1971 Detroit Tigers season
| 1971 Detroit Tigers | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |
| Division | East | |
| Ballpark | Tiger Stadium | |
| City | Detroit, Michigan | |
| Owners | John Fetzer | |
| General managers | Jim Campbell | |
| Managers | Billy Martin | |
| Television | WJBK (George Kell, Larry Osterman) | |
| Radio | WJR (Ernie Harwell, Ray Lane) | |
| ||
The 1971 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 71st season and the 60th season at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers finished in second place in the American League East with a 91–71 record, 12 games behind the Orioles. They outscored their opponents 701 to 645. They drew 1,591,073 fans to Tiger Stadium, the second highest attendance in the American League.
Offseason
[edit]- October 9, 1970: Denny McLain, Elliott Maddox, Norm McRae, and Don Wert were traded by the Tigers to the Washington Senators for Ed Brinkman, Aurelio Rodríguez, Joe Coleman, and Jim Hannan.[1]
- March 30, 1971: Jerry Robertson was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the New York Mets for Dean Chance and Bill Denehy.[2]
Regular season
[edit]Mickey Lolich became the second pitcher in the history of the American League to win 25 games but not win the Cy Young Award.[3]
Season standings
[edit]| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 101 | 57 | .639 | — | 53–24 | 48–33 |
| Detroit Tigers | 91 | 71 | .562 | 12 | 54–27 | 37–44 |
| Boston Red Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 18 | 47–33 | 38–44 |
| New York Yankees | 82 | 80 | .506 | 21 | 44–37 | 38–43 |
| Washington Senators | 63 | 96 | .396 | 38½ | 35–46 | 28–50 |
| Cleveland Indians | 60 | 102 | .370 | 43 | 29–52 | 31–50 |
Record vs. opponents
[edit]Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | WSH | |
| Baltimore | — | 9–9 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 6–5 | 9–3 | 10–2 | 11–7 | 7–4 | 13–3 | |
| Boston | 9–9 | — | 6–6 | 10–2 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 1–11 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 3–9 | 12–6 | |
| California | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 4–8 | |
| Chicago | 4–8 | 2–10 | 10–8 | — | 3–9 | 7–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 11–7 | 10–2 | |
| Cleveland | 5–13 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 9–3 | — | 6–12 | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 7–11 | |
| Detroit | 10–8 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 12–6 | — | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 14–4 | |
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 11–1 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 10–2 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 5–13 | 9–3 | |
| Milwaukee | 3–9 | 6–6 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 10–8 | — | 10–7 | 2–10 | 3–15 | 6–6 | |
| Minnesota | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 7–10 | — | 8–4 | 8–10 | 5–6 | |
| New York | 7–11 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 4–8 | — | 5–7 | 7–11 | |
| Oakland | 4–7 | 9–3 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 13–5 | 15–3 | 10–8 | 7–5 | — | 9–3 | |
| Washington | 3–13 | 6–12 | 8–4 | 2–10 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 11–7 | 3–9 | — | |
Notable transactions
[edit]- April 9, 1971: Dave Boswell was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.[4]
- May 28, 1971: Dave Boswell was released by the Tigers.[4]
- June 8, 1971: Gene Pentz was drafted by the Tigers in the 7th round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.[5]
- June 12, 1971: Carl Cavanaugh (minors) and Mike Fremuth (minors) were traded by the Tigers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Tony Taylor.[6]
Roster
[edit]| 1971 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
[edit]Batting
[edit]Starters by position
[edit]Note: 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 | Bill Freehan | 148 | 516 | 143 | .277 | 21 | 71 |
| 1B | Norm Cash | 135 | 452 | 128 | .283 | 32 | 91 |
| 2B | Dick McAuliffe | 128 | 477 | 99 | .208 | 18 | 57 |
| 3B | Aurelio Rodríguez | 154 | 604 | 153 | .253 | 15 | 39 |
| SS | Ed Brinkman | 159 | 527 | 120 | .228 | 1 | 37 |
| LF | Willie Horton | 119 | 450 | 130 | .289 | 22 | 72 |
| CF | Mickey Stanley | 139 | 401 | 117 | .292 | 7 | 55 |
| RF | Al Kaline | 133 | 405 | 119 | .294 | 15 | 54 |
Other batters
[edit]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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Northrup | 136 | 459 | 124 | .270 | 16 | 71 |
| Gates Brown | 82 | 195 | 66 | .338 | 11 | 29 |
| Tony Taylor | 55 | 181 | 52 | .287 | 3 | 19 |
| Dalton Jones | 83 | 138 | 35 | .254 | 5 | 11 |
| Ike Brown | 59 | 110 | 28 | .255 | 8 | 19 |
| Jim Price | 29 | 54 | 13 | .241 | 1 | 7 |
| Kevin Collins | 31 | 41 | 11 | .268 | 1 | 4 |
| César Gutiérrez | 38 | 37 | 7 | .189 | 0 | 4 |
| Tim Hosley | 7 | 16 | 3 | .188 | 2 | 6 |
| Gene Lamont | 7 | 15 | 1 | .067 | 0 | 1 |
| Marvin Lane | 8 | 14 | 2 | .143 | 0 | 1 |
| John Young | 2 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 1 |
Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included
