FAYETTEVILLE, PA - A Franklin County man is on his way back to major league baseball nearly 20 years after his playing career came to an end.

Tom Brookens has been named first base coach of the Detroit Tigers. The Fayetteville native was drafted by the Tigers in 1975, playing several years with the team before moving on to the Yankees and Indians.

He has spent the past few seasons managing in the Tigers' minor league system.

Current Tigers' manager, Jim Leyland, managed Brookens when he was first called up to the majors.

Brookens recalls, "He was the one who called me into his hotel room when we were on the road to tell me i was being called up to Detroit. So, the ironic thing is, I get the call from him, 30 years later, here's Leyland saying, 'You're going back to Detroit.'"

Brookens was most recently the manager of the Erie Seawolves, the Tigers' AA minor league affiliate. He was part of the Tigers' 1984 World Series championship team.