All-Time Detroit Tiger Pitching Rotation and Batting Order

In a world of computers and video games, what I am about to present is not so impossible.  I would love to see how this team stacks up against other all-time major league teams, like the A’s, Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, White Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, and Dodgers.  Alas, I am not smart enough, nor do I have the time to program such a competition.

I will start with the pitching rotation, since that will be the shortest of the lists.  My first two starters were easy to select, and combined they offer a nasty 1-2, lefty-righty combo.  The first starter would be Hal Newhouser.  The ace of the staff in the 1940s, his numbers are easily the best on this team.  He can pitch long innings, strike out batters when he needs, and keep the score close.  Simply put, he is the best pitcher on this team.

The second pitcher would be Justin Verlander.  His 100 mph fastball, combined with his nasty curveball, make him the best of his generation.  He still has years to go to see if he can overtake Newhouser, but for now, he will do just fine as the number 2.

The third starter would be Tommy Bridges.  I love his consistency and grit.  He was a big game pitcher, and could also take games into late innings, without losing the ability to dominate.

The fourth starter would be Jack Morris.  His ability to rise to the occasion is well documented.  He was another durable, hard thrower who could carry a team on his back.

The fifth starter would be Denny McLain.  He was inconsistent, which is why he drops to the number five spot, but there is no doubt he was exceedingly talented.  When he was on, he could dominate.

That leaves Trout and Lary as long relievers, with Hiller and Hernandez closing games out.

Batting Order vs. Right-handed pitching

For the batting order, selecting the lead-off spot would be easy.  That would be Ty Cobb.  With his high average, and ability to get on base, combined with the base running skills he possessed, I can’t think of a more disruptive person to put in the one spot of any batting order.  He would cover center field.

For the second spot, I would want another left-handed hitter, who is patient at the plate, has decent speed on the bases, and can hit behind Cobb while setting up the big hitters.  Here is where I would place second baseman, Charlie Gehringer.  With his .355 average, penchant for hitting doubles, and ability to see a lot of pitches without striking out, he is a perfect number two hitter against right-handed pitching.  Plus, he would be a threat to score from first on a double from one of the following hitters.

Batting third would be the biggest power hitter of the order, playing first base – Hank Greenberg.  I would place him here, because of his ability to drive in runners.  Plus, I would want to give my most feared home run hitter the best protection available in the order.

Batting clean-up, and playing third base would be Miguel Cabrera.  He would force pitchers to throw to Greenberg, while also being in a position to drive in runs himself.  A clean-up hitter who can consistently bat .330, while hitting over 30 home runs is a rare luxury.

The five hitter might look a little unconventional, because he is not a twenty home run per year guy.  Still, with the ability to hit .400, and drive in over 100 runs, I have a hard time seeing anybody pitching around Cabrera to face Harry Heilmann.  I almost placed Slug in the number two spot in the order, because of his high average, but for this section I wanted Gehringer in the two spot because he is left-handed, quicker on the bases, and just as difficult to strike out as Heilmann.  Heilmann becomes an assassin in the fifth place of the order, though.

Batting sixth, in right field, would be Al Kaline.  Kaline also was a difficult strikeout, so even though he didn’t have the huge home run numbers of the others, with his ability to put the ball in play, hit for high average, and still knock his share out of the park, he is positioned well to continue to drive in runs, and protect Heilmann in the order.

Batting seventh, and playing shortstop, would be Alan Trammell.  He would provide protection for Kaline in the order with his ability to spray the ball to all fields, as well as his power potential.  With his speed on the base paths, he would also be disruptive at the bottom of the order, giving opportunities to the last two batters to drive him in.

Batting eight, in the second clean-up position, and playing catcher, is Lance Parrish.  With his power and ability to drive in runs, Parrish is a scary hitter to face in this position, especially with Kaline and Trammell, both possessing above average speed, ahead of him in the order.

Batting ninth, and setting the table to for top of the lineup, the DH, Sam Crawford.  Another line drive hitter, with great speed on the base paths, Crawford would be a dangerous hitter and runner ahead of Cobb.  He is also a very capable RBI hitter.