Pitching
[edit]Starting pitchers
[edit]Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Lolich | 45 | 376.0 | 25 | 14 | 2.92 | 308 |
| Joe Coleman | 39 | 286.0 | 20 | 9 | 3.15 | 236 |
| Les Cain | 26 | 144.2 | 10 | 9 | 4.35 | 118 |
Other pitchers
[edit]Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Niekro | 31 | 122.1 | 6 | 7 | 4.49 | 43 |
| Dean Chance | 31 | 89.2 | 4 | 6 | 3.51 | 64 |
| Mike Kilkenny | 30 | 86.1 | 4 | 5 | 5.00 | 47 |
| Bill Zepp | 16 | 31.2 | 1 | 1 | 5.12 | 15 |
| Bill Gilbreth | 9 | 30.0 | 2 | 1 | 4.80 | 14 |
Relief pitchers
[edit]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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Scherman | 69 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 40 | 2.71 | 76 |
| Tom Timmermann | 52 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 3.86 | 51 |
| Bill Denehy | 31 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 4.22 | 27 |
| Daryl Patterson | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4.82 | 5 |
| Ron Perranoski | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2.50 | 8 |
| Jim Hannan | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.27 | 6 |
| Jack Whillock | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5.63 | 6 |
| Chuck Seelbach | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |
| Dave Boswell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.23 | 3 |
| Jim Foor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18.00 | 2 |
Awards and honors
[edit]- Mickey Lolich, Tiger of the Year award from Detroit baseball writers
League top ten finishers
[edit]- AL leader in games played at shortstop (159)
- AL leader in innings played at shortstop (1395-2/3)
- AL leader in assists by a shortstop (513)
- #4 in AL in games played (159)
- #7 in AL in times hit by pitch (7)
- Finished 12th in AL MVP voting
- AL leader in at bats per home run (14.1)
- #2 in AL in home runs (32)
- #3 in AL in slugging percentage (.531)
- #3 in AL in OPS (.903)
- #7 in AL in times hit by pitch (7)
- #8 in AL in RBIs (91)
- #9 in AL in runs created (93)
- 7th oldest player in the AL
- #3 in AL in strikeouts (236)
- #4 in AL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (7.43)
- #5 in AL in win percentage (.690)
- #5 in AL in innings pitched (286)
- #5 in AL in batters faced (1174)
- #6 in AL in wins (20)
- #9 in AL in complete games (16)
- AL leader in games at catcher (144)
- AL leader in complete games at catcher (128)
- AL leader in innings played at catcher (1265)
- AL leader in putouts by a catcher (912)
- #3 in AL in times hit by pitch (9)
- #8 in AL in doubles (26)
- #9 in AL in extra base hits (51)
- #9 in AL in at bats per strikeout (10.8)
- #7 in AL in slugging percentage (.496)
- #7 in AL in times hit by pitch (7)
- #10 in AL in extra base hits (48)
- #10 in AL in at bats per home run (20.5)
- #3 in AL in on-base percentage (.416)
- #6 in AL in OPS (.878)
- #7 in AL in time hit by pitch (7)
- #8 in AL in batting average (.294)
- #10 in AL in bases on balls (82)
- 9th oldest player in the AL
- Finished 2nd in AL Cy Young Award voting (behind Vida Blue)
- Finished 5th in AL MVP voting
- MLB leader in wins (25)
- MLB leader in strikeouts (308)
- MLB leader in innings pitched (376)
- MLB leader in games started (45)
- AL leader in complete games (29)
- MLB leader in hits allowed (336)
- MLB leader in batters faced (1538)
- #2 in MLB in home runs allowed (36)
- #2 in MLB in earned runs allowed (122)
- #4 in AL in sacrifice hits (16)
- #4 in AL in strikeout to walk ratio (3.35)
- #5 in AL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (7.37)
- #7 in AL in Adjusted ERA+ (125)
- #8 in AL in bases on balls per 9 innings pitched (2.20)
- #10 in AL in ERA (2.92)
- #3 in AL in doubles (30)
- #4 in AL in triples (7)
- #4 in AL in outs (476)
- #5 in AL in at bats (604)
- #8 in AL in extra base hits (52)
- #10 in AL in strikeouts (104)
- #2 in AL in games by pitcher (69)
- #3 in AL in saves (20)
- #3 in AL in games finished (40)
Players ranking among top 100 all time at position
[edit]The following members of the 1972 Tigers were ranked among the Top 100 of all time at their position in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:
- Bill Freehan: 12th best catcher of all time
- Norm Cash: 20th best first baseman of all time
- Dick McAuliffe: 22nd best second baseman of all time
- Aurelio Rodríguez: 91st best third baseman of all time
- Willie Horton: 55th best left fielder of all time
- Al Kaline: 11th best right fielder of all time
- Mickey Lolich: 72nd best pitcher of all time
Farm system
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Jerry Robertson page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 236, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ^ a b Dave Boswell page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Gene Pentz page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Tony Taylor page at Baseball Reference
References
[edit]
- 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.
- Detroit Tigers 1971 Regular Season Statistics at Baseball Reference
- BaseballLibrary.com Game by Game Summary of 1971 Tigers season