The1921Detroit Tigers finished in sixth place in theAmerican League, 27 games behind theYankees, with a record of 71–82. Despite their sixth-place finish, the 1921 Tigers amassed 1,724hits and a teambatting average of .316—the highest team hit total and batting average in American League history. DetroitoutfieldersHarry Heilmann andTy Cobb finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the American League batting race with batting averages of .394 and .389, and all three Detroit outfielders (Heilmann, Cobb, andBobby Veach) ranked among the league leaders in batting average andRBIs. As early proof of the baseball adage that "Good Pitching Beats Good Hitting", the downfall of the 1921 Tigers was the absence of good pitching. The team ERA was 4.40, they allowed nine or more runs 28 times, and only one pitcher (Dutch Leonard) had anERA below 4.24.

CatcherJohnny Bassler had a careeron-base percentage of .416 in nine major league seasons, the second highest all time among major league catchers. He was considered the best catcher in baseball from 1921 to 1925, finishing in the top seven in theAmerican LeagueMVP voting three straight years: 6th in 1922, 7th in 1923, and 5th in 1924. Bassler was an outstanding offensive and defensive player. Baseball historianBill James wrote that, "if his major league career wasn't so short he would rank among the top 20catchers of all time."^[1] Because of the brevity of his major league career, James ranked Bassler as the 47th best catcher of all time. Bassler was a career .304 hitter whowalked 437 times, whilestriking out only 81 times. That is a ratio of 5.4walks per strikeout – one of the highest in major league history. His 1925 total of 57.3at bats per strikeout is one of the highest in American League history.

First basemanLu Blue was a switch-hitter who had a careeron-base percentage of .402. The 1921 season was Blue's first in the major leagues, and he hit .308 with a .416 on-base percentage and 131runs scored. Blue was the Tigers' starting first baseman from 1921 to 1927, hitting above .300 four times, including a .311 season in 1924. He finished among the top vote getters in theAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player voting three times for the Tigers: 10th in 1922, 19th in 1924, and 12th in 1925. Blue was among the league leaders inbases on balls ten times in his career (1921–1923, 1925–1931). With his ability to get on base, Blue was also a top run scorer, with 1151 runs scored in his career, including six seasons with 100 or more runs. Blue was also one of the best fielding first basemen of his era. In 1571 games at first base, Blue had 15,644putouts and a careerrange factor of 10.60 – almost 3.00 full points above the league average of 7.64 for first basemen in his era.

Second basemanRalph Young played for the Tigers from 1915 to 1921. At 5'5", Young was one of the shortest players ever to wear the Tigers' uniform. His small stature, and correspondingly smallstrike zone, assisted him in both collectingwalks and avoidingstrikeouts. In nine seasons, Young collected 495bases on balls and struck out only 254 times (in 3,643at bats). In 1921, he hit .299 and was the only Detroit position player at the end of the season who fell short of the .300 mark.

ShortstopDonie Bush was Detroit's startingshortstop for thirteen seasons from 1909 to 1921. In 1914, Bush had 425putouts (still the major league record for shortstops) and 969chances (still theAmerican League record). During the decade from 1910 to 1919, no one had morebases on balls than Bush. Bush also ranked among the league leaders in stolen bases nine times. With his ability to get on base, Bush was also among the league leaders in runs scored ten times. Bush was released by the Tigers in late August 1921 and signed by theWashington Senators.

After Bush was released,Ira Flagstead andHerm Merritt played shortstop for Detroit during the balance of the 1921 season. Despite batting .370 in his rookie season, Merritt did not make the team in 1922 and never played another major league game. Merritt died in 1927 at age 26.

Left fielderHarry Heilmann won the first of his fourAmerican League batting crowns in 1921, hitting .394. On July 8, 1921, Heilmann hit ahome run in Detroit that theNew York Tribune reported measured 610 feet – one of the longest home runs ever hit by a Tiger. In addition to winning the batting crown, Heilmann also led the league with 237hits and was among the league leaders with a .444on-base percentage (3rd best), .606slugging percentage (2nd best), 365total bases (2nd best), 43doubles (3rd best), 139RBIs (2nd best), and 76extra base hits (3rd best). Heilmann also won batting crowns in 1923, 1925, and 1927. Heilmann andTed Williams are the last two American League players to hit .400, Heilmann having accomplished the feat in 1923 with abatting average of .403. As of the end of the 2009 season, Heilmann's career batting average of .342 is the 12th highest in major league history.^[2]

In 1921, the Tigers' owner,Frank Navin, signedcenter fielderTy Cobb to take over forHughie Jennings as the team'smanager. The signing caught the baseball world off-guard. Universally disliked (even by the members of his own team) but a legendary player, Cobb's management style left a lot to be desired. He expected as much from his players as he gave, and most of the men did not meet his standard.^[3][4] As a player, Cobb continued to excel, finishing second in the AL batting race to Heilmann with a .389batting average, with a .596slugging percentage (3rd in the AL), 124runs (5th in the AL), 22stolen bases (4th in the AL), 197hits (8th in the AL), 65extra base hits (7th in the AL), and 101RBIs (9th in the AL).