I feel this lineup provides an excellent combination of speed and power, with excellent contact hitters throughout.  The defense is solid as well, anchored by Parrish, Gehringer, Trammell, and Cobb up the middle.  The weakest defensive positions currently are left field and third base.  George Kell would make an adequate replacement at third, allowing Cabrera to move to first base in later innings, and Greenberg to switch to left field, if necessary.  Kirk Gibson provides great speed coming off the bench, as does Lou Whitaker.  Let me also say I would have no problem platooning Bill Freehan in at catcher; Parrish just has better home run potential which is why he was chosen.

Ty Cobb (L), CF
Charlie Gehringer (L), 2B
Hank Greenberg (R), 1B
Miguel Cabrera (R), 3B
Harry Heilmann (R), LF
Al Kaline (R), RF
Alan Trammell (R), SS
Lance Parrish (R), C
Sam Crawford (L), DH

Batting lineup vs. Left-handed pitching

There is only one player substitution change I would make to the lineup with a lefty on the mound, and that is in the DH position.  I would remove Sam Crawford, and place Rudy York in the lineup (I would consider Magglio Ordonez there, too, given his solid home run hitting ability and high average).  Here is how it would look:

Ty Cobb (L), CF
Harry Heilmann (R), LF
Hank Greenberg (R), 1B
Miguel Cabrera (R), 3B
Rudy York (R), DH
Al Kaline (R), RF
Charlie Gehringer (L), 2B
Lance Parrish (R), C
Alan Trammell (R), SS

I switched the number two hitter to Heilmann to give the advantage of having a right-handed hitter face a left-handed pitcher early in the line-up.  This would drop Gehringer down to the seven spot (after five righties in a row), allowing me to move the speedy Trammell to the ninth position.  Harvey Kuenn would be effective here too, but I keep Trammell in the lineup because he is faster, and a better defensive player.

I would move York to the five spot, because of his ability to hit for power.  His average is not as good as Kaline’s, but with Kaline following, York would still see good pitches, allowing me to take full advantage of his home run potential.  If I were to bat Ordonez in the DH spot, I would probably bat Kaline fifth, and Ordonez sixth, since Kaline has a little more power potential.   There really is no way to go wrong with a lineup like this, which is what makes it so fun to compile.

The last decision I would have to make is who would manage this team.  Based on history (3 pennants, and 1 World Series title), I would have to go with Mickey Cochrane.  His top two bench coaches would be Sparky Anderson and Jim Leyland.  Hughie Jennings, with his three pennants, would also be on this coaching staff, and he would cover as third-base coach while the Tigers were batting, because of his unique style with the offense..

All-Time Detroit Tiger Shortstop and Second Base

Up to this point in selecting the best Detroit Tiger players of all time, I have made some difficult, and no doubt unpopular choices on the group of players I would select to this elite team.  The arguments get to take a rest when it comes to discussing the middle infield of the team.  There are 4 players who stand head and shoulders above all other players at the shortstop and second base positions.  This was the easiest part of my selection process after choosing Ty Cobb and Al Kaline for the All-Tiger outfield.

Charlie Gehringer (L, R), known as the “Mechanical Man” for his durability and consistency, goes down in history as one of the greatest second basemen to ever play the game.  He retired with a .320 lifetime average, 2,839 career hits, and 574 doubles (20th all-time).  He twice had consecutive games played streaks over 500.
  He was the dominant defensive second baseman of his day, and was a member of 3 pennant winning teams (1934, 1935, and 1940).  In post season play, he also compiled a .321 batting average.  His best year is considered to be 1937, when he won the MVP and batting title (hitting .371).  In 1934 he was runner-up to teammate Mickey Cochrane for the MVP award as well.  A very quiet man, Charlie Gehringer went about his business and played amazing baseball.  He played every inning in each of the first 6 All-Star games conducted by Major League baseball.

