Dave Bergman Interview
This was just going to be another luncheon at Comerica Park for the fantasy camp send off to Lakeland, Florida. Only this time, Kevin and I were going to interview former Tiger, Dave Bergman. There are two luncheon’s a year, at the COPA, for those of us who still long to wear a Tiger uniform and spend the weekend playing ball under the lights of a major league ballpark with former stars of our childhood.
When you think about the magical 1984 season for the Detroit Tigers, “hard working blue collar team” comes to mind. The 1984 Tigers cruised to a franchise-record 104 victories, besting their previous record of 103 set in 1968. Starting off at a 35-5 pace they easily won the Division, winning by a staggering 15 games over the Toronto Blue Jays. One of the players on that team was Dave Bergman. He played in the majors for a total of nineteen seasons; nine of those seasons were in Detroit. He also had a stint with the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants and a brief stay with the Philadelphia Phillies before he and pitcher Willie Hernandez were sent to the Tigers for John Wockenfuss and Glenn Owens.
Many Tiger fans will remember June 4th, 1984. It was the Monday Night Game of the Week, Roy Lee Jackson was on the mound for the Blue Jays and there were two men on base with two outs in the 11th inning. Bergman had a count of 3-2 and proceeded to foul off seven more pitches, for a thirteen pitch at bat. After seven minutes at the plate Bergman picked up a low pitch and slammed it into the upper deck of Tiger Stadium for a three-run walk-off home run.
