David Bruce Bergman was born on June 6, 1953, and passed away on February 2, 2015. He was an American Major League Baseball player who played as a first baseman, designated hitter, and left fielder. Bergman played in the league from 1975 to 1992.

Early life

Bergman was born in Evanston, Illinois. He graduated from Maine South High School and Illinois State University. In 1973 and 1974, he played summer baseball for the Chatham A's in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He won the batting title in 1973. In 1994, Illinois State University retired his uniform number 12.

Playing career

Bergman was selected by the Chicago Cubs after high school, but he chose to attend college instead of joining the team. At Illinois State University, he was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1973 and 1974. In 1974, he was recognized as an All-American outfielder by The Sporting News. He finished his college career with a batting average of .366 and 63 runs batted in.

In 1974, Bergman was drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft. During his first two seasons in the minor leagues, he was a batting champion and league MVP. He played for the New York–Penn League in 1974 and the Eastern League in 1975. He appeared in only 12 games with the Yankees between 1975 and 1977 before being traded to the Houston Astros in December 1977. From 1978 to 1981, Bergman played part-time for the Astros, never hitting more than 186 at bats or one home run in a season.

In the 1980 National League West tie-breaker game, Bergman replaced Art Howe at first base. He made the final out of the game by catching a fly ball himself, securing a 7-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. This win gave the Astros their first division title.

Bergman was signed by Yankees scout Lou Maguolo. In 1981, he was traded with Jeffrey Leonard from the Houston Astros to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Mike Ivie. In 1983, Bergman played in 90 games for the Giants, hitting six home runs with a .286 batting average.

On March 24, 1984, Bergman was traded twice: first from the Giants to the Phillies, then from the Phillies to the Tigers. He became the starting first baseman for the Detroit Tigers team that won the 1984 World Series against the San Diego Padres. In 1984, he played in 120 games for the Tigers, achieving a career-high 44 RBIs and seven home runs.

On June 4, 1984, Bergman batted in the bottom of the 10th inning with two runners on base and two outs in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He fouled off seven pitches and hit the 13th pitch of the at-bat into the upper deck of Tiger Stadium for a walk-off, three-run home run. Detroit manager Sparky Anderson later wrote in his book Bless You Boys that Bergman’s at-bat was the greatest he had ever seen.

In 1988, Bergman hit a career-high .294 for the Tigers. In August 1989, he broke up a no-hitter by Nolan Ryan with a one-out single in the ninth inning. On August 5, 1989, Bergman used the hidden ball trick to record a putout of Chicago White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillén.

Bergman played nine seasons for the Tigers, mostly as a left-handed batting platoon or reserve player. In his later years, he backed up Cecil Fielder at first base and also played as a designated hitter.

Playing style

Bergman was known for his very different performance against right-handed and left-handed pitchers, which led to his long career as a part-time or platoon player. He had a batting average of .264, on-base percentage of .356, and slugging percentage of .377 against right-handed pitchers in 2,825 plate appearances. Against left-handed pitchers, he had a batting average of .196, on-base percentage of .265, and slugging percentage of .271 in just 289 plate appearances. Even though his batting average was not very high (.258 overall), his career Adjusted OPS was 101, mainly because he had good on-base skills. Bergman had a good ability to judge the strike zone and earned more walks (380) than strikeouts (347) during his career.

Personal life

After retiring, Bergman lived in the Detroit area, making Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, his home starting in 1985. He worked as a partner and senior financial analyst with Sigma Investment Counselors in Southfield, Michigan.

Bergman was a close friend of Joe Niekro, and the two fished together for more than 30 years. After Niekro passed away due to a brain aneurysm, Bergman began helping the Joe Niekro Foundation. He focused on supporting research, treatment, and awareness of brain aneurysms, AVMs, and hemorrhagic strokes. Bergman also worked with youth and high school programs and served as a trustee for the C.A.T.C.H. charity, which was founded by former Tigers manager Sparky Anderson.

Death

Bergman passed away on February 2, 2015, at the age of 61, after a long illness caused by bile duct cancer. He was married to Cathy and had three children.