It was the franchise's best season in terms of overall wins (104) and their best win percentage (.642) in a 162-game season. The Tigers led theAmerican League East wire-to-wire, opening the season 9–0 and eventually topping out at 35–5 (.875) after 40 games, with a 17–0 road record.[1][2]
The team won its first Division title since1972, their first American League championship since1968 (ninth overall), and the franchise's fourth (and most recent)World Series.
CatcherLance Parrish, known as the "Big Wheel", led the team in home runs (33) and RBIs (98) -- and strikeouts (120) as well. Parrish was the starting catcher for the American League All Star team and won theGold Glove andSilver Slugger Awards in 1984. He hit 2 home runs and had 5 RBIs in postseason play.
Dave Bergman was acquired from the Giants (via the Phillies) in March 1984 and became the Tigers' principalfirst baseman, playing 114 games at the position. He hit .273 in the regular season, but failed to get a hit in 5 games of the1984 World Series. On June 4, 1984, Bergman had an 11th inning at-bat at home in a big game against second-placeToronto, who at that point trailed the Tigers by only five games. The at-bat lasted 13 pitches (7 minutes), with Bergman fouling off seven straight pitches fromRoy Lee Jackson before hitting a walk-off, three-run home run.Sparky Anderson called it the greatest at-bat he had ever seen.[3]
Second basemanLou Whitaker, known as "Sweet Lou", had his best year in 1983, hitting .320 with 40 doubles and 206 hits. Though his batting numbers were much lower in 1984 (.289 average, 25 doubles and 161 hits), he was selected as the starting second baseman for the American League All Star team and won theGold Glove andSilver Slugger Awards in 1984.
ShortstopAlan Trammell had a big year in 1984. His .314batting average was 5th best in the American League and 25 points higher than any other Tiger. He was selected for the American League All Star team and won his 4thGold Glove award at shortstop. Trammell was also named the Most Valuable Player of the1984 World Series after batting .450, driving in 6 runs and hitting 2 home runs.
World Series MVP Alan Trammell
Third base was a weak spot in the Detroit lineup, with light-hittingTom Brookens entering as the starter from 1980 to 1983. In 1984, managerSparky Anderson searched for the right third baseman, as five different players appeared in 19 or more games at the position that season: 108 byHoward Johnson, 68 by Brookens, 33 byMarty Castillo, 20 byBárbaro Garbey, and 19 byDarrell Evans.
Howard Johnson, nicknamed "HoJo", was the startingthird baseman on Opening Day and through most of the 1984 season. Johnson had a disappointing year, batting .248 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs. In the 1984 World Series, Sparky Anderson gave the third base job toMarty Castillo, and HoJo had only 1 pinch-hit at bat. Johnson was traded to theMets less than 2 months after the World Series, and went on to have some big years in New York (36 HRs, 101 RBIs in 1989).
The image ofKirk Gibson with his arms raised above his head after hitting a 3-run home run in the1984 World Series has become the iconic symbol of the Tigers' 1984 season. The blast came offGoose Gossage, the best reliever in the National League, in the 8th inning of the 5th and final game. It put the Tigers ahead, 8–4, and sealed the championship. During the regular season, the Detroit area native played right field and led the team with a .516slugging percentage. He also contributed 27 home runs, 91 RBIs and 29 stolen bases, and was #6 in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Chet Lemon was the starting center fielder in the 1984 All Star game and a major contributor to the Tigers' success in 1984. One of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, Lemon had 427 putouts in 1984 with a .995 fielding percentage; his 3.09Range factor rating was far above the league average of 2.17. Lemon also contributed to the team's offensive output with a .287 batting average, 20 home runs, 34 doubles, 76 RBIs, and a.495slugging percentage.
Larry Herndon played 117 games in left field for the 1984 Tigers and hit .280. In the World Series, he had a .333 batting average and hit a home run. His 2-run homer in Game 1 was the difference in a 3–2 Tigers win. He also caught the final out of the World Series, a fly ball off the bat ofTony Gwynn.
Pitching: Morris, Petry, Wilcox, Hernandez, Rozema, and Lopez
Jack Morris was the leader of the Tigers pitching staff. He threw a no-hitter in April and was 10–1 before the end of May. He was selected for the 1984 All Star team, but finished the season 9–10 from June through September. He was 19–11 in the regular season with a 3.60 ERA. He won all three of his post-season starts, tossing two complete games and allowing only five earned runs in 25 innings (1.80 ERA).
