| 1977 Detroit Tigers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Tiger Stadium | |||
| City | Detroit,Michigan | |||
| Owners | John Fetzer | |||
| General managers | Jim Campbell | |||
| Managers | Ralph Houk | |||
| Television | WWJ-TV (George Kell, Larry Osterman, Joe Pellegrino,Al Kaline) | |||
| Radio | WJR (Ernie Harwell,Paul Carey) | |||
| ||||
The1977 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 77th season and the 66th season atTiger Stadium. The Tigers finished in fourth place in theAmerican League East with a record of 74–88, 26 games behind theNew York Yankees. They were outscored by their opponents 751 to 714. The Tigers drew 1,359,856 fans toTiger Stadium in 1977, ranking 7th of the 14 teams in theAmerican League.
With 212 hits, 100 runs scored, and a .325batting average,center fielderRon LeFlore was the team's most valuable player, and the recipient of the "Tiger of the Year" award.First basemanJason Thompson led the team with 31home runs and 105RBIs, andsecond basemanTito Fuentes was the team's only other .300 hitter, with a .309 batting average and 190hits.Designated hitterRusty Staub also had a .278 batting average, 173 hits, 22 home runs, and 101 RBIs. RookieSteve Kemp (the first pick in the1976 amateur draft) hit .257 with 18 home runs and 88 RBIs.
The rookie sensation of 1976,Mark Fidrych pitched in 1977 (2.89 ERA), buttendinitis limited "The Bird" to 11 games. The pitching star of 1977 for Detroit was rookieDave Rozema who went 15–7 with a 3.09 ERA and finished eighth in the American League Cy Young Award voting.
1977 also saw the debut ofSteve Kemp (debut April 7, 1977),Dave Rozema (debut April 11, 1977),Jack Morris (debut July 26, 1977),Lance Parrish (debut September 5, 1977),Alan Trammell (debut September 9, 1977), andLou Whitaker (debut September 9, 1977).
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 100 | 62 | .617 | — | 55–26 | 45–36 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 97 | 64 | .602 | 2½ | 54–27 | 43–37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 97 | 64 | .602 | 2½ | 51–29 | 46–35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 88 | .457 | 26 | 39–42 | 35–46 |
| Cleveland Indians | 71 | 90 | .441 | 28½ | 37–44 | 34–46 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 67 | 95 | .414 | 33 | 37–44 | 30–51 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 54 | 107 | .335 | 45½ | 25–55 | 29–52 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 6–8 | 5–6 | 5–5 | 11–4 | 12–3 | 4–7 | 11–4 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 | 7–3 | 4–6 | 10–5 |
| Boston | 8–6 | — | 7–3 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 8–3 | 10–1 | 6–4 | 12–3 |
| California | 6–5 | 3–7 | — | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 4–7 | 5–10 | 9–6 | 5–10 | 6–4 |
| Chicago | 5–5 | 7–3 | 7–8 | — | 6–4 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 6–5 | 10–5 | 3–7 | 10–5 | 10–5 | 6–9 | 8–3 |
| Cleveland | 4–11 | 7–8 | 4–6 | 4–6 | — | 8–7 | 3–7 | 11–4 | 2–9 | 3–12 | 7–3 | 7–3 | 2–9 | 9–5 |
| Detroit | 3–12 | 6–9 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 7–8 | — | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 2–8 | 10–5 |
| Kansas City | 7–4 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 7–8 | 7–3 | 8–3 | — | 8–2 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 11–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 |
| Milwaukee | 4–11 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 4–11 | 5–10 | 2–8 | — | 3–8 | 8–7 | 5–5 | 7–3 | 5–5 | 8–7 |
