Bobby Higginson

Robert Leigh Higginson

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
• School Temple University
• High School Frankford High School
• Debut April 26, 1995
• Final Game May 5, 2005
• Born August 18, 1970 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bobby Higginson had an eleven-year major league career, hitting 187 home runs for the Detroit Tigers.

He was first drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1991 amateur draft, but returned to school and in the 1992 draft, he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 12th round.

He moved up the ladder in Detroit's minor league organization from 1992 to 1994, hitting around .300 at each step of the way and without much power, till he hit .275 with 23 homers in Triple A in 1994. He became a regular in the outfield in Detroit in 1995.

It was a thankless task to play for the Tigers from 1995 to 2004, as they never did better than 79 victories in any of those seasons, and often did much worse. When Higginson first came up, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker were aging, and Cecil Fielder was nearing the end of his prime playing days. Sparky Anderson was still the team's manager.

Higginson was to become a key player in the constantly losing effort over the next few seasons, along with Tony Clark, Travis Fryman, Damion Easley and Dean Palmer. Higginson's best years were 1996, when he hit .320 and slugged .577, and 2000, when he hit .300 with 30 homers and 102 RBI. In 2003, he homered in three straight games, between August 15th and August 17th.

When he suffered an elbow injury that left him unable to play in 2005, and later had surgery, there was speculation that his career was over. Higginson, showing class, took out ads in the two big Detroit papers to thank the fans. Sadly, he wasn't able to play on the great 2006 Tigers team that reached the World Series.

He is the most prominent major leaguer to come out of Temple University, along with Dick Gernert.

Notable Achievements

• 20 Home Runs Seasons: 4 (1996-1998 & 2000)
• 30 Home Runs Seasons: 1 (2000)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 2 (1997 & 2000)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (2000)