Year	Average	HR	RBI	Hits	Runs	Doubles	Triples	BB	Notes
1937	.371	14	96	209	133	40	1	90	MVP, AS
1936	.354	15	116	227	144	60	12	83	AS
1934	.356	11	127	214	134	50	7	99	MVP Runner-up, AS
1929	.339	13	106	215	131	45	19	64
Prime	.355	13	111	216	136	49	10	84

The other second baseman was also easy to choose.  Lou Whitaker (L, R) began his career with Detroit in 1977, and won the Rookie of the Year award in 1978 when he hit .285 and scored 71 runs.  He was the lead-off hitter on the 1984 World Series Champion team due to the difficulty to strike him out, his patience at the plate, and his base running ability.  Later in his career he batted clean-up because of his ability to drive the ball (he hit 28 home runs in 1989, his highest for a single season).  He won 3 Gold Gloves and was a 5-time All-Star.  He and Alan Trammell hold the record for most games played by a double-play combination (over 1,900 games).  That record was once held by former Tigers Charlie Gehringer and Billy Rogell.

Year	Average	HR	RBI	Hits	Runs	Doubles	SB	BB	Notes
1983	.320	12	72	206	94	40	17	67	GG, AS
1991	.279	23	78	131	94	26	4	90
1984	.289	13	56	161	90	25	6	62	GG, AS
1985	.279	21	83	170	102	29	6	80	GG, AS
Prime	.293	17	72	167	95	30	8	75	1978 ROY

The shortstop position was another easy spot to fill on the field, because there are two players who stand above the rest in Tiger history here.  The first was a 6-time All-Star, who won 4 Gold Gloves, and in his only World Series appearance hit .450 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI garnering the MVP.  Alan Trammell (R, R) was the best player on the Tiger teams of the 1980s.  He had his best seasons in 1987 (when he was runner-up to George Bell for MVP) and 1984, both years in which the Tigers made the post season.  In all, Tram had seven seasons of batting .300 or better, and compiled 2,365 hits in his career.  He also had excellent speed on the base paths, stealing 20 or more bases in multiple seasons, including 1987, when he stole 21 bases on 23 attempts.

He could hit for power, having two 20 home-run seasons, with his best in 1987, when he was asked to bat clean-up, and followed with 28 knocks.  Up until then, Trammell was typically the number 2 hitter in the order, following Whitaker.  I think it gets overlooked how much these two set up the rest of the batting order by getting on base, being disruptive to pitchers and defenses, and scoring runs.  They both had the ability to hit for power, and did when called upon to do so, but before anything, they did everything to help the team win games.

After Cobb and Kaline, I consider Alan Trammell the most important Detroit Tiger to ever wear the uniform (and that is not to disrespect Greenberg or Gehringer, who are among the elites in the history of the game.  Both were so great, and given the benefit of playing at the same time, it is too difficult to choose one as more important than the other between 1934 and 1940, when the team had so much success).  He didn’t have the gaudy numbers of the other players, but when you consider that the shortstop position has historically been a defensive position, and Trammell not only excelled defensively, but also offensively for many years, his importance to the organization cannot be overstated.

Trammell and Whitaker also hold the distinction of turning more double-plays than any combination in the history of the game.  They were as much fun to watch defensively as at the plate or on the bases.  Having a shortstop with the abilities of Alan Trammell for twenty seasons was a delight to all Tiger fans.

Year	Average	HR	RBI	Hits	Runs	Doubles	Triples	SB	Notes
1987	.343	28	105	205	109	34	3	21	MVP Runner-up, AS
1983	.319	14	66	161	83	31	2	30	Comeback POY, GG
1984	.314	14	69	174	85	34	5	19	GG, AS
1990	.304	14	89	170	71	37	1	12	AS
Prime	.320	18	82	178	87	34	3	21

The next player to be on the All-Tiger team played shortstop for 6 years before switching to the outfield.  Harvey Kuenn (R, R) started his career in Detroit in 1952.  His first full season, 1953, resulted in him batting .308, and leading the league with 209 hits.  He earned the American League Rookie of the Year award, along with his first All-Star appearance.  He would make 6 more All-Star teams for Detroit, and total 10 for his career.  A line-drive, spray hitter, Kuenn’s best season came in 1959 when he won the batting title with a .353 average.  That year was the first season he played as a regular outfielder; he would not play shortstop again.

