1951 Detroit Tigers
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkBriggs Stadium
CityDetroit, Michigan
OwnersWalter Briggs, Sr.
General managersBilly Evans
ManagersRed Rolfe
TelevisionWWJ
(Harry Heilmann, Paul Williams, Ty Tyson)
RadioWJBK/WXYZ
(Paul Williams, Ty Tyson)
← 1950 Seasons 1952 →

The 1951 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 73–81, 25 games behind the New York Yankees.

Offseason

Regular season

On August 19, the Tigers played a doubleheader in St. Louis against the Browns. In the second game, after the Tigers had batted in the top of the first inning, the Browns sent midget Eddie Gaedel up to pinch-hit for leadoff batter Frank Saucier. Gaedel, at a height of 3'7", is to date the shortest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. Umpire Ed Hurley challenged the decision to allow Gaedel to participate in an at-bat. Browns manager Zack Taylor produced a copy of Gaedel's contract.[2] Tigers pitcher Bob Cain walked him.[3] Jim Delsing pinch ran for Gaedel,[3] but failed to score. The Tigers won the game, 6–2.

Season standings

American League 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 98 56 0.636 — 56–22 42–34
Cleveland Indians 93 61 0.604 5 53–24 40–37
Boston Red Sox 87 67 0.565 11 50–25 37–42
Chicago White Sox 81 73 0.526 17 39–38 42–35
Detroit Tigers 73 81 0.474 25 36–41 37–40
Philadelphia Athletics 70 84 0.455 28 38–41 32–43
Washington Senators 62 92 0.403 36 32–44 30–48
St. Louis Browns 52 102 0.338 46 24–53 28–49

Record vs. opponents

1951 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHA SLB WSH
Boston — 11–11 8–14 12–10 11–11 15–7 15–7 15–7
Chicago 11–11 — 12–10–1 12–10 8–14 9–13 15–7 14–8
Cleveland 14–8 10–12–1 — 17–5 7–15 16–6 16–6 13–9
Detroit 10–12 10–12 5–17 — 10–12 13–9 12–10 13–9
New York 11–11 14–8 15–7 12–10 — 13–9 17–5 16–6
Philadelphia 7–15 13–9 6–16 9–13 9–13 — 14–8 12–10
St. Louis 7–15 7–15 6–16 10–12 5–17 8–14 — 9–13
Washington 7–15 8–14 9–13 9–13 6–16 10–12 13–9 —


Notable transactions

All-Star Game

The 1951 All-Star Game was originally awarded to the Philadelphia Phillies. The City of Detroit was celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1701 and requested to host the year's All-Star Game. Although the National League was scheduled to host the game in '51, the game was moved to Detroit's Briggs Stadium to coincide with the city's celebration. The Phillies instead hosted the 1952 All-Star Game at Shibe Park.[4]

Roster

1951 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Joe Ginsberg 102 304 79 .260 8 37
1B Dick Kryhoski 119 421 121 .287 12 57
2B Jerry Priddy 154 584 152 .260 8 57
SS Johnny Lipon 129 487 129 .265 0 38
3B George Kell 147 598 191 .319 2 59
OF Hoot Evers 116 393 88 .224 11 46
OF Vic Wertz 138 501 143 .285 27 94
OF Johnny Groth 118 428 128 .299 3 49

Other batters

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
Pat Mullin 110 295 83 .281 12 51
Don Kolloway 78 212 54 .255 1 17
Bud Souchock 91 188 46 .245 11 28
Neil Berry 67 157 36 .229 0 9
Bob Swift 44 104 20 .192 0 5
Aaron Robinson 36 82 17 .207 0 9
Charlie Keller 54 62 16 .258 3 21
Frank House 18 41 9 .220 1 4
Russ Sullivan 7 26 5 .192 1 1
Al Federoff 2 4 0 .000 0 0
Doc Daugherty 1 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Ted Gray 34 197.1 7 14 4.06 131
Fred Hutchinson 31 188.1 10 10 3.68 53
Hal Newhouser 15 96.1 6 6 3.92 37
Saul Rogovin 5 24.0 1 1 5.25 5

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Dizzy Trout 42 191.2 9 14 4.04 89
Virgil Trucks 37 153.2 13 8 4.33 89
Bob Cain 35 149.1 11 10 4.70 58
Marlin Stuart 29 124.0 4 6 3.77 46
Wayne McLeland 6 11.0 0 1 8.18 0
Dick Marlowe 2 1.2 0 1 32.40 1

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Hal White 38 3 4 4 4.74 23
Gene Bearden 37 3 4 0 4.33 38
Hank Borowy 26 2 2 0 6.95 16
Earl Johnson 6 0 0 1 6.35 2
Ray Herbert 5 4 0 0 1.42 9
Paul Calvert 1 0 0 0 0.00 0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Toledo Mud Hens American Association Jack Tighe
AA Little Rock Travelers Southern Association Gene Desautels
A Williamsport Tigers Eastern League Schoolboy Rowe
B Durham Bulls Carolina League Ace Parker
B Davenport Tigers Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Marv Olson
D Richmond Tigers Ohio–Indiana League Ralph DiLullo
D Jamestown Falcons PONY League Tony Lupien
D Wausau Lumberjacks Wisconsin State League Bob Benish

Notes

  1. ^ Marv Grissom at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  3. ^ a b Numbelievable!, p. 93
  4. ^ Vincent, David; Lyle Spatz; David W. Smith (2001). The Midsummer Classic: The Complete History of Baseball's All-Star Game. University of Nebraska Press. p. 111. ISBN 0-8032-9273-2.

References

Categories