The team's #2 starter,Dan Petry, finished the year 18–8 with the 3rd best winning percentage (.692) in the American League. His 3.24 ERA in the regular season was the lowest among the Tiger starters.
The team's #3 starter,Milt Wilcox, was 17–8 with a 4.00 ERA. Wilcox was 2–0 in the post-season, giving up only 1 run in 14 innings. He combined with the bullpen to shut out the Royals, 1–0, in the third and final game of theALCS.
Though Morris was the ace, the Tigers' MVP wasWillie Hernández. The Tigers tradedJohn Wockenfuss andGlenn Wilson to the Phillies in March for Hernández andDave Bergman. Hernández appeared in a team record 80 games for the 1984 Tigers and was virtually untouchable. He allowed 96 hits and only 6 home runs while throwing an incredible140+1⁄3 innings out of the bullpen, and finished the season with a stellar 1.92 ERA. HisAdjusted ERA+ of 204 is one of the highest inDetroit Tigers history. With 32 saves and 68 games finished, Hernandez won theCy Young Award and was voted the American League's Most Valuable Player. His 32 saves came in 33 opportunities, his only blown save coming in late September after the Tigers had already secured the AL East Division title. Hernandez saved three post-season games, including the series-clinching games in both the ALCS and World Series.
The popularAurelio López, known as "Señor Smoke", also had a strong season as the Tigers #2 relief pitcher. Lopez finished the season with 41 games finished, a record of 10–1 and a 2.94 ERA. He also saved 14 games while pitching137+2⁄3 innings. Lopez earned a win in Game 2 of the ALCS, tossing three scoreless innings as the Tigers won in 11 innings. Almost lost in the World Series Game 5 hitting heroics of Kirk Gibson was Lopez earning the win with2+1⁄3 innings of scoreless relief, in which he didn't allow a baserunner.
Darrell Evans was the Tigers' big free agent signing before the 1984 season. Though he had big years in 1985 (40 HRs, 94 RBIs) and 1987 (34 HRs, 99 RBIs), Evans struggled in his first year in the American League, batting .232 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs. In the 1984 World Series, Evans went 1-for-15 for an .067 batting average.
The 1984 Tigers had several non-starters who made big contributions to the team's success.
As a rookie in 1984,Bárbaro Garbey played in 110 games, including appearances at first base, second base, third base,DH, and each of the outfield positions. Garbey hit .287 and had more RBIs (52) than several starters, includingHoward Johnson,Larry Herndon andDave Bergman.
Ruppert Jones was signed as a free agent one week into the season on April 10, 1984. He played in 79 games, mostly as a backup in left field. Jones contributed 12 home runs and 49 RBIs in only 215 at-bats. His .516 slugging percentage was tied withKirk Gibson for the team lead.
Slick-fielding outfielderRusty Kuntz played in 84 games, primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement, and hit .286 in 140 at-bats—easily the best offensive season of his major league career. Kuntz's sacrifice fly in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the1984 World Series broke a 4–4 tie and turned out to be the game-winning and Series-clinching RBI.
Possibly the most popular of the role players wasMarty Castillo. In 1984, Castillo appeared in 70 games as a third baseman and backup catcher, and came through in the clutch at several key moments, including: scoring 3 runs to secure a win on August 26; hitting a home run to beat the Yankees on September 23; collecting the game-winning, pennant clinching RBI in Game 3 of theALCS, a 1–0 victory; catching the ball at third base for the final out of the ALCS; hitting .333 with a .455 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage in theWorld Series; hitting a two-run home run in Game 3 of the World Series; and scoring in Game 5 whenKirk Gibson hit his 3-run home run offGoose Gossage.
