'Grateful' and 'honored' Frank Tanana and Steve Avery take place among Michigan's baseball greats

LANSING — Steve Avery remembers being in the bleachers at Tiger Stadium three hours early on the final day of the 1987 regular season.

A big baseball fan then as a 17-year old growing up in Taylor, Avery watched one of the pitchers he looked up to – Frank Tanana — hurl a gem to help the Detroit Tigers beat Toronto to secure the American League East title.

Avery wound up following in Tanana’s footsteps, making it to the majors and having success as a left-handed pitcher.

And the two native Michiganders shared an honor together Saturday evening when they were officially inducted into the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame at Jackson Field prior to the Lansing Lugnuts’ contest against the Great Lakes Loons.

“It’s really cool,” Avery said. “Being from Michigan, there’s not a ton of guys that come out of here just because of our weather and our situations. To go in with Frank is even a special bonus. I’ve played golf with him for years and he’s just a great pitcher and a great man.”

Tanana also has a deep respect for Avery and was thrilled to go in alongside another southpaw. Tanana described his induction as very humbling and was appreciative of the people that thought highly enough of him.

“I feel so grateful,” Tanana said. “It’s just a reward for all the hard work. (I had) a lot of great teammates and guys that I played with and coaches. To be thought of as one of the best baseball players in Michigan and to make the hall of fame is certainly quite thrilling and quite an honor.”

The journeys to the big leagues for Avery and Tanana each began as youth standouts in metro Detroit. Avery led Taylor American Legion to a state title in 1986. Two years later, Avery was selected the Mr. Baseball winner in Michigan after going 13-0 with a 0.51 ERA and 196 strikeouts.

The success continued at the highest level for Avery, who was the third overall pick by the Atlanta Braves in 1988. Avery won a World Series with the Braves in 1995, was the MVP of the National League Championship Series in 1991 and an all-star in 1993.

“I’m 52 years old and it feels like it was just yesterday I was pitching,” said Avery, who ended his career with the Tigers in 2003. “I wish I could have slowed things down a little bit so I could enjoy it more. It was a great run and we had a lot of great teams in Atlanta and won a World Series and played in three others that we lost. I was really blessed to be able to do that for a living and never took it for granted.”

Tanana was a baseball and basketball star at Detroit Catholic Central, but pursued a career on the diamond after being picked No. 13 overall by the California Angels in 1971. He flourished with the Angels, making American League all-star teams in 1976, 1977 and 1978. Tanana led the majors in strikeouts with 269 as a 21-year old..

The major league career for Tanana spanned 21 seasons, including eight with the Tigers. He won 240 games and totaled 2,773 strikeouts.

“It’s a big honor,” Tanana said. “You grow up as a kid and you end up playing just because you love the game. The next thing you know, you’re good enough and you’re making it to the big leagues and then you’re fighting like crazy to hang in there. You get 20 years in and so much good has happened in my life and I’m certainly grateful for every experience.”

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.