| Minnesota | 4–6 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 5–10 | 9–2 | 5–5 | 5–10 | 8–3 | — | 2–8 | 8–6 | 7–8 | 8–7 | 9–1 |
| New York | 7–8 | 7–8 | 7–4 | 7–3 | 12–3 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 8–2 | — | 9–2 | 6–4 | 7–3 | 9–6 |
| Oakland | 2–8 | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 6–8 | 2–9 | — | 7–8 | 2–13 | 7–3 |
| Seattle | 3–7 | 1–10 | 6–9 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 4–11 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 8–7 | — | 9–6 | 4–6 |
| Texas | 6–4 | 4–6 | 10–5 | 9–6 | 9–2 | 8–2 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 3–7 | 13–2 | 6–9 | — | 7–4 |
| Toronto | 5–10 | 3–12 | 4–6 | 3–8 | 5–9 | 5–10 | 2–8 | 7–8 | 1–9 | 6–9 | 3–7 | 6–4 | 4–7 | — |
| 1977 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
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 | Milt May | 115 | 397 | 99 | .249 | 12 | 46 |
| 1B | Jason Thompson | 158 | 585 | 158 | .270 | 31 | 105 |
| 2B | Tito Fuentes | 151 | 615 | 190 | .309 | 5 | 51 |
| 3B | Aurelio Rodríguez | 96 | 306 | 67 | .219 | 10 | 32 |
| SS | Tom Veryzer | 125 | 350 | 69 | .197 | 2 | 28 |
| CF | Ron LeFlore | 154 | 652 | 212 | .325 | 16 | 57 |
| LF | Steve Kemp | 151 | 552 | 142 | .257 | 18 | 88 |
| RF | Ben Oglivie | 132 | 450 | 118 | .262 | 21 | 61 |
| DH | Rusty Staub | 158 | 623 | 173 | .278 | 22 | 101 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Mankowski | 94 | 286 | 79 | .276 | 3 | 27 |
| Mickey Stanley | 75 | 222 | 51 | .230 | 8 | 23 |
| John Wockenfuss | 53 | 164 | 45 | .274 | 9 | 25 |
| Tim Corcoran | 55 | 103 | 29 | .282 | 3 | 15 |
| Chuck Scrivener | 61 | 72 | 6 | .083 | 0 | 2 |
| Mark Wagner | 22 | 48 | 7 | .146 | 1 | 3 |
| Lance Parrish | 12 | 46 | 9 | .196 | 3 | 7 |
| Alan Trammell | 19 | 43 | 8 | .186 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Whitaker | 11 | 32 | 8 | .250 | 0 | 2 |
| Bruce Kimm | 14 | 25 | 2 | .080 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Adams | 15 | 24 | 6 | .250 | 2 | 2 |
| Willie Horton | 1 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Molinaro | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Alvarado | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Rozema | 28 | 218.1 | 15 | 7 | 3.09 | 92 |
| Fernando Arroyo | 38 | 209.1 | 8 | 18 | 4.17 | 60 |
| Dave Roberts | 22 | 129.1 | 4 | 10 | 5.15 | 46 |
| Mark Fidrych | 11 | 81.0 | 6 | 4 | 2.89 | 42 |
| Vern Ruhle | 14 | 66.1 | 3 | 5 | 5.70 | 27 |
| Jack Morris | 7 | 45.2 | 1 | 1 | 3.74 | 28 |
| Ray Bare | 5 | 14.1 | 0 | 2 | 12.56 | 4 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Sykes | 32 | 132.2 | 5 | 7 | 4.41 | 58 |
| Jim Crawford | 37 | 126.0 | 7 | 8 | 4.79 | 91 |
| Milt Wilcox | 20 | 106.1 | 6 | 2 | 3.64 | 82 |
| Ed Glynn | 8 | 27.1 | 2 | 1 | 5.27 | 13 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | GF | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Foucault | 44 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 34 | 3.15 | 58 |
| John Hiller | 45 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 27 | 3.56 | 115 |
| Steve Grilli | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4.83 | 49 |
| Bruce Taylor | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 3.38 | 19 |
Jason Thompson, reserve
The following members of the 1977 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked byThe Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montgomery, Lakeland, Bristol
