SS Morris Briggs was known around the USBA as a malcontent with great talent. He came to the Sparkplugs at the '95 trade deadline after stalled contract negotiations with two other teams. Detroit immediately signed Briggs to a three year, $34.5 million extension and all has been good since. He won the 1997 Liberty League Silver Slugger award but only after teammate and 1996 winner Bill Johnson went down with a season ending injury in early September. He led the LL with 132 runs scored and 321 total bases and was just one homerun shy of his third career 30 HR/30 SB season. He continued his 1997 success with a .338 batting average in 15 postseason games.
RF Scott Costa was one of the best all around players in the USBA during the '94 & '95 seasons but a career threatening knee injury just five games into 1996 made him a question mark for 1997. Costa did manage to come back but struggled to find his stroke hitting just .246 for the year. When healthy he and Briggs make a potent top two in the batting order each having over 60 SB in 1997. The team hopes that Scott can come close to the player he was just two seasons ago.
2B Bill Johnson passed Jeremy Ellis as the teams most skilled player somewhere around 1993. Johson won the LL PLatinum Rookie award in 1991 and has been a steady producer since. He battled the great Roger Underhill for a few years for the LL Silver Slugger award losing every season until his monster year of 1996 where he hit 45 homers and led the Liberty League in RBI for the second consecutive season. He was well on his way to his third RBI title and second Silver Slugger award when his knee injury sidelined him for the season. He was on the Sparkplugs postseason roster in 1997 in hopes of getting jsut a pinch hit opportunity but Ueker declined to put his star at risk. Johnson is known aroung the USBA as an extra base hit machine totaling 87(50 doubles, 10 triples, 27 homers) in just 504 AB.
1B Donald Eidson is as steady as they come. 1997 was his fifth consecutive season of 30+ homers and 95 RBI. He finished last season in a three way tie for the LL RbI title with 108, two shy of his career high. Some feel he should hit better than his .282 career average but his .370 career OB% more than makes up for it. This four time all star is often overshadowed by his flashier teammates. You put him in the lineup and you know what you'll get every year.
CF Ron Buckwalter enters his third season with a LL Platinum Rookie trophy, a LL RBI title, and a USBA Championship on his resume and he just turned 23 in January. "The Shepard" slammed 19 more homers in '97 than he did in his rookie season ranking him third in the LL with 35. He was just two steals away from a 30/30 season and he played a flawless OF posting zero errors and nine OF assist in over 1300 innings of play. With another year of development under his belt Buckwalter may become best hitter in this Detroit lineup.
3B Bill Burke's arrival in Detroit has been highly anticipated for years. "The Brick" has been stuck in AAA South Bend behind Eidson and Ellis but the team could no longer ignore his abilities. Burke averaged 50 homers and 122 RBI while hitting .320 for the Shooters over the past two seasons. He is the odds on favorite to win the LL Platinum Rookie award this season as he platoons with Ellis at thirdbase.
LF Jeff Eilerman burst onto the Detroit scene in 1995 with a .340 batting average in 391 AB. His callup from AAA South Bend was ahead of schedule due to a rash of OF injuries at the time. Eilerman stuck with the team in '96 and although his BA dropped to .300 his HR total went from 5 to 20. Last year saw Eilermans numbers fall across the board to .276 with a miserable .304 OB%. "Big Sexy" is the only Sparkplug regular that should fear losing his job as Thomas McMurray awaits his shot in the lineup.
C Ray Garza has averaged 20 homers and 82 RBI over the last two seasons while collecting three of the last four LL Gold Glove Awards at his position. Last season he took another step in his development by drawing a team high 80 walks. This year Garza will bat mostly ninth in the order to alleviate any pressure for him to perform offensively. His stats are a bonus to a hitter friendly team, his defense keeps him in the lineup.