1951 Detroit Tigers season

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.

1951 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s)Walter Briggs, Sr.
General manager(s)Billy Evans
Manager(s)Red Rolfe
Local televisionWWJ
(Harry Heilmann, Paul Williams, Ty Tyson)
Local radioWJBK/WXYZ
(Paul Williams, Ty Tyson)
< Previous season     Next season >

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 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 9856 0.636 — 56–22 42–34
Cleveland Indians 9361 0.604 5 53–24 40–37
Boston Red Sox 8767 0.565 11 50–25 37–42
Chicago White Sox 8173 0.526 17 39–38 42–35
Detroit Tigers 7381 0.474 25 36–41 37–40
Philadelphia Athletics 7084 0.455 28 38–41 32–43
Washington Senators 6292 0.403 36 32–44 30–48
St. Louis Browns 52102 0.338 46 24–53 28–49

Record vs. opponents
1951 American League Records

Sources:
Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHI STL WSH
Boston —11–118–1412–1011–1115–715–715–7
Chicago 11–11—12–10–112–108–149–1315–714–8
Cleveland 14–810–12–1—17–57–1516–616–613–9
Detroit 10–1210–125–17—10–1213–912–1013–9
New York 11–1114–815–712–10—13–917–516–6
Philadelphia 7–1513–96–169–139–13—14–812–10
St. Louis 7–157–156–1610–125–178–14—9–13
Washington 7–158–149–139–136–1610–1213–9—

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
SSJohnny Lipon129487129.265038

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

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

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
Bob Cain35149.111104.7058
Wayne McLeland611018.180

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
Gene Bearden373404.3338

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. Numbelivable!, p. 92, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
  3. Numbelivable!, 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
  • 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.
  • 1951 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.