1993 Detroit Tigers season

Last updated

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)
←  1992 Seasons 1994  →

The Detroit Tigers' 1993 season was a season in American baseball. The club wasn't expected to do much after a sixth-place finish the 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 in Comerica Park for 7 years.

Contents

Overview

At the heart of the team were three stars left over from the championship team of 1984: 36-year-old second baseman Lou Whitaker, 36-year-old outfielder Kirk Gibson (who had returned to Detroit during the 1992 offseason), and 35-year-old shortstop Alan Trammell. There was also the All-Star slugger Cecil Fielder at first base who, true to form, clubbed 30 home runs and drove in a team-high 117 RBIs; promising young shortstop Travis Fryman batted an even .300 and paced the team with 182 hits; and catcher Chad Kreuter enjoyed the best season of his career, setting career-highs in homers (15), average (.286) and runs batted in (51).

Tony Phillips, a versatile switch hitter, could play just about anywhere in the field and even DH, 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 a walk or getting hit 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 the American 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 the Oakland 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 the Mariners, 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 the 1894 Baltimore Orioles, who scored 1,171 runs. [2]

On June 20, the Tigers beat the Milwaukee 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 Champion Toronto. 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 with Baltimore.

Even with their success, the pitching continued to struggle, as evidenced by numerous high-scoring affairs against other top-tier teams such as the Toronto Blue Jays and the New 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 in five years and would also mark the Tigers' last winning season until 2006.

Offseason

Regular season

Season standings

AL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Toronto Blue Jays 95670.586—48–3347–34
New York Yankees 88740.543750–3138–43
Baltimore Orioles 85770.5251048–3337–44
Detroit Tigers 85770.5251044–3741–40
Boston Red Sox 80820.4941543–3837–44
Cleveland Indians 76860.4691946–3530–51
Milwaukee Brewers 69930.4262638–4331–50

Record vs. opponents

1993 American League record

Sources:
TeamBALBOSCALCWSCLEDETKCMILMINNYYOAKSEATEXTOR
Baltimore —6–77–54–88–55–87–58–58–46–710–27–54–85–8
Boston 7–6—7–57–55–86–75–75–87–56–79–37–56–63–10
California 5–75–7—7–65–74–86–77–54–96–66–76–76–74–8
Chicago 8–45–76–7—9–37–56–79–310–34–87–69–48–56–6
Cleveland 5–88–57–53–9—6–77–58–54–86–78–43–97–54–9
Detroit 8–57–68–45–77–6—5–78–56–64–98–47–56–66–7
Kansas City 5–77–57–67–65–77–5—5–77–66–66–77–67–68–4
Milwaukee 5–88–55–73–95–85–87–5—7–54–97–54–84–85–8
Minnesota 4–85–79–43–108–46–66–75–7—4–88–54–97–62–10
New York 7–67–66–68–47–69–46–69–48–4—6–67–53–95–8
Oakland 2–103–97–66–74–84–87–65–75–86–6—9–45–85–7
Seattle 5–75–77–64–99–35–76–78–49–45–74–9—8–57–5
Texas 8–46–67–65–85–76–66–78–46–79–38–55–8—7–5
Toronto 8–510–38–46–69–47–64–88–510–28–57–55–75–7—

Notable transactions

Roster

1993 Detroit Tigers
Roster
PitchersCatchers

Infielders

OutfieldersManager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season

1993 regular season game log: 85–77 (Home: 44–37; Away: 41–40)
April: 15–7 (Home: 8–1; Away: 7–6)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordStreak
1April 5@ Athletics
2April 7@ Athletics
3April 8@ Athletics
4April 9@ Angels
5April 10@ Angels
6April 11@ Angels
7April 13 Athletics
8April 15 Athletics
9April 16 Mariners
10April 17 Mariners
11April 18 Mariners
12April 19 Mariners
May: 15–11 (Home: 7–7; Away: 8–4)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordStreak
—May 17@ Brewers Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: August 13)
46May 28@ Mariners
47May 29@ Mariners
48May 30@ Mariners
June: 13–16 (Home: 11–6; Away: 2–10)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordStreak
49June 1 White Sox L 2–4
50June 2 White Sox L 1–10
51June 3 White Sox W 5–3
52June 4 Angels
53June 5 Angels
54June 6 Angels
55June 7@ White Sox L 3–7
56June 8@ White Sox W 6–4
57June 9@ White Sox W 7–4
July: 10–18 (Home: 3–11; Away: 7–7)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordStreak
64th All-Star Game in Baltimore, Maryland
August: 18–10 (Home: 10–3; Away: 8–7)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordStreak
121August 16@ Angels
122August 17@ Angels
123August 18@ Angels
124August 20 Athletics
125August 21 Athletics
126August 22 Athletics
127August 23 Athletics
128August 24 Mariners
129August 25 Mariners
130August 27@ Athletics
131August 28@ Athletics
132August 29@ Athletics
133August 30@ Mariners
134August 31@ Mariners
September: 13–12 (Home: 5–9; Away: 8–3)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordStreak
135September 1@ Mariners
136September 3 White Sox L 6–8
137September 4 White Sox L 2–11
138September 5 White Sox L 3–5
139September 7 Angels
140September 8 Angels
141September 9 Angels
142September 10@ White Sox W 4–0
143September 11@ White Sox L 1–3
144September 12@ White Sox W 6–3
—September 25@ Orioles Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: September 26)
—September 27@ Red Sox Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: September 28)
October: 1–2 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–2)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordStreak
Legend:       = Win       = Loss       = Postponement
Bold = Tigers team member

