A standout major league third baseman, Travis Fryman played shortstop in the minors, including a stint with the Toledo Mud Hens just prior to joining the Detroit Tigers at age 21 on July 7 1990. The next day he lined his first MLB hit, a 3-run homer off Kansas City reliever Jeff Montgomery. He hit a solid .297 with 21 extra base hits in 66 games as a rookie. In June of the next year, he replaced an injured Alan Trammell at shortstop and put up some very nice power numbers – .259 batting average, 39 doubles, 21 home runs, 99 RBIs but did strike out 149 times in 557 at bats. Travis Fryman started 1992 at third base but was shifted to shortstop when Trammell broke his ankle on May 15. Chosen for his first All-Star game, 1992, Fryman quickly became a Tigers fans favorite with solid power numbers again, including 96 RBI. Shifted back to third base in 1993 he was an All-Star again. Travis Fryman hit .300 for the season, scored 98 runs and had 97 RBIs. He later had back-to-back 100 RBI seasons with the Tigers, 100 in ’96 and 102 in ’97. After eight five seasons in Detroit he was traded to the Cleveland Indians prior to the 1998 season, and there he batted .287 lined 33 doubles and a career-high 28 homers. In 2000 for Cleveland Travis Fryman bit a career best .321 with a career- high 106 RBIs. |