MLB Tigers Season Wrapup

CLEMSON, S.C. – Seven former Tigers played in the major leagues in 2015, one of the highest totals in school history. Included in the list was first-year major leaguer Richie Shaffer. Veterans Jeff Baker, Dominic Leone, Brad Miller, Kyle Parker, Ben Paulsen and Tony Sipp also saw action in the majors in 2015.

As a rookie with the Tampa Bay Rays, Shaffer (2010-12) made an immediate impact. He hit four homers and three doubles in only 74 at-bats over 31 games. Shaffer’s teammate in 2010, Parker (2008-10), played his second major league season with the Colorado Rockies. Both Shaffer and Parker hit their first career major league homers on the same day. Parker hit three homers, three doubles and one triple with 11 RBIs and 10 runs in 106 at-bats in 2015.

Parker’s teammate with the Rockies for the second year in a row was Paulsen (2007-09), who batted .277 with 11 homers, 19 doubles, four triples and 49 RBIs in 325 at-bats. In 147 career MLB games, Paulsen is hitting .284 with 15 homers and 59 RBIs.

Miller (2009-11), in his third year with the Seattle Mariners, started slow in 2015, but came on strong to finish the year with a .258 batting average, 11 homers, 22 doubles, four triples and 46 RBIs in 438 at-bats. In 343 career games, Miller is hitting .248 with 29 homers, 48 doubles, 14 triples and 118 RBIs.

Baker (2000-02) played his 11th major league overall season and second with the Miami Marlins in 2015. He totaled three homers, three doubles and eight RBIs in 72 at-bats. He has accumulated 54 home runs, 108 doubles, 15 triples and 235 RBIs in 748 career MLB games.

Sipp (2004), a lefthanded reliever, added to his stellar professional career by registering a 1.99 ERA and 62 strikeouts against only 15 walks and 41 hits in 54.1 innings pitched over 60 appearances in 2015 with the Houston Astros. He also pitched in all six playoff games and yielded just one hit and no earned runs with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched. In his major league career, he is 21-16 with six saves, a 3.50 ERA and .207 opponents’ batting average in 363.0 innings pitched over 420 appearances.

Leone (2010-12), a righthander, pitched for the Seattle Mariners before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2015 season. He pitched 15.0 innings over 13 relief appearances overall.