Top 50 Detroit Tigers
Founded in 1901, the Detroit Tigers have been staples in the American League since its inception.The Tigers have had their ups and downs for sure, but the team has been in the World Series eleven times and won the Fall Classic four times in 1935, 1945, 1968, and 1984.
With over a century of players to choose from, the Top 50 Detroit Tigers is loaded with Hall of Famers, should have beens and future Cooperstown performers.
Note: Baseball lists are based on:
- Sabremetric tallies while with that team, mostly WAR.
- Traditional metrics and how they finished in their respective league overall.
- Playoff accomplishment.
- Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
A four-time All-Star during his stint with the Detroit Tigers (1990-97), Travis Fryman was a former Silver Slugger winner who smacked 149 Home Runs and had a .300 Batting Average Season in 1993. Fryman had 1,176 Hits in Detroit.
The primary Shortstop for the Detroit Tigers in the 1930’s, Billy Rogell would offensively have six straight seasons with 150 Hits and three straight seasons defensively with a Defensive bWAR over 2. Rogell would in fact lead the American League in that category three times and finish second twice. The accomplished Infielder would also be an important part of the 1935 World Series Championship Team.
With the bulk of his career spent in Detroit, Earl Whitehill was known as equal for his skill as he was nasty disposition. Whitehill would have five campaigns in Motown with over 16 Wins and is one of the more underrated hurlers of the first half of the 20th Century.
Twice going over the 20 Win mark as a Detroit Tiger, Ed Killian was one of the stars of his team in the 1900’s. Killian retired with an incredible Earned Run Average of 2.38 and a Win/Loss record of 100 and 74 and while it should be mentioned that he pitched in the dead ball era, he is sixth all time in allowing the least amount of Home Runs per Inning.
Returning from Japan, Cecil Fielder would become a Home Run machine for the Detroit Tigers. Fielder would win the Home Run Title twice, the RBI Title three times and finished second in American League MVP voting twice (1990 & 1991). Fielder would be ranked higher had he not been a Strikeout machine and a defensive liability but for a two-year period this was one of the biggest stars in Baseball.
In his eleven seasons in the Majors (all with Detroit) Bobby Higginson never went to an All-Star Game, nor did he win a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger, but the Outfielder was thought of very highly for his overall skills throughout the league and was named the organization’s “Mr. Tiger” twice.
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Tony Phillips had a long career spanning eighteen seasons but his five in Detroit clearly reflected the best offensive numbers of his career. Phillips would lead the American League in Runs Scored in 1992 and in Walks in 1993, a season he also batted .313 and finished 16th in MVP voting. The versatile player also put up his best defensive output as a Detroit Tiger.
Jim Northrup signed with the Detroit Tigers as an Amateur Free Agent and would debut for Detroit in 1964. Two years later, he won the starting Rightfield job for the team and held that until he was traded to the Montreal Expos during the 1964 season.
A two-time leader in the American League in Triples with the Tigers, Curtis Granderson would become a bigger star in baseball when he was traded to the New York Yankees. Still, Granderson has a list of solid accomplishments in Motown where he had 102 Home Runs, a .300 season, and a tenth place finish in MVP voting.
Al Benton struggled with the Philadelphia Athletics in the two seasons he was there (1934 & 1935), and he would be back in the minors until the Tigers bought his contract.
In his first season as a Detroit Tiger, Carlos Guillen had a breakout season of sorts where he went to his first All Star Game with 20 Home Runs and a .318 Batting Average. Guillen was not a one season wonder as he would be named an All Star twice more. He would overall bat a solid .297 over his tenure with Detroit.
I wonder if it is a prerequisite to be popular if you are named Rocky?That was certainly the case for Rocky Colavito as a Cleveland Indian, but it wasn’t that he didn’t have fans when he was traded to the Tigers.