some injuries. The team was mostly awful. Managers came and went. They all wore on Higginson -- beat him up mentally almost as much as the injuries beat him up physically. Maybe more so. All he wanted was the chance to play for a winner. But other than a pseudo fling with wild card contention in 2000, the Tigers during Higginson's run never came close to fielding a team that played even .500 ball -- let alone a playoff contender.

Bob Lanier was another one of those tormented athletes in Detroit. For nearly ten seasons, Lanier put himself through hell with the Pistons, playing on wobbly knees and with broken hands and achey backs and doing so for several different coaches. At least one of those coaches -- Dick Vitale -- privately accused Bob Lanier of dogging it, during one of the center's many bouts with the injury bug. It was an unwarranted, cruel blow. And the national media didn't help. There was an underlying tone, a whispered mantra: Bob Lanier may be many things, but he is not a winner.

Finally Lanier was set free in February 1980 -- sent to the contending Milwaukee Bucks. With Bob Lanier playing center for them, the Bucks instantly became a serious threat to win divisions and playoff series. They did both of those several times, though they never could get over the hump and ply Lanier with a championship ring.

Higginson joins Lanier, Barry Sanders, Robert Porcher and David Bing as athletes in Detroit whose long and meritorious service was never matched by their team's success. Even Higgy's downward slide doesn't remove him from this list. He still played 12 seasons as a Tiger -- an honest sort who didn't play half speed and who only wanted some team success along the way. He never got any to speak of.

So spring camp may not seem all that weird in 2006 without Bobby Higginson in it, but that shouldn't take away from what ended up being a decent baseball career -- and all in Detroit.