Bobby Veach was Detroit's startingleft fielder for eleven years from 1913 to 1923. Despite being one of the most productive hitters in baseball during his years in Detroit, Veach played in the shadows of three Detroit outfielders who won 16 batting titles and were inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame: Ty Cobb,Sam Crawford, and Harry Heilmann. Veach had 128RBIs (4th in the AL) and hit .338 (9th in the AL) in 1921. He led the league in RBIs three times (1915, 1917, and 1918) and was among the league leaders 10 times. Nobody in baseball hit as many RBIs orextra base hits as Veach did during his prime from 1915 to 1922. Veach also ranked among the league leaders inbatting average six times and had a career batting average of .311. Veach was also a superior left fielder. His 384putouts in 1921 and 26assists in 1920 are among the highest ever by a left fielder.

In 1921, Veach was the subject of an unusual motivational tactic by newplayer-manager Ty Cobb. Cobb believed that Veach, who came to bat with a smile and engaged in friendly conversation withumpires and opposingpitchers, was too easygoing. Detroit Tigers historian,Fred Lieb, described Veach as a "happy-go-lucky guy, not too brilliant above the ears", who "was as friendly as aNewfoundlandpup with opponents as well as teammates."^[5] Hoping to light a fire in Veach, Cobb persuaded Harry Heilmann, who followed Veach in thebatting order, to taunt Veach from theon-deck circle. "I want you to make him mad. Real mad. . . . [W]hile you're waiting, call him ayellow belly, a quitter and a dog. ... Take that smile off his face." The tactic may have worked, as Veach had career-highs in RBIs (126) andhome runs (16), and hisbatting average jumped from .308 to .338. Cobb had promised to tell Veach about the scheme when the season was over, but he never did. When Heilmann tried to explain, Veach reportedly snarled, "Don't come sucking around me with that phony line." Veach never forgave Heilmann.^[6]

Dutch Leonard was the "ace" of the Tigers' pitching staff in 1921 with a 3.75 ERA—the only pitcher with an ERA below 4.00. In 1914, Leonard set the major league record for the lowest single-seasonERA of all time–0.96.

Through his years in Detroit, Leonard fought with manager Ty Cobb. Even before their player-manager feud, Leonard and Cobb had a history. In 1914, Leonard hit Cobb in the ribs with a fastball. In the next at bat, Cobb dragged abunt down the first base line and ran directly at Leonard who was covering the bag. Cobb later called Leonard a "damned coward" for running toward the dugout to avoid being cut by Cobb's spikes.^[7] During a 1922 argument, Leonard cursed Cobb to his face and ended up quitting the team, calling Cobb a "horse's ass."^[8] When Leonard returned to the Tigers in 1924, the feud resumed. In 1925, Leonard had an 11–3 record, but Cobb called him shirker. Leonard accused Cobb of over-working him, and Cobb responded in July 1925 by leaving Leonard on the mound for an entire game despite Leonard's giving up 20 hits and taking a 12–4 beating. After that, Leonard refused to pitch for Cobb, and the Tigers put Leonard on waivers, ending Leonard's career.^[9]

In 1926, Leonard sought his revenge, accusing Cobb of being involved infixing games withTris Speaker. To corroborate his story, Leonard produced letters (including one written by Cobb) that obliquely referred to gambling or game fixing. WhenJudge Landis made Leonard's letters public, it touched off a scandal. However, Leonard declined to appear and testify at a hearing called by Judge Landis, saying he feared a physical attack from "that wild man". In the absence of Leonard's testimony, Landis found Cobb and Speaker not guilty.

Hooks Dauss played his entire fifteen-year career with the Tigers and is the team's all timewins leader. Though he was among top five in wins five times, Dauss had a 10–15 record in 1921 with a 4.33ERA. Dauss was an excellent fielding pitcher. His careerrange factor of 2.28 is 0.65 points higher than the average pitcher of his era. He had 1128assists in his career, and is careerfielding percentage of .968 was also 20 points higher than the average pitcher of his era. Dauss committed only one error in the combined 1923 and 1924 seasons in nearly 100 games pitched.

