Robert Leigh Higginson (born August 18, 1970) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

who played his entire career for the Detroit Tigers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

Amateur career

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Higginson attended Frankford High School and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

. In 1991, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 18th round of the

1991 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental first round selections Compensation picks Other notable players *Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philade ...

, but opted not to sign. The following year he was drafted by the Tigers in the 12th round of the

1992 MLB Draft The 1992 Major League Baseball draft took place on June 1, 1992, through a conference call involving all 28 MLB teams of the time. Phil Nevin of Cal State Fullerton was the first overall selection, chosen by the Houston Astros. Derek Jeter, sele ...

Professional career

Higginson made his major league debut in 1995, and played 130 games for the Tigers. He batted .320 in 1996 and .300 in 2000, scored over 100 runs in 2000 and drove in over 100 runs in 1997 and 2000. His career high of 30 home-runs came also in 2000. He twice led the Majors in outfield assists, and also led all American League left fielders in putouts in 2000 (305) and 2001 (321), although he never won a

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

for his fielding. He was never named to an All-Star team. On June 30 and July 1, 1997, Higginson tied a major league record by hitting four home runs in four consecutive at-bats — three on the first day, and then another in the first inning of the second day. Higginson was named "Tiger of the Year" by the Detroit chapter of the BBWAA in 1997 and 2000. Since the award's inception in 1965, ten players have been named "Tiger of the Year" on multiple occasions: Higginson,

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...

, Travis Fryman,

Cecil Fielder Cecil Grant Fielder (; born September 21, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Fielder was a power hitter in the 1980s and 1990s. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV ...

, Alan Trammell,

Lou Whitaker Louis Rodman Whitaker Jr. (born May 12, 1957), nicknamed "Sweet Lou", is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Whitaker spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. From 1977 to 1995, he appeared in 2,390 games for the ...

Kirk Gibson Kirk Harold Gibson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He is currently a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit and a special assistant for the Tigers. As a player, Gibson ...

, Ron LeFlore, and

Denny McLain Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain beca ...

. An elbow injury limited Higginson to 10 games in 2005, which ended up being his final season. He was granted free agency on October 31, and he retired at the age of 35. He ended his career never having played on a team that had a winning season. (Ironically, the Tigers made it to the

2006 World Series The 2006 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2006 season. The 102nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Lea ...

the year after Higginson retired.) Higginson is also known for breaking up a no-hitter in the ninth inning and two out during a game in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

on September 27, 1998, with a pinch-hit home run. The pitcher, future Hall of Famer

Roy Halladay Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nicknam ...

, was making his second ever appearance, and ended up winning his first career game, 2–1.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higginson, Bobby 1970 births Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Philadelphia Detroit Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players Bourne Braves players Temple Owls baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Lakeland Tigers players London Tigers players Niagara Falls Rapids players

Amateur career

Professional career

See also

References

External links