Detroit managerSparky Anderson is fifth on the all-time list formanager career wins inMajor League Baseball, and in 1984 he became the first manager to win theWorld Series while leading clubs in both leagues. He previously managed theCincinnati Reds to the1975 and1976 championships, but the Reds inexplicably fired him after a second-place finish in the 1978 season. Sparky kept a journal during the 1984 season, which was published under the title "Bless You Boys: Diary of the Detroit Tigers' 1984 Season". On the day the Tigers clinched the pennant, Sparky wrote in his journal: "I have to be honest. I've waited for this day since they fired me in Cincinnati. I think they made a big mistake when they did that. Now no one will ever question me again."[4]
The Tigers began the year with an unprecedented start of 35–5. For the rest of the season, the team went 69–53 (a .564 winning percentage, which is the pace of a 91 win season). There was a stretch in late July and August where the team lost 12 out of 18. The Tigers finished with a104–58 record, 15 games ahead of the second placeToronto Blue Jays. They outscored their opponents 829–643.
The 1984 Tigers' 104 wins is a franchise record and their .642 winning percentage ranks as the 4th best in team history, as follows:
April 3: The Tigers beat the Twins, 8–1, on Opening Day in Minneapolis.Jack Morris pitches 7 innings withAurelio López andWillie Hernández each pitching a scoreless inning in relief.Darrell Evans hits a home run and has 3 RBIs.
April 5: The Tigers beat the Twins again, 7–3.Dan Petry gets the win.Alan Trammell goes 4-for-5 and scores 2 runs.Kirk Gibson hits a 3-run home run.
April 7:Jack Morris pitches a no-hitter on NBC's first nationally broadcast Saturday game. Morris walks 6 and pitches his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the 4th inning.
April 8: The Tigers win their 5th straight, 7–3, beatingTom Seaver in his American League debut with the White Sox.Kirk Gibson hits a home run into the upper deck, andBárbaro Garbey drives in 3 runs.
April 10: Opening Day in Detroit.Dan Petry pitches a 4-hitter, andDarrell Evans hits a 3-run home run. The Tigers beat the Rangers, 5–1.
April 12: Jack Morris gets his 3rd win, as the Tigers beat the Rangers, 9–4. The Tigers set a franchise record by opening the season with 7 straight wins.
April 13: The Tigers score 8 runs in the 1st inning at Fenway Park, defeating the Red Sox, 13–9. The Tigers tie a record by turning 6 double plays.Lance Parrish makes all 3 outs in the 8-run 1st inning, striking out and later grounding into a double play.
April 17: After two straight rainouts in Boston, the game in Detroit is postponed due to snow.
April 18: Jack Morris pitches 9 innings, but the game goes into extra innings. Willie Hernández gets the win, 4–3, over the Royals. The Tigers are 9–0 to start the season.
April 19: The Tigers fail to tie the AL record of 10 straight to open a season.Bret Saberhagen of the Royals beats them, 5–2.
April 22: The Tigers complete a 3-game sweep of the White Sox in Detroit. The Tigers win, 9–1, after a 90-minute snow delay.
April 24: The Tigers score 3 runs in the 9th inning to beat the Twins‚ 6–5. The rally gives Jack Morris his 11th straight win over Minnesota.
April 26: The Tigers win again to extend their record to 16–1.
April 27: The Indians give the Tigers' their second loss of the season, but it took 19 innings. Kirk Gibson drops a fly ball in the 19th inning, and the Indians score 4. The game ends at 1:19 a.m.
April 28: Jack Morris puts the Tigers back on track with his 5th win. Morris throws a complete game, and the Tigers beat the Indians, 6–2.
April 29:Dan Petry pitches 8 scoreless innings, and the Tigers beat the Indians, 6–1.Alan Trammell hits a double to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. The Tigers finish the month of April with a record of 18–2.
May 1:Milt Wilcox gets the win, as the Tigers clobber the Red Sox, 11–2.Chet Lemon goes 3-for-4 with 2 home runs. Trammell gets 2 hits to extend his hitting streak to 18 games.
May 3: The Tigers lose their second straight game to the Red Sox. Despite a 5-hitter by Jack Morris, the Tigers are shut out, 1–0.
May 6: The Tigers complete a 3-game sweep of the Indians with a 12-inning victory.
May 8: Jack Morris pitches a complete game for his 6th victory of the year. Tigers beat the Royals, 5–2.Alan Trammell hits a grand slam offDan Quisenberry in the 7th inning.
May 11: The Tigers (26–4) break the Dodgers' record (25–5) for the best record after 30 games.Milt Wilcox gets the win, as the Tigers beat the Angels in front of 44,187 fans in Detroit.
