Wockenfuss spent eight seasons in the minors before making the ML for good in 1975,
then lasted 12 ML seasons as a backup catcher and a solid but slow-footed righthanded-hitting
reserve. 1980 was the only year in which he played more than 100 games, and he hit
.274 for the Tigers that year with career highs in HR (16) and RBI (65). Wockenfuss
played for Detroit for ten years, then was traded with Glenn Wilson to the Phillies
for Willie Hernandez and Dave Bergman in March 1984, as the Tigers embarked on a
World Championship season.
(SCL)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»May 11, 1989:
The Tigers, with the worst record in the ML, lose 3–1 to their Toledo farm club. The winning pitcher is 40-year-old Mud Hens manager John Wockenfuss, who never pitched during his 12-year ML career.
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