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. 

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.

The world of Baseball lost a legend today as it was announced that Al Kaline passed away today at the age of 85.  The cause of death was not disclosed.

The Outfielder debuted in 1953 as a teenager, and he would play a total of 22 seasons in the Majors, all of which were with the Detroit Tigers.  Kaline would become a star quickly, going to the All-Star Game in 15 of his seasons, and finishing in the top ten in MVP voting nine times.  His other accolades included winning the 1955 Batting Titles, ten Gold Gloves, and he would help Detroit win the 1968 World Series.

He retired after the 1974 season, one Home Run shy of 400. While he could have likely played another season, he had reached the 3,000 Hit mark late that year, finishing with 3,007 total.

After his career was over, he remained with the Tigers in some capacity until he died.  He served as their color commentator from 1975 to 2002, and he would be a Special Assistant to the President afterward.  With an over six-decade association with the club, could there be anyone else could possibly be called “Mr. Tiger”?

Kaline was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, which was his first year of eligibility.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Al Kaline.  

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such it is huge news that the Detroit Tigers will be retiring the number 1 of former Second Baseman, Lou Whitaker.

Playing at Second Base, Whitaker played his entire career with the Tigers.  The five-time All-Star won the 1978 Rookie of the Year Award, where he also won three Gold Gloves and four Silver Sluggers.  He was an integral part of Detroit’s last World Series Championship in 1984.  He would overall accumulate 2,369 Hits with 244 Home Runs and 1,084 Runs Batted In.

The official retirement will take place on August 29, during Detroit’s home game against the Boston Red Sox.

Whitaker becomes the 10^thplayer to have his number retired.  He joins Charlie Gehringer (#2), Alan Trammell (#3), Hank Greenberg (#5), Al Kaline (#6), Sparky Anderson (#11), Hal Newhouser (#16), Willie Horton (#23), Jackie Robinson (#42) and Jack Morris (#47).

Along with Anderson, Trammell & Morris, he is the fourth member of the 1984 World Series winning team to have his number retired.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Lou Whitaker for earning this prestigious honor, and thank the Detroit Tigers for honoring their former star.

As we continue or slow process of ranking the all-time Top 50 of each major North American franchise, we also have to constantly update the ones we already have. The one that we have done this time is revising the Detroit Tigers up to accomplishments up to the end of 2016 season.

In this particular case, we did not just adjust everything based on what transpired in 2015. The way in which we determine our baseball lists are as follows:

1. Sabremetric tallies while with that team, mostly WAR.

2. Traditional metrics and how they finished in their respective league overall.

3. Playoff accomplishment.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This has resulted in a significant shift in the overall Top 50 of the Tigers and many new entries that had not been listed previously.

The revised list can be found here.

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.

Five times an All-Star as a Detroit Tiger, George Kell would finish in the top ten in MVP voting three times.  Kell, who would get into the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veteran’s Ballot in 1983, would twice lead the AL in Hits and win the coveted Batting Title while wearing the iconic “D” of Detroit.  In the 826 Games he played in Motown, Kell would secure 1,075 Hits with a Batting Average of .325.  Kell, who would also be a broadcaster for the team, would be honored in RIghtfield in 2000 along with many other Tigers legends.

Damn, this is a long process isn’t it?

We have told you that we are looking to do for each major North American Franchise in professional sports their top 50 players.  There have been quite a few that we have done, but as you know there are a lot more left to do!

As such, we have another team whose top 50 players we are ready to announce, in our opinion of course.

It is a return to Motown, with multi-time World Series Champion, the Detroit Tigers.

As one of the more successful and tenured franchises in Major League Baseball, this is quite a list, and you can see the complete 50 here.

We encourage you all to take a look and let us know your thoughts on this group and we thank you for your support.

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.

A seven-time All-Star with the Detroit Tigers, Harvey Kuenn was a monstrous hitting machine who would lead the American League hits four times as a Tiger and was also the Rookie of the Year in 1953.  Kuenn would also lead the AL in Doubles three times and won the Batting Title in 1959.  Had he been better defensively, Harvey Kuenn would certainly have been ranked much higher, though his we understand if his offense should have propelled him to a higher ranking.

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.

Max Scherzer was part of an elite staff with the Tigers and while Justin Verlander received the lion’s share of the attention, Scherzer was a former Cy Young Winner, a trophy he earned in 2013.  With his near sidearm delivery (a brilliant three quarters delivery) Scherzer’s Cy Young campaign saw him post a sub 1.000 Whip and in his five years as a Tiger he had an outstanding record of 82 and 35.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A two time All-Star in the 1930’s, Schoolboy Rowe assisted the Detroit Tigers to two consecutive American League Pennants and a World Series win in 1935.  Rowe, who would twice lead the AL in SO/BB was a fan favorite for his good looks, southern charm and solid play.

An All-Star in 1951, Fred Hutchinson spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers.  The control pitcher would lead the American League in SO/BB and BB/9 four times, a feat that is very impressive though not understood in the day that it occurred.  He was also a good hitting pitcher, showcased by a .263 Batting Average.  Hutchinson missed four years of baseball due to World War II, but he still managed to accrue a record of 95-71.