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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

PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
C Chad Kreuter 119374107.2861551
1B Cecil Fielder 154573153.26730117
2B Lou Whitaker 119383111.290967
SS Travis Fryman 151607182.3002297
3B Scott Livingstone 9830489.293239
LF Dan Gladden 9135695.2671356
CF Milt Cuyler 8224953.213019
RF Rob Deer 9032370.2171439
DH Kirk Gibson 116403105.2611362

Other batters

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

PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Tony Phillips 151566177.313757
Mickey Tettleton 152522128.24532110
Alan Trammell 112401132.3291260
Skeeter Barnes 8416045.281227
Chris Gomez 4612832.250011
Gary Thurman 758919.213013
Eric Davis 237519.253615
Danny Bautista 176119.31119
Rich Rowland 214610.21704

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Mike Moore 36213.21395.2289
David Wells 32187.01194.19139
John Doherty 32184.214114.4463
Bill Gullickson 28159.11395.3770

Other pitchers

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

PlayerGIPWLERASO
Mark Leiter 27106.2664.7370
Tom Bolton 43102.2664.4766
Bill Krueger 3282.0643.4060
Sean Bergman 939.2145.6719

Relief pitchers

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

PlayerGWLSVERASO
Mike Henneman 6353242.6458
Bob MacDonald 683335.3539
Kurt Knudsen 303224.7829
Storm Davis 240243.0636
Dave Haas 201206.1117
Buddy Groom 190206.1415
Joe Boever 192132.7414
Greg Gohr 160005.9623
Mike Gardiner 100003.974
John Kiely 80207.713
Mike Munoz 80106.001
Dave Johnson 611012.967
Mark Grater 60005.404
John DeSilva 10009.000

Farm system

LevelTeamLeagueManager
AAA Toledo Mud Hens International League Joe Sparks
AA London Tigers Eastern League Tom Runnells
A Lakeland Tigers Florida State League Gerry Groninger
A Fayetteville Generals South Atlantic League Mark Wagner
A-Short Season Niagara Falls Rapids New York–Penn League Larry Parrish
Rookie Bristol Tigers Appalachian League Rubén Amaro, Sr.

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Niagara Falls [8]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1993 Detroit Tigers schedule
  2. ↑ 1894 Baltimore Orioles season
  3. ↑ Bill Gullickson at Baseball Reference
  4. ↑ "Kirk Gibson Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ http: Steve Carter was//www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cartest01.shtml
  6. ↑ Joe Boever at Baseball Reference
  7. ↑ Eric Davis at Baseball Reference
  8. ↑ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

Related Research Articles

The 1968 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Tigers won in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Arizona Diamondbacks season</span> Major League Baseball team season

The 1998 Arizona Diamondbacks season was the Diamondbacks' inaugural season. They looked to contend in what was a strong National League West. They finished the season 33 games behind the National League Champion San Diego Padres with a record of 65–97, last in the division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Baltimore Orioles season</span> Major League Baseball team season

The 1991 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing sixth in the American League East with a record of 67 wins and 95 losses. Cal Ripken. Jr. would be the first shortstop in the history of the American League to win two MVP awards in a career. This was also the Orioles' last year at Memorial Stadium, as they would move into Oriole Park at Camden Yards the following year.

