Andy Dirks to the Show!

[ShockerFever]

Dirks hit his 3rd HR in three days today. This time off Mike Pelfrey.

Great for Andy, sucks for Mike.

Still pretty awesome that we're spitting out Shockers that are actually playing each other in the bigs. I hope there's more to come.. :cry:

[ABC]

He was 2-3 with a HR and a stolen base.

BA is up to .261.

From ESPN:

News: Dirks is starting in left field Sunday against the Rockies, the Tigers' official site reports. (Sun Jun 19)

Spin: Dirks is making his second consecutive start in left field, pushing veteran Magglio Ordonez to the bench. The two will continue to split at-bats while Ordonez tries to work his way out of his season-long slump.

[shox1989]

Dirks hit his 3rd HR in three days today. This time off Mike Pelfrey.

I love this Shocker vs. Shocker. It is great! I can't remember being able to we see this many Shox in the show as we have so far this season.

[ABC]

Dirks leads off the game vs the Royals with a double.

He is 2-4 but was caught stealing.

[SB Shock]

Andy Dirks just singled in the Detroit vs KC game on now. He is 1 for 2 so far tonight.

[Zardoz]

Andy Dirks scored the game winner in the 10th against the Royals as a pinch-runner.

[WuDrWu]

Does anyone know the "rules" for a guy like Andy that's been called up, and a what point he is considered a major leaguer from the standpoint of pay and benefits and even (down the road) free agency?

I am just wondering at some point does he become more permanent, just because he's too expensive to send down?

Is it games on the roster, games or innings played, at bats, or does it differ based on contracts?

[ABC]

Good question.

It seems to me that he has enough at-bats that proves he can hit major league pitching.

A guy can last a long, long time in The Show hitting .260. And it seems reasonable that that average will improve.

And he seems to be a good base runner; he's been a pinch-runner several times (like last night) and I believe he might have even stolen third base.

[SubGod22]

Dirks went to 2nd on a wild pitch and scored on a basehit up the middle.

[ShockTalk]

Does anyone know the "rules" for a guy like Andy that's been called up, and a what point he is considered a major leaguer from the standpoint of pay and benefits and even (down the road) free agency?

I am just wondering at some point does he become more permanent, just because he's too expensive to send down?

Is it games on the roster, games or innings played, at bats, or does it differ based on contracts?

What little I knew a long, long time ago, I'm sure has changed by today. I do know that back then, the formula kept some decent players from getting additional shots at making the Bigs to prevent them from qualifing for MLB pension and deeper into the pockets of the owners.

[KC Shox]

Does anyone know the "rules" for a guy like Andy that's been called up, and a what point he is considered a major leaguer from the standpoint of pay and benefits and even (down the road) free agency?

I am just wondering at some point does he become more permanent, just because he's too expensive to send down?

Is it games on the roster, games or innings played, at bats, or does it differ based on contracts?

I like Dirks' chances of sticking around. He was called up when Magglio went down earlier in the year with an injury. Since he's come back, Mags is hitting around .240 with less homers than Dirks has currently.

The Tigers have 6 outfielders on the active roster and Dirks is the second youngest. He also has the second highest batting average of the six outfielders right now. The problem with the Tigers, is that Leyland loves to shuffle his outfield lineup often. All 6 of the outfielders have at least 140 at bats. Everyone knows if you don't get regular at bats it is extremely hard to hit consistently. For Dirks having the lowest amount of AB's but the second highest batting average speaks volumes.

I don't know Magglio's contract, but he's 37 and sucks to high heaven right now. I don't look for him to be a Tiger for any length of time. Austin Jackson, while good defensively, has 122 K's in 401 AB's and has a batting average lower than Dirks. The only outfielder I see solidifying his roster spot is Brennan Boesch.

Dirks has a real good shot of being a Tiger on opening day next season. He's young, plays good defense, and thus far has shown he can handle MLB pitching and more importantly, his competition in the outfield is not so great.

[ABC]

Dirks, batting in the 9 hole, goes 1-3 with a RBI.

Just a few games ago, he hit lead off.

I would imagine that it is helpful to have some flexibility in batting order too - some players simply couldn't do well being all over the batting order.

[lawmaker]

To answer WUDR

Major League Baseball has the best pension program in all of sports. A big league player needs just 43 days of service to qualify for a pension benefit. Forty-three days of service can guarantee an MLB player a $34,000 per year pension benefit. One day on an active roster qualifies a player for full comprehensive medical benefits.

Major league baseball players become fully vested in their pensions after 10 years of service. It is not uncommon for retired baseball players with over 10 years of service to receive over $100,000 annually upon reaching the age of 62. Baseball has the most well-funded pension program with estimates valuing the plan at over half a billion dollars.

[ABC]

Dirks goes 4-4 for his first 4-hit game and his average jumps to .273.

I wasn't able to watch it all, but I did see him with a ground-rule double and a bloop single.

Great work Andy!

[shock10]

Andy sent down to AAA Teledo on the 20th, drag.