Howard Ehmke led the 1921 team with 13wins but had an overall record of 13–14 with a 4.54ERA. Ehmke ranks No. 16 on the all time major league list for hitting batsmen with a pitch. He hit 137 batters in his career and led the AL in the category in 1921 and six other times, including a career-high 23 in 1922. On August 8, 1920, Ehmke shut out the Yankees 1–0 in one of the shortest games in AL history, lasting only 1 hour‚ 13 minutes. In 1923, he was traded to theBoston Red Sox, where he won 20 games and set the AL record (still standing) for allowing the fewest hits (one) in two consecutive starts.

The team's fourth starter,Red Oldham, had an 11–14 record. As an indicator of how bad the team's pitching was in 1921, Oldham's 4.27ERA was the second lowest on the team. Shortly after an interview in which new managerTy Cobb told a reporter that "his aim was to use tact and diplomacy" in dealing with players, Cobb publicly embarrassed Oldham, as he called time-out from his position in center field, "ran in, wrested the ball from Oldham's hand, and gave him a dressing-down before calling in a reliever."^[10] Oldham appeared in the final inning of the1925 World Series for thePittsburgh Pirates pitching a masterful 1–2–3 inning against three future Hall of Famers:Sam Rice (strikeout),Bucky Harris, andGoose Goslin (strikeout). The Pirates won the game and the World Series with Oldham on the mound.

Suds Sutherland was one of the most interesting stories of the Tigers' 1921 season. Sutherland had pitched a no-hitter in thePacific Coast League and made the Tigers' team in 1921. One month into the season, he had a record of 5–0. He was 6–2 in his first eight starts. On top of his fine pitching, Sutherland was batting .407 in the first two months of the season. However, Sutherland's career came to an abrupt end in June 1921, as Sutherland found himself in the middle of theBabe Ruth–Ty Cobb feud. In a game against the Yankees, Babe Ruth reportedly hit a 3–0 pitch off Sutherland into the upper deck. Cobb ran in from center field and took out his anger on the rookie pitcher. Though he had the best record on the pitching staff, Cobb never forgave Sutherland for giving up a mammoth blast to the Babe. As a result, Sutherland did not pitch for the Tigers (or for any major league team) after June 1921.

The 1921 Tigers were one of the best hitting teams in baseball history. Their teambatting average of .316 is the highest inAmerican League history and the second highest in modern major league history, trailing only the 1930New York Giants, who had a team batting average of .319. (The American League batting average in 1921 was .302, and theNational League batting average in 1930 was .309. So measured against the league batting average for their respective seasons, the 1921 Tigers were 14 points above average, and the 1930 Giants were ten points above league average.)

The Tigers also amassed 1724hits in 1921—the highest single season total by any team in American League history. Only one other American League team and four National League teams (all during an aberrant 1930 season when the National League batting average was .309) have had 1700 hits in a single season. They are:

• 1930 Philadelphia Phillies – 1783 hits (.315 batting average)
• 1930 New York Giants – 1769 hits (.319 batting average)
• 1930 St. Louis Cardinals – 1732 hits (.314 batting average)
• 1921 Detroit Tigers – 1724 hits (.316 batting average)
• 1930 Chicago Cubs – 1722 hits (.309 batting average)
• 1936 Cleveland Indians – 1715 hits (.305 batting average)

The 1921 Tigers had six starters with batting averages of .300 or higher:

• Right fielderHarry Heilmann led the American League with a .394 average.
• Center fielderTy Cobb was second in the American League with a .389 average.
• Right fielderBobby Veach was ninth in the American League with a .338 average.
• First basemanLu Blue hit .308 in his rookie season with a .416 on-base percentage.
• CatcherJohnny Bassler hit .307 with a .401 on-base percentage.
• Third basemanBob Jones hit .303.

All three Tigers outfielders were among the league leaders in RBIs in 1921.

• Right fielder Harry Heilmann was second in the league behindBabe Ruth with 139 RBIs.
• Left fielder Bobby Veach was fourth in the league with 128 RBIs.
• Center fielder Ty Cobb was ninth in the league with 101 RBIs.

Despite having one of the bestbatting lineups in baseball history, the 1921 Tigers finished in sixth place with a losing record. As early proof of the baseball adage that "Good Pitching Beats Good Hitting", the downfall of the 1921 Tigers was the absence of good pitching. The team ERA was 4.40, no Detroit pitcher won more than 13 games, and only one pitcher (Dutch Leonard) had anERA below 4.24.