The 1988 Baltimore Orioles had the worst start to a season in modern American baseball history. The Orioles finished seventh in the American League East, reduced to a record of 54 wins and 107 losses just five seasons after winning the World Series. The season is most notable for the 0–21 start that lasted from April 4th to April 28th. Manager Cal Ripken, Sr. was fired after an 0–6 start and replaced by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. The Orioles won their first game of the year against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park on April 29. The most runs allowed during the season was 15 in a game on June 19 while the most runs scored was 12 in a game on May 31. Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams died in August of that year.

The Oakland Athletics' 1988 season involved the A's winning their first American League West title since 1981, with a record of 104 wins and 58 losses. In 1988, the elephant was restored as the symbol of the Athletics and currently adorns the left sleeve of home and road uniforms. The elephant was retired as team mascot in 1963 by then-owner Charles O. Finley in favor of a Missouri mule. The A's defeated the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, but lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games, including a dramatic, classic walk-off home run by the Dodgers' Kirk Gibson in game one.

The 1987 Detroit Tigers season saw the Tigers make a startling late-season comeback to win the American League East on the season's final day. The Tigers finished with a Major League-best record of 98–64, two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. Detroit lost the ALCS to the Minnesota Twins in 5 games.

The 1984 Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 1. The season was their 84th since they entered the American League in 1901.

The 1961 Detroit Tigers won 101 games but finished in second place, eight games behind the Yankees. The team's 1961 record tied the 1934 Tigers team record of 101 wins, and only twice in team history have the Tigers won more games: 1968 and 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1921 Detroit Tigers season</span> Major League Baseball team season

The 1921 Detroit Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League, 27 games behind the Yankees, with a record of 71–82. Despite their sixth-place finish, the 1921 Tigers amassed 1,724 hits and a team batting average of .316—the highest team hit total and batting average in American League history. Detroit outfielders Harry Heilmann and Ty 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 ranked among the league leaders in batting average and RBIs. 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 had an ERA below 4.24.

The 1975 Detroit Tigers compiled a record of 57–102, the fifth worst season in Detroit Tigers history. They finished in last place in the American League East, 37½ games behind the Boston Red Sox. Their team batting average of .249 and team ERA of 4.27 were the second worst in the American League. They were outscored by their opponents 786 to 570.

The 1975 Montreal Expos season was the seventh season in the history of the franchise. The Expos finished in last place in the National League East with a record of 75–87, 17½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The 1972 Detroit Tigers won the American League East championship with a record of 86–70 (.551), finishing one-half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox. They played one more game than the Red Sox due to a scheduling quirk caused by the 1972 Major League Baseball strike—a game which turned out to allow them to win the division. They lost the 1972 American League Championship Series to the Oakland A's three games to two.

The 1996 Detroit Tigers had a record of 53–109 for what was, at the time, the most losses (109) and worst winning percentage (.327) in team history—both of which have since been surpassed twice by the 2003 and 2019 teams.

The 1987 Atlanta Braves season was the 117th in franchise history and their 22nd in Atlanta. The team introduced new uniforms this season harkening back to the 1950s, which, with a slight change made in 2019, continue to be the team's uniforms to this day, replacing their pullover jersey/beltless pants combo worn since 1980.

The 1991 Detroit Tigers finished in a tie for second place in the American League East with a record of 84–78 (.519). They outscored their opponents 817 to 794. The Tigers drew 1,641,661 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1991, ranking 12th of the 14 teams in the American League.

The Tigers entered the season as the reigning World Series champions. The 1985 Detroit Tigers finished in third place in the American League East with a record of 84–77 (.522), 15 games behind the Blue Jays. The Tigers outscored their opponents 729 to 688. The Tigers drew 2,286,609 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1983, ranking 3rd of the 14 teams in the American League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Detroit Tigers season</span> Major League Baseball team season

The Detroit Tigers' 1992 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Detroit Tigers attempting to win the American League East.

The Detroit Tigers' 1994 season had a record of 53–62 in a strike-shortened season. The season ended with the Tigers in fifth place in the newly formed American League East. The season featured the return of former star Kirk Gibson, the return of Ernie Harwell to the television broadcast booth and the 18th season of the Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker double play combination.

The 1995 Detroit Tigers finished in fourth place in the American League East with a record of 60–84 (.417). The strike-shortened 1995 season was the last for Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson and longtime second baseman Lou Whitaker, who each retired at the end of the season, as well as Kirk Gibson who retired in August 1995.

The 2002 Cleveland Indians season was the 102nd season for the franchise. The 2002 Major League Baseball season began on March 31, 2002.The team finished third in the American League Central behind the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.