| 1951 Detroit Tigers | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Briggs Stadium |
| City | Detroit,Michigan |
| Record | 73–81 (.474) |
| League place | 5th |
| Owners | Walter Briggs, Sr. |
| General managers | Billy Evans |
| Managers | Red Rolfe |
| Television | WWJ (Harry Heilmann, Paul Williams,Ty Tyson) |
| Radio | WJBK/WXYZ (Paul Williams,Ty Tyson) |
The1951Detroit Tigers season was a season in Americanbaseball. The team finished fifth in theAmerican League with a record of 73–81, 25 games behind theNew York Yankees.
On August 19, the Tigers played adoubleheader in St. Louis against theBrowns. In the second game, after the Tigers had batted in the top of the first inning, the Browns sent midgetEddie Gaedel up topinch-hit for leadoff batterFrank Saucier. Gaedel, at a height of 3'7", is to date the shortest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. Umpire Ed Hurley challenged the decision to allow Gaedel to participate in an at-bat. Browns managerZack Taylor produced a copy of Gaedel's contract.[2] Tigers pitcherBob Cain walked him.[3]Jim Delsingpinch ran for Gaedel,[3] but failed to score. The Tigers won the game, 6–2.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 98 | 56 | .636 | — | 56–22 | 42–34 |
| Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61 | .604 | 5 | 53–24 | 40–37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 87 | 67 | .565 | 11 | 50–25 | 37–42 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 73 | .526 | 17 | 39–38 | 42–35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 73 | 81 | .474 | 25 | 36–41 | 37–40 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 70 | 84 | .455 | 28 | 38–41 | 32–43 |
| Washington Senators | 62 | 92 | .403 | 36 | 32–44 | 30–48 |
| St. Louis Browns | 52 | 102 | .338 | 46 | 24–53 | 28–49 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
| Boston | — | 11–11 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 15–7 | 15–7 | 15–7 | |||||
| Chicago | 11–11 | — | 12–10–1 | 12–10 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 14–8 | |||||
| Cleveland | 14–8 | 10–12–1 | — | 17–5 | 7–15 | 16–6 | 16–6 | 13–9 | |||||
| Detroit | 10–12 | 10–12 | 5–17 | — | 10–12 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9 | |||||
| New York | 11–11 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 12–10 | — | 13–9 | 17–5 | 16–6 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 7–15 | 13–9 | 6–16 | 9–13 | 9–13 | — | 14–8 | 12–10 | |||||
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 10–12 | 5–17 | 8–14 | — | 9–13 | |||||
| Washington | 7–15 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 6–16 | 10–12 | 13–9 | — | |||||
The1951 All-Star Game was originally awarded to thePhiladelphia Phillies. TheCity of Detroit was celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1701 and requested to host the year's All-Star Game. Although the National League was scheduled to host the game in '51, the game was moved to Detroit'sBriggs Stadium to coincide with the city's celebration. The Phillies instead hosted the1952 All-Star Game atShibe Park.[4]
| 1951 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Joe Ginsberg | 102 | 304 | 79 | .260 | 8 | 37 |
| 1B | Dick Kryhoski | 119 | 421 | 121 | .287 | 12 | 57 |
| 2B | Jerry Priddy | 154 | 584 | 152 | .260 | 8 | 57 |
| SS | Johnny Lipon | 129 | 487 | 129 | .265 | 0 | 38 |
| 3B | George Kell | 147 | 598 | 191 | .319 | 2 | 59 |
| OF | Hoot Evers | 116 | 393 | 88 | .224 | 11 | 46 |
| OF | Vic Wertz | 138 | 501 | 143 | .285 | 27 | 94 |
| OF | Johnny Groth | 118 | 428 | 128 | .299 | 3 | 49 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Mullin | 110 | 295 | 83 | .281 | 12 | 51 |
| Don Kolloway | 78 | 212 | 54 | .255 | 1 | 17 |
| Bud Souchock | 91 | 188 | 46 | .245 | 11 | 28 |
| Neil Berry | 67 | 157 | 36 | .229 | 0 | 9 |
| Bob Swift | 44 | 104 | 20 | .192 | 0 | 5 |
| Aaron Robinson | 36 | 82 | 17 | .207 | 0 | 9 |
| Charlie Keller | 54 | 62 | 16 | .258 | 3 | 21 |
| Frank House | 18 | 41 | 9 | .220 | 1 | 4 |
| Russ Sullivan | 7 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 1 | 1 |
| Al Federoff | 2 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Doc Daugherty | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Gray | 34 | 197.1 | 7 | 14 | 4.06 | 131 |
| Fred Hutchinson | 31 | 188.1 | 10 | 10 | 3.68 | 53 |
| Hal Newhouser | 15 | 96.1 | 6 | 6 | 3.92 | 37 |
| Saul Rogovin | 5 | 24.0 | 1 | 1 | 5.25 | 5 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dizzy Trout | 42 | 191.2 | 9 | 14 | 4.04 | 89 |
| Virgil Trucks | 37 | 153.2 | 13 | 8 | 4.33 | 89 |
| Bob Cain | 35 | 149.1 | 11 | 10 | 4.70 | 58 |
| Marlin Stuart | 29 | 124.0 | 4 | 6 | 3.77 | 46 |
| Wayne McLeland | 6 | 11.0 | 0 | 1 | 8.18 | 0 |
| Dick Marlowe | 2 | 1.2 | 0 | 1 | 32.40 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hal White | 38 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4.74 | 23 |
| Gene Bearden | 37 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4.33 | 38 |
| Hank Borowy | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6.95 | 16 |
| Earl Johnson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.35 | 2 |
| Ray Herbert | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.42 | 9 |
| Paul Calvert | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