• April 14: First basemanLu Blue made his major league debut for the Tigers, as they beat the White Sox, 6–5, on Opening Day atNavin Field.Dutch Leonard started the game, and relief pitcherSuds Sutherland got the win.
• May 11: Detroit pitcher Suds Sutherland got off to a hot start, winning his fifth game in the first month of the season, a 2–1 victory overWaite Hoyt and theNew York Yankees.
• May 20: The Tigers beat the Red Sox, 12–2. At that point, the Tigers were 2½ games out of first place.
• June 11–14:Babe Ruth hit six home runs off Detroit pitching during a four-game series in Detroit. Even though the Tigers scored 28 runs and picked up 47 hits in the four-game series, the Yankees scores 41 runs, picked up 57 hits, and swept the series.Howard Ehmke andHooks Dauss each gave up two home runs to Ruth, but rookie Suds Sutherland (who gave up a long home run to Ruth) took the brunt of managerTy Cobb's anger. Sutherland had the team's best win–loss record at 6–2, but Cobb never forgave Sutherland for giving up a mammoth blast to the Babe. As a result, Sutherland did not pitch for the Tigers after June 21, 1921.
• June 18: The Tigers lost 11–7 to the Red Sox. AFter being swept by the Yankees, the Tigers were swept by the Bosox in a four-game series. The team's nine-game skid in mid-June marked the turning point for the team. The team trailed by four-and-a-half games on June 10; by June 19 they were 10 games out of first.
• June 24: The Tigers won, 12–0, as Dutch Leonard shut out the Browns. The Tigers' pitching staff had only four shutouts in the 1921 season, a 9–0 win byRed Oldham on May 5, Leonard's win on June 24, a 10–0 win byBert Cole on August 19, and a 5–0 win by Howard Ehmke on August 21.
• July 19: The Tigers lost to Waite Hoyt and the Yankees, 6–5. At that point, the Tigers had lost six straight games to dropped 15 games out of first place.
• July 29: The Tigers scored a season-high 18 runs in an 18–6 win over the Senators. Howard Ehmke got the win for the Tigers, who scored 10 or more runs 24 times during the 1921 season.
• August 20: After the Tigers released shortstopDonie Bush, he was selected off waivers by the Washington Senators. Before his release, Bush had been the Tigers starting shortstop for thirteen years—since the close of the 1908 season.
• August 24: After beating the Senators, 12–3, the previous day, the Tigers beat the Senators again, this time by a score of 15–1, withBert Cole getting the win. The win marked the team's sixth straight win—their longest win streak of the 1921 season.
• September 9: The Tigers lost a slugfest to the White Sox, 20–15, as the two teams combined for 42 hits and 35 runs. The team dropped to 21½ games out of first place.
• September 24: Tigers' shortstopJackie Tavener made his major league debut. The Tigers lost, 5–1, toWalter Johnson and the Washington Senators. At that point, they were 23 games out of first place.
• October 2: The Tigers closed the 1921 season on a seven-game losing streak. They lost the final two games to theSt. Louis Browns, by scores of 11–6 and 12–3. Detroit pitching gave up nine or more runs in 28 games during the 1921 season. They held opponents to less than two runs in only 18 games.

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included.

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

• Hooks Dauss: American League leader in hit batsmen (13) (tied withEhmke)
• Howard Ehmke: American League leader in hit batsmen (13) (tied withDauss)
• Harry Heilmann: American League batting champion (.394)
• Harry Heilmann: Major League Baseball hits leader (237)
• Bob Jones: American League leader inerrors by a third baseman (27)
• Dutch Leonard: American League leader in strikeout to walk ratio (1.90)
• Bobby Veach: American League leader inputouts by an outfielder (384)

The following members of the 1921 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 players of all time at their position, as ranked inThe New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:

• Johnny Bassler: 47th bestcatcher of all time
• Lu Blue: 77th bestfirst baseman of all time
• Donie Bush: 51st bestshortstop of all time
• Bobby Veach: 33rd bestleft fielder of all time
• Ty Cobb: 2nd bestcenter fielder of all time
• Harry Heilmann: 16th bestright fielder of all time

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Fort Worth^[11]

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997).The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America.ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1921 Detroit Tigers at Baseball Reference
• BaseballLibrary.com 1921 Detroit Tigers season summary

• 1921 Detroit Tigers Game by Game Chronology from BaseballLibrary.com
• Charlton's Baseball Chronology for 1921

• Detroit Tigers seasons
• 1921 Major League Baseball season
• 1921 in sports in Michigan
• 1921 in Detroit

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