May 12:Reggie Jackson hits a home run over the right field roof at Tiger Stadium.Sparky Anderson is thrown out of the game in the 9th inning after the umpire calls a double play whenLarry Herndon slides out of the basepath to take out the Angels' shortstop. The Tigers lose for the 5th time in 1984.
May 16:Alan Trammell hits a triple, and the Tigers score 5 runs in the 1st inning. The Tigers beat the Mariners, 10–1.
May 17: Sparky Anderson's father dies, and he flies to California.Dick Tracewski is appointed interim manager.
May 19: Jack Morris pitches into the 8th inning and wins his 8th game.Lou Whitaker hits a home run.
May 22: Sparky Anderson rejoins the team as they beat the Angels in Anaheim.
May 24: The Tigers complete a sweep of the Angels in California, asJack Morris pitches a four-hitter. Morris is 9–1, and the team is 35–5 (.875). They have also won 17 straight on the road—tying the MLB record.[1][2]
May 27: The streak is officially over, as theMariners complete a 3-game sweep over the Tigers in theKingdome; Detroit's record falls to 35–8.[10]
May 28: Once again, Jack Morris puts the team back on track. He pitches a complete game and wins his 10th game on Memorial Day in Oakland.Alan Trammell is 3-for-4, andLance Parrish hits his 8th home run.
May 30: The Tigers beat the A's, 2–1, on a 9th-inning home run byKirk Gibson. Willie Hernández gets the win.
June 1: The Tigers score a season–high 14 runs in front of 47,252 fans in Detroit to beat the Orioles, 14–2.Dan Petry gets the win, asAlan Trammell,Chet Lemon, and Lance Parrish all hit home runs.
June 4: The Tigers beat the Blue Jays, 6–3. Howard Johnson hits a 3–run home run in the 7th inning to tie the score. In the 11th inning,Dave Bergman comes to bat with 2 men on base and 2 outs. Bergman fouls off 7 pitches, and on a full count hits the 13th pitch into the upper deck at Tiger Stadium for a walk-off, 3-run home run. In his bookBless You Boys, Sparky Anderson wrote: "Tonight I saw the greatest at bat in my life ... Bergie fouled off seven pitches and then picked one practically off the ground and drilled it into the upper deck in right. What a battle! Bergie was up there a full seven minutes."
June 10: The Tigers sweep the Orioles in a doubleheader.Lou Whitaker scores 5 runs in the opener.
June 15:Dan Petry wins his 10th game, a 3–2 victory over the Brewers. Just 61 games into the season, Petry has 10 wins, and Morris has 11.
June 20: Howard Johnson hits a 3-run home run in the 13th inning, as the Tigers top the Yankees, 9–6.
June 24: After missing two starts‚ Jack Morris (12–3) beats the Brewers‚ 7–1.Ruppert Jones andLance Parrish hit home runs for the Tigers‚ who draw 165‚000 fans for a 4-game series with Milwaukee.
July 5: Trailing 4–1 with 2 outs in the 9th inning‚ the Tigers score 6 runs to beat the Rangers‚ 7–4.Lou Whitaker hits a single with the bases loaded, andKirk Gibson seals it with a 3-run blast down the right-field line.
July 13: The Tigers go into extra innings whenKirk Gibson throws out a Twins runner at home in the 9th inning. The Tigers win, 5–3, asLou Whitaker hits an inside-the-park home run.
August 7: The Tigers split a doubleheader with Boston. In the 2nd game,Lance Parrish hits a 2-run home run in the 11th to win it.Aurelio López gets the win to extend his record to 9–0.
August 17: The Tigers beat the Mariners, 6–2, and the Tigers' season attendance reaches 2,031,847—passing the franchise record set by the1968 team.
August 18:Kirk Gibson drives in 3 runs and hits his 20th home run to become the first Tiger to reach 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.Juan Berenguer strikes out 12.
August 20: The Tigers crush the A's, 14–1. Jack Morris gives up 3 hits in 7 innings for his 16th win.Lance Parrish,Chet Lemon andDarrell Evans hit home runs.
September 6: The Tigers beat the Orioles, 1–0, as the Tigers score the game's only run on a fielding error byCal Ripken Jr.
September 7: The Tigers beat the Blue Jays, 7–4, coming back from a 4–0 deficit in the 8th inning.Dave Bergman wins it with a 3-run home run in the 10th inning.
September 11: The Tigers beat the Orioles, 9–2.Darrell Evans has 4 hits. Evans andLarry Herndon hit back-to-back home runs. Kirk Gibson has 3 hits and steals his 27th base.
September 18: The Tigers clinch the AL East with a 3–0 win over the Brewers. They are the 4th team in the 20th Century to remain in first place from wire-to-wire, joining the1927 Yankees‚ and the1955 Dodgers. The 1990 Cincinnati Reds would later join that list.
September 23: The Tigers win their 100th game, a 4–1 victory over the Yankees. Jack Morris pitches 6 scoreless innings for his 19th win.Marty Castillo goes 2-for-3, including a game-winning home run in the 7th inning.
September 29: The Tigers beat the Yankees, 11–3, for their 104th win – a franchise record.Larry Herndon,Lance Parrish, andDwight Lowry hit home runs, andRoger Mason pitches 3 innings of relief for the save.
In Game 2, the Tigers won in extra innings 5–3.Kirk Gibson doubled to drive inLou Whitaker in the 1st inning and hit ahome run in the 3rd.Dan Petry pitched 7 innings and gave up 2 runs, but a rare blown save by Willie Hernández cost him a victory.Johnny Grubb hit a double offDan Quisenberry in the 11th inning to drive inDarrell Evans andRuppert Jones.Aurelio López held the Royals scoreless in the 9th, 10th and 11th innings to earn the win.
Game 3 was a pitching duel betweenMilt Wilcox andCharlie Leibrandt. Leibrandt pitched a complete game, allowing only 1 run and 3 hits, while Wilcox gave up 2 hits and struck out 8 Royals, with Hernández pitching the 9th inning for the save.Marty Castillo batted inChet Lemon for the game's only run, as the Tigers completed a 3-game sweep and advanced to the World Series.
Kirk Gibson was named the Most Valuable Player of the AL Championship Series.
In Game 1, the Padres led, 2–1, untilLarry Herndon hit a 2-out, 2-run home run in the 5th.Jack Morris did not allow another run in his complete-game effort, and the Tigers won, 3–2.
The Padres evened the series in Game 2, on the strength of aKurt Bevacqua 3-run homer offDan Petry, as San Diego won its first (and to date only) World Series game.
In Game 3, the Tigers scored 4 runs in the 2nd inning, including 2 on a home run byMarty Castillo, while the San Diego pitchers gave up 11 bases on balls in the first 5 innings, en route to a 5–2 victory forMilt Wilcox.
In Game 4,Alan Trammell hit a pair of 2-run home runs to account for all of Detroit's offense as the Tigers beatEric Show, 4–2.Jack Morris got his 2nd Series victory and 2nd complete game.
In Game 5, the Tigers scored 3 runs in the 1st inning, but the Padres rallied to tie it in the 4th inning. In the 8th, with Detroit leading 5–4, the Tigers got runners to 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Padres managerDick Williams called onGoose Gossage to walkKirk Gibson and set up a possible double play. Gossage talked Williams into letting him pitch to Gibson, and Gibson responded with a 3-run blast into the right-field upper deck. Detroit radio announcerErnie Harwell called Gibson's home run onWJR radio as follows:
A high drive to right, and it's a home run for Gibson! A 3-run home run and the Tigers lead it 8–4!
Following the Tigers' victory in Game 5, the celebration by Detroit fans turned violent. A well known photograph taken outside Tiger Stadium shows a Tigers "fan" holding a World Series pennant in front of an overturned burning Detroit police car. The image was printed in newspapers across the country, and became a symbol of Detroit's decline. One writer described the press reaction to the post-game violence as follows:
The final AP report read: "34 arrests, one dead, dozens injured." Few of those arrested had attended the game, but the pictures of burning police cars and taxis appeared in national newspapers and magazines. A photograph of seventeen-year-old Kenneth (Bubba) Helms, an eighth-grade dropout from Lincoln Park, in front of a burning police car, became the image of Detroit's celebration.[11]
The following members of the 1984 Detroit Tigers are among the top 100 of all time at their position (in fact, they are all in the top 50), as ranked byThe Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:
Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997).The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina:Baseball America.ISBN978-0-9637189-8-3.