Perhaps the thing Harvey Kuenn is best known for is that after winning the batting title in 1959, he was traded to Cleveland for Rocky Colavito, the 1959 American League home run leader.  Colavito lasted four seasons with Detroit (and gave the Tigers good production), while Kuenn lasted one season in Cleveland before getting traded to San Francisco.  “Colavito’s Curse” lives on in Cleveland to this day, as the Indians have not won a World Series since his departure (but they came close in 1997).

Harvey Kuenn retired with 2,092 career hits, and a .303 career batting average, but had a .314 average in his 7 years as a Tiger.  It is unfortunate that he (along with George Kell) did not participate in the post season with Detroit, as the Tigers (and everyone else in the American League) were looking up to the Yankees from 1949 through 1964.  Still, his 7 seasons in Detroit were outstanding, earning him a place as one of the best Tigers to ever play.

Year	Average	HR	RBI	Hits	Runs	Doubles	Triples	SB	Notes
1959	.353	9	71	198	99	42	7	7	AS
1956	.332	12	88	196	96	32	7	9	AS
1958	.319	8	54	179	75	39	8	5	AS
1953	.308	2	48	209	94	33	7	6	ROY, AS
Prime	.327	8	65	196	91	37	7	7

Again, I feel an honorable mention needs to be given to Travis Fryman, who is probably the third best shortstop in Tiger history.  His power numbers, combined with his great arm and solid fielding make him a tough choice to leave off the team both at third base and shortstop.  Still, there is little doubt who the two best shortstops the Tiger organization has produced in its 112 year history.  Trammell and Kuenn are far ahead of the rest of the field on this one.

All-Tiger Second Base:

Charlie Gehringer

Lou Whitaker

All-Tiger Shortstop:

Alan Trammell

Harvey Kuenn

Up Next: Catchers

All-Detroit Tiger All-Time Team

Introduction

I have grown up my whole life a Tiger fan. Through thick and thin, I have always pulled for them. I love reading the stories of the old teams, like the 1934 and 1935 teams led by Mickey Cochrane, Schoolboy Rowe, Charlie Gehringer, and Hank Greenberg. The 1984 team was one of the most dominant teams in big league history, winning 35 of the first 40 games, and 104 by season’s end. Everybody remembers Kirk Gibson’s dramatic home run off Goose Gossage in game 5 to put the game, and the series, away. Then there was the 1968 team which came back from a 3 games to 1 deficit and beat Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. Mickey Lolich won 3 games in that series, including the epic game 7, on two day’s rest. I remember watching the final game of the 1987 regular season, when Detroit needed to sweep the first place Blue Jays in order to win the division. They did just that, winning the last game 1-0, behind Frank Tanana’s complete game, and a Larry Herndon home run. That is still the greatest single ballgame I have ever seen, in my own biased opinion (I know fans of the 1975 Red Sox will disagree, and fans of the 1991 Twins will disagree, but that is their opinion; this is mine).

After the 2012 season, where the Tigers made the World Series, and Miguel Cabrera won the Triple Crown, I started asking who I would place on my All-Time, All-Tiger Team. I began pouring through the stats of past and present Tiger teams, reading old stories of various players, and coming up with a criteria to determine who I would place, or not place, on a team which represents over 110 seasons of baseball. The first choice I had to make was how to split up the 25 positions available on a normal Major League roster. I decided to go with 2 players per position, with 9 pitchers. This will equal 6 outfielders, 2 catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, and shortstops. I then elected to go with 7 starting pitchers and 2 relief pitchers.

I will try to keep my criteria for selecting a player simple, but that comes with the understanding that no matter what criteria I use, good players (and some will think more deserving players) are going to be left off this team. I have looked at every season in Tigers history more than once, and will admit I have had to give second and third looks to many players. In some cases I have even gone back and changed my mind on who I would place on this team. Being forced to narrow down the selection to 25 players is much more difficult than I anticipated.

