Waiving goodbye to Philly

One of the best, albeit most unheralded, waiver wire pickups of all-time occurs 51 years ago today as the Detroit Tigers gladly pluck left-handed pitcher Woodie Fryman from the Philadelphia Phillies.

Fryman, 4-10 with a dreadful Phillies team in ’72, promptly goes 10-3 for Detroit with a skinny 2.06 ERA in 16 appearances.

At the same time, the Tigers surge to the American League East title before falling to Oakland in the playoffs.

Fryman, an offseason tobacco farmer from Kentucky, spends another two seasons with the Tigers before becoming one of baseball’s better situational relievers with the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos.

He retires after the 1983 season at the age of 43.