Tom Brookens
Infielder
Born: August 10, 1953 (1953-08-10) (age 56) Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 10, 1979 for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1990 for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics
Batting average	.246
Home runs	71
Hits	950
Teams
Detroit Tigers (1979–1988) New York Yankees (1989) Cleveland Indians (1990)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1984)

Thomas Dale Brookens (born August 10, 1953, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers (1979–1988), New York Yankees (1989), and Cleveland Indians (1990). Brookens is currently the first base coach for the Tigers.

[edit] Career

On January 9, 1975, Brookens was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round (4th pick overall) of the 1975 amateur draft. In 12 major league seasons, Brookens played 1,065 games at third base, 162 games at 2nd base, and 119 games at shortstop.

Brookens batted .246 in his 12-year career, with 71 home runs and 431 RBIs in 1,336 games. His range factor (putouts and assists per game) was well above league average. He did lead AL third basemen in errors twice, in 1980 and 1985, but that was largely because he was getting to so many more grounders than other fielders.^{[citation needed]} Brookens also has the dubious honor of sharing (with 21 others) the AL record for the most errors in a game by a third baseman, when he committed 4 errors on September 6, 1980.^[1]

On August 20, 1980, Brookens went 5-for-5 with a triple and a home run, and also started a triple play in an 8–6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tom Brookens (left) during his tenure with the Tigers.

He won a World Series ring with the Detroit Tigers in 1984

Brookens in 2005 and 2006 was the manager of the Class A New York - Penn League Oneonta Tigers in the Detroit Tigers minor league system. In 2007, Brookens was hired to lead the West Michigan Whitecaps which won the championship of the Class A - Midwest League that year. After winning a championship with the Whitecaps, the Tigers promoted Brookens again in 2008, this time to the Erie SeaWolves, their Class AA - Eastern League affiliate.^[2]

On November 9, 2009 the Detroit Tigers hired him as their new first base coach.^[3]

[edit] Family

Tom's twin brother Tim was also drafted in 1975, by the Texas Rangers; he was later traded to the Tigers organization, but never made the majors. Their cousin, Ike Brookens, pitched for the Tigers in 1975, while Ike's son Casey Brookens also played in the minors in the 1990s before retiring to become a successful high school coach in Pennsylvania.^[4]

[edit] See also

• 1984 Detroit Tigers season

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference