| 1993 Detroit Tigers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Tiger Stadium | |||
| City | Detroit,Michigan | |||
| Owners | Mike Ilitch | |||
| General managers | Jerry Walker | |||
| Managers | Sparky Anderson | |||
| Television | WDIV-TV (George Kell,Al Kaline) PASS (Jim Price,Jim Northrup) | |||
| Radio | WJR (Rick Rizzs,Bob Rathbun,Ernie Harwell) | |||
| ||||
The1993 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 93rd season and the 82nd season atTiger Stadium. The team wasn't expected to do much after a sixth-place finishthe previous season. The pitching staff was riddled with inconsistencies, but the Tigers were in first place as late as June 25 before a 10-game losing streak ended their hopes of a turnaround. This would be the Tigers last winning season of the 20th century, the next time the team finished with the winning record was 2006, by then the team had been playing inComerica Park for 7 years.
At the heart of the team were three stars left over fromthe championship team of 1984: 36-year-oldsecond basemanLou Whitaker, 36-year-oldoutfielderKirk Gibson (who had returned to Detroit during the 1992 offseason), and 35-year-oldshortstopAlan Trammell. There was also the All-Star sluggerCecil Fielder atfirst base who, true to form, clubbed 30home runs and drove in a team-high 117RBIs; promising young shortstopTravis Fryman batted an even .300 and paced the team with 182hits; andcatcherChad Kreuter enjoyed the best season of his career, setting career-highs in homers (15), average (.286) and runs batted in (51).
Tony Phillips, a versatileswitch hitter, could play just about anywhere in the field and evenDH, but he mostly ended up in the outfield. A patient leadoff man, Phillips set the table for the Tigers' offense. He got on base any way he could, with a base hit, drawing awalk or gettinghit by a pitch more than 300 times; thus, he scored 113 runs while hitting for a .313 average.Mickey Tettleton was equally flexible. He caught, played first, and also saw duty in the outfield and at DH when needed. With power from both sides of the plate, Tettleton did serious damage, hitting 32 homers, driving in 110 runs, and drawing 109 walks.
Though the team may often be overlooked in the long, storied history of the Tigers' franchise (perhaps due to being in the midst of the team's leanest years), they were as powerful a lineup as the Tigers had ever seen, and for several weeks they lit up theAmerican League, scoring runs at an eye-popping rate. With a lineup built around patience and swing-for-the-fences power, the Tigers got off to a remarkable start in tallying runs. In their home opener, they pummeled theOakland Athletics by the score of 20–4. In that game Fryman had five RBIs, Tettleton plated four, and Fielder went 4-for-4 as the Tigers pounded out 18 hits and drew twelve walks. Four days later against theMariners, the Tigers won 20–3, this time behind 20 hits and ten more walks. The next day Detroit won, 8–7. But that was just the beginning. When the club went on the road to face the Twins for a three-game series in late April, Detroit pounded their way to victories by the scores of 12–4, 17–1, and 16–5. In the series, Detroit finished with 46 hits and drew 22 walks while hitting 11 homers and 23 extra-base hits.[1]
On April 23, the Tigers were in first place and they would stay there for two months. Over the first six weeks of the season, the vaunted Tiger lineup was averaging 81⁄2 runs per game, on pace to score more than 1,300 runs. This would have shattered the modern-day record held by the1894 Baltimore Orioles, who scored 1,171 runs.[2]
On June 20, the Tigers beat theMilwaukee Brewers 7–3, putting them at 43–25, good for first in the East with a two-game lead over second-place and defending World ChampionToronto. However, the team immediately went on a 10-game losing streak, during which they were outscored 80–31. The Tigers never recovered and finished in a tie for third place in the American League East withBaltimore.
Even with their success, the pitching continued to struggle, as evidenced by numerous high-scoring affairs against other top-tier teams such as theToronto Blue Jays and theNew York Yankees.
The Tigers lead the American League in runs scored (899), walks (765), on-base percentage (.362), and on base-plus slugging (.796).
The 85 victories were the most by the team infive years and would also mark the Tigers' last winning season until2006.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Blue Jays | 95 | 67 | .586 | — | 48–33 | 47–34 |
| New York Yankees | 88 | 74 | .543 | 7 | 50–31 | 38–43 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 85 | 77 | .525 | 10 | 48–33 | 37–44 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 10 | 44–37 | 41–40 |
| Boston Red Sox | 80 | 82 | .494 | 15 | 43–38 | 37–44 |
| Cleveland Indians | 76 | 86 | .469 | 19 | 46–35 | 30–51 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 69 | 93 | .426 | 26 | 38–43 | 31–50 |
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | — | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 7–6 | — | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 3–10 |
| California | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 7–6 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
| Chicago | 8–4 | 5–7 | 6–7 | — | 9–3 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 10–3 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Cleveland | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 3–9 | — | 6–7 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Detroit | 8–5 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–6 | — | 5–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–7 |
| Kansas City | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 8–4 |
| Milwaukee | 5–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 5–8 |
| Minnesota | 4–8 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 3–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 2–10 |
| New York | 7–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–8 |
| Oakland | 2–10 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 9–4 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 4–9 | — | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Texas | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–8 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 10–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — |
| 1993 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | 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 | Chad Kreuter | 119 | 374 | 107 | .286 | 15 | 51 |
| 1B | Cecil Fielder | 154 | 573 | 153 | .267 | 30 | 117 |
| 2B | Lou Whitaker | 119 | 383 | 111 | .290 | 9 | 67 |
| SS | Travis Fryman | 151 | 607 | 182 | .300 | 22 | 97 |
| 3B | Scott Livingstone | 98 | 304 | 89 | .293 | 2 | 39 |
| LF | Dan Gladden | 91 | 356 | 95 | .267 | 13 | 56 |
| CF | Milt Cuyler | 82 | 249 | 53 | .213 | 0 | 19 |
| RF | Rob Deer | 90 | 323 | 70 | .217 | 14 | 39 |
| DH | Kirk Gibson | 116 | 403 | 105 | .261 | 13 | 62 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Phillips | 151 | 566 | 177 | .313 | 7 | 57 |
| Mickey Tettleton | 152 | 522 | 128 | .245 | 32 | 110 |
| Alan Trammell | 112 | 401 | 132 | .329 | 12 | 60 |
| Skeeter Barnes | 84 | 160 | 45 | .281 | 2 | 27 |
| Chris Gomez | 46 | 128 | 32 | .250 | 0 | 11 |
| Gary Thurman | 75 | 89 | 19 | .213 | 0 | 13 |
| Eric Davis | 23 | 75 | 19 | .253 | 6 | 15 |
| Danny Bautista | 17 | 61 | 19 | .311 | 1 | 9 |
| Rich Rowland | 21 | 46 | 10 | .217 | 0 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Moore | 36 | 213.2 | 13 | 9 | 5.22 | 89 |
| David Wells | 32 | 187.0 | 11 | 9 | 4.19 | 139 |
| John Doherty | 32 | 184.2 | 14 | 11 | 4.44 | 63 |
| Bill Gullickson | 28 | 159.1 | 13 | 9 | 5.37 | 70 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Leiter | 27 | 106.2 | 6 | 6 | 4.73 | 70 |
| Tom Bolton | 43 | 102.2 | 6 | 6 | 4.47 | 66 |
| Bill Krueger | 32 | 82.0 | 6 | 4 | 3.40 | 60 |
| Sean Bergman | 9 | 39.2 | 1 | 4 | 5.67 | 19 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Henneman | 63 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 2.64 | 58 |
| Bob MacDonald | 68 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5.35 | 39 |
| Kurt Knudsen | 30 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4.78 | 29 |
| Storm Davis | 24 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3.06 | 36 |
| Dave Haas | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.11 | 17 |
| Buddy Groom | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.14 | 15 |
| Joe Boever | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2.74 | 14 |
| Greg Gohr | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.96 | 23 |
| Mike Gardiner | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.97 | 4 |
| John Kiely | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7.71 | 3 |
| Mike Munoz | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 | 1 |
| Dave Johnson | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12.96 | 7 |
| Mark Grater | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 4 |
| John DeSilva | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Niagara Falls[8]