My first criteria (and it seems like an obvious one, but it is more complex than it looks) is I am only counting seasons the person played in Detroit. Hall of Fame outfielder Goose Goslin gets left off the team for this reason. He was an amazing ballplayer, but he had too few years in Detroit to be considered for this team; along with the fact that when you see the outfielders, you will see his 4 seasons, though solid, don’t measure up. Likewise, although it was a difficult choice, Mickey Cochrane gets left off the team. He was sold to Detroit in 1934 when Connie Mack was gutting his Philadelphia Athletics team for financial reasons. For Detroit, Cochrane was the missing piece needed to get to both the 1934 and
1935 World Series. He brought leadership along with Hall of Fame credentials (and he won an MVP), but alas, he only had 2 productive years with Detroit (and several more previously in Philadelphia). His Philadelphia years combined with his Detroit years place him in the conversation of greatest catchers of all-time, but I will not be using his Philadelphia stats to squeeze him onto this team, especially when I felt other catchers made just as important contributions to the Detroit organization, with their best years also as a Tiger.

Although I might mention career stats when talking about certain players, for the purposes of making this list, only Detroit stats count. You will not see me make mention of Waite Hoyt, Al Simmons, or Eddie Mathews. All of these players had brilliant careers, but not with Detroit, even though each spent time in Motown. This is also the case with Bill Madlock and Fred Lynn, both of whom spent time in Detroit just before their careers ended.

My second criteria is this: I feel the player needed to have at least 3 “productive” seasons with the Tigers, and frequently I use more than 3 to provide more balance. The term “productive” is pretty subjective, as it is really based on my own opinion, but I felt that considering an organization that has been around as long as the Tigers, I wanted to reward longevity with the team. Longevity alone would not cut it, however, because to make this team the player had to stand out above their peers, and with some level of consistency. To that end, it was not enough to have one monster season, or two great seasons. The best of the best should have at least 3 good to great years to make this team. Creating an All-Tiger team with only one or two great seasons would include Mark Fidrych (a very popular player, but one who only had 1 uninjured year), Bill Gullickson (a 20 game winner in 1991), Bobo Newsom, Virgil Trucks (as much as I would love to include the uncle of Butch Trucks, and great uncle of Derek Trucks on this team) and the previously mentioned Mickey Cochrane. Another “one hit wonder” was Heinie Manush. He is a Hall of Fame outfielder and has his name honored at Comerica Park (his number is not retired because he didn’t wear one). In 1926 he led the league with a .378 batting average, but in all of the other seasons he played in Detroit he did not manage to get 500 at bats. Last, Prince Fielder does not make this team either, simply because he has only played one season with Detroit. He hit .313 with 30 home runs, and helped the Tigers get to the World Series, which is very impressive, but not enough. If he has two more seasons like this, he will get strong consideration to be added to this team, but for now I cannot justify it in comparison to other players, and I will not allow myself to use the outstanding years he played in Milwaukee.

The third criteria I use regards the inevitable situation where two or more players are deserving of a spot on the team, but only one position is available. In these situations I give a nudge to a player who helped the Tigers make the post season. Often times players had their best or one of their best years in a season where the team made the playoffs. Since these seasons “count” more, meaning the player had the pressure of something to play for throughout the season (as opposed to just playing for stats when you are 20 games out with 10 games left), players who were on playoff teams get a boost in their consideration. It should not surprise you to see that almost every position is filled with a player who helped the Tigers get into the playoffs. There are exceptions to this, however, but the best teams often have the best players, so there should be few surprises here.

To that end, I would like to go position by position with the selection process. I will start with the Outfield, since it makes the most sense to me to begin there, considering the legendary players who filled these positions for the Tigers over the years. I will follow that up with First Base and Third Base, Second Base and Shortstop, Catcher and then Pitchers. For each player listed, I will also show at least 3 of their best years as a Tigers player, and average these out to show the season you could expect from each player in their prime. I will also explain my methodology for not including certain other players, for anyone who would like to extend the discussion, or make their own team and compare.

After that, I will present what I think the All-Tiger batting order should be, then the starting rotation. There could be no end to the debate about who should bat in which spot, or who the number 1 starter should be, but I will lay out my best ideas anyway.

Coming next: The All-Time Tigers Outfield.