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Detroit Tigers, professional baseball team and one of five teams in
the Central Division of the American League (AL). The club plays at
Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, and wears uniforms of white and
blue. The Tigers were members of the AL East Divison from 1969 (when
divisional play began) through 1997.
Led by the legendary Ty Cobb, Detroit won three AL pennants in the
early 1900s. Cobb compiled a .367 career batting average to set an
all-time major league record, won a record 12 batting titles, and
hit over .300 in every year but his rookie season.
Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, and Hal
Newhouser helped build powerful Detroit teams during the 1930s and
1940s, when Detroit won four more AL pennants and two World Series
championships. In 1968 a squad featuring Al Kaline and Mickey Lolich
won the World Series. Led by Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson, Detroit
spent the entire 1984 season in first place en route to a World
Series victory.
The Tigers became a charter member of the AL in 1901 but placed no
better than third until 1907, when first-year manager Hugh Jennings
guided the team to the first of three consecutive pennants. Ty Cobb,
a 20-year-old right fielder from Narrows, Georgia, won the first of
nine straight batting titles and six stolen base championships that
year. Detroit was AL champion again in 1908 and 1909. Cobb led the
league in batting, runs batted in (RBIs), and home runs in 1909 to
win the Triple Crown. The Tigers, however, lost each of their first
three World Series appearances.
In 1911 Cobb put together one of the most remarkable seasons in
baseball history. He topped the AL in batting, RBIs, runs, hits,
doubles, triples, and stolen bases. Cobb and fellow Tigers Sam
Crawford, Harry Heilmann, and Bobby Veach helped keep the team in
contention for the AL title over the next two decades, but the
Tigers did not win another league championship until 1934, finishing
as high as second only three times from 1910 to 1933.
The Tigers won back-to-back pennants in 1934 and 1935 under
catcher-manager Mickey Cochrane. First baseman Hank Greenberg
captured the first of four home run titles in 1935 and second
baseman Charlie Gehringer had an outstanding season. The Tigers won
their first World Series title in 1935, defeating the favored
Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 2.
Detroit was AL champion again in 1940, before losing to the
Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. Left-handed pitcher Hal
Newhouser was named AL most valuable player (MVP) in 1944. Leading
the league in nearly every pitching category, Newhouser won a second
MVP award in 1945 as the Tigers claimed the pennant and a World
Series victory over the Chicago Cubs. Greenberg’s mid-season return
from the armed forces helped Detroit clinch the pennant.
A 23-year pennant drought followed for the Tigers, who changed
managers 12 times between trips to the World Series. Detroit’s
bright spot during the drought was Al Kaline. In 1954 the
20-year-old Kaline became the youngest major leaguer to win a
batting title. During his 22-season career with Detroit, the
right-fielder surpassed the 3,000-hit mark and won ten Gold Glove
awards for fielding excellence.
The Tigers won their third World Series title in 1968 with a lineup
that featured Kaline, fellow sluggers Norm Cash, Bill Freehan, and
Willie Horton, and pitchers Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. Detroit
stayed near the top of the league during the next five years and won
the Eastern Division title in 1972—its last for a dozen years.
In 1984 the Tigers opened the season in record fashion, winning 35
of their first 40 games. Outfielders Kirk Gibson and Chet Lemon,
catcher Lance Parrish, shortstop Alan Trammell, and second baseman
Lou Whitaker powered the team to a 104-58 win-loss record. Pitchers
Jack Morris and Dan Petry anchored the pitching staff, and relief
pitcher Willie Hernandez won both the Cy Young Award and the MVP
award. Under Sparky Anderson, who was named the AL manager of the
year, the Tigers won the AL pennant and their fourth World Series
title in 1984, besting the San Diego Padres 4 games to 1.
Trammell and Anderson led the team to another Eastern Division title
in 1987 and Anderson won his second AL manager of the year award. In
1992 first baseman Cecil Fielder became the first AL player to lead
the league in RBIs for three consecutive years since Babe Ruth of
the New York Yankees (from 1919 to 1921). But the next years saw the
team decline, and a 53-104 finish in 1996 tied the club record for
most games lost in a single season.
As part of a realignment of the major leagues, the Tigers switched
from the AL East Division to the AL Central Division before the
start of the 1998 season. Detroit’s move enabled an expansion club,
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, to join the AL East Division. The Tigers
continued to struggle through the end of the 1990s.CHAMPIONSHIPS
1935 - Defeated
Chicago in 6 games
1945 - Defeated
Chicago in 7 games
1968 - Defeated St.
Louis in 7 games
1984 - Defeated San
Diego in 5 games
Won the AL Pennant in 1907, 1908, 1909, 1934,
1935, 1940, 1945, 1968, 1984
TOP MANAGER
The Tigers have had two long-standing managers. Hugh Jennings led
the team from 1907-20 and finished with a 1131-972 record. Sparky
Anderson led the team from 1979-95 and finished with a 1331-1248
record. Anderson was named the American League Manager of the Year
in 1974 and 1987.
AL MVPS
Mickey Cochrane (1934), Hank Greenburg (1935, 1940), Charlie
Gehringer (1937), Hal Newhouser (1944, 1945), Denny McLain (1968),
Willie Hernandez (1984)
CY YOUNG
Denny McClain (1968, 1969-co winner), Willie Hernandez (1984)
ROOKIE OF YEAR
Harvey Kuenn (1953), Mark Fidrych (1976), Lou Whitaker (1978)
RETIRED NUMBERS
2 - Charley Gehringer (2B)
5 - Hank Greenberg (1B)
6 - Al Kaline (OF)
16 - Hal Newhouser (P)
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