Friday, December 26, 2025

Burgers or gum? Dave Bergman

Last time was a 5-0 shutout for gum. Will this be closer?

Looks like another instance of two photos from the same day. Pregame at Tiger Stadium. I'm pretty sure the gum is one of the first '85 Topps cards I ever had.

Bergman was acquired by the Tigers toward the end of spring training, and played in 120 games as the team's primary first baseman, though in the playoffs Darrell Evans started most games at 1B with Bergman coming in late for defense. He hit .273 with 7 HR and 44 RBI over the season.

Bergman had a long career as a part-time player for the Yankees, Astros, Giants and especially the Tigers, for whom he played in 9 of his 17 seasons. In only four of those seasons did he have over 200 at-bats, and he topped 300 just once. Overall in 1,349 games he hit .258 with 54 HR and 289 RBI. After his playing career Bergman went into a career in banking. He was also active in the Joe Niekro Foundation's efforts to raise awareness of brain aneurysms. He died of cancer in 2015.

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