Kirk Gibson (Dodgers outfielder 1988-89; now Arizona Diamondbacks manager): I was with the Tigers my whole career and went through collusion and I had to stay there. When I left Detroit, a lot was said about me. They attacked me and my character and said things about my family. I remember my parents, especially my dad, defended me. Any father or mother would do that, but I told them, 'Don't worry about it, we'll have our day.'
Fred Claire (Dodgers general manager 1987-98): We needed to make some significant changes. We were 16 games under .500 the previous two seasons. I tried to make a trade for Kirk at the winter meetings in 1987, and at that time there was a big question mark if Kirk would be declared a free agent because of the whole collusion case.
I had long meetings with Tigers general manager Bill Lajoie and was willing to trade Pedro Guerrero for Kirk at the winter meetings. The trade never happened, but, when Kirk became a free agent soon after, we made sure to sign him.
Mel Didier (Dodgers scout 1983-98): I'd been trying to sign Kirk since he was at [Michigan State]. So when Fred Claire called me and said, "I got Kirk Gibson in my office, what do you think?" I said, "I don't give a god d--- if he wants the stadium, give it to him because he's going to help us win."
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