Every sport evolves with each passing generation -- from the
size and athleticism of players to game strategy.
Baseball’s evolution, however, is both historic and unique given
the pre-integration and dead ball eras. For the former, full
segregation took place from 1887-1947. Full integration, which
was a gradual process, came in 1959. The Deadball Era was a
period in the early 20th century when baseball was
characterized by low scoring and emphasis on pitching.
There was the Steroid Era, which has no definite start time though
it is generally assumed that the era ran from the late 1980s until
the late 2000s. This era was defined by shattered home run records
leading to exorbitant salaries.
The Detroit Tigers came into Major League Baseball in 1901. The
franchise has four World Series titles (1935, 1945, 1968, 1984),
11 American League pennants, seven division titles, and one more
postseason appearance as a wild card team.
Today, I formed a Tigers Dream Team in a 26-man roster format. For
openers, to make this roster, four years as a Tiger are required. No
exceptions. With the free agency era, I’m not going to cheapen this
roster with 1-3 year rentals.
I’m forming a 12 man pitching staff, five starters, and seven relievers.
For the latter, I want at least one lefthander in the bullpen. For position
players, I am taking what I believe is the best of the best regardless
of era. For the bench players, it’s the best of the rest with versatility
being heavily considered. Merit achievements such as Hall of Fame,
All-Star appearances, and Gold Gloves are considered but not
guaranteed. General impactfulness on the franchise is also
considered.
Generational reminders
If you played on a playoff team, there is no guarantee of landing on
this roster. If you played during a bad season, that does not deter you
from being on this roster. Off-the-field baggage is not a deterrent to
landing on this team, nor is any Steroid Era affiliation. This is baseball,
not the Boys Scouts. We don’t do morality clauses.
Starting pitchers
Justin Verlander, Jack Morris, Denny McLain, Hal Newhouser, Mickey
Lolich
The fireballing Verlander is now a Houston Astro but he would be the
ace on the Tigers staff in any era. Verlander is second in franchise
history in strikeouts and is on a Hall of Fame track. Both Verlander
and Morris developed a reputation for being great big game pictures.
Six of Verlander's eight All-Star appearances came in a Tigers uniform.
He was also the American League MVP in 2011 and a two-time Cy
Young Award winner. Verlander was the American League Rookie of
the Year in 2006 and has led the Major Leagues in wins three times
and led the American League in strikeouts five times. Verlander is a
member of the 3,000 strikeout club. Morris may not have the
extended accolades of some but he was one of the best big-game
pitchers of his era. Morris won more games than any pitcher in the
1980s. Four of his five All-Star appearances came in a Tigers
uniform and he was a key member of the 1984 World Series
championship team. He led the Major Leagues in victories in 1981
and led the American League in strikeouts in 1983. McClain had a
short window of greatness but in 1968 and 1969, he was on top of
his game. McClain's 31-win season in 1968, which was the Major
Leagues’ first 30-plus wouldn't season since Dizzy Dean in 1934,
is a record that will not be broken anytime soon. McLain pitched
eight seasons with the Tigers and was an All-Star three times. He
was a two-time Cy Young Award winner and led the American
League in victories twice. He was the American League MVP in
1968 on the way to helping the Tigers to a World Series title.
Newhouser pitched 15 of his 17 Hall of Fame seasons with the
Tigers. He was the American League back-to-back MVP in 1944
and 1945. He was also a seven-time All-Star and helped the Tigers
win their 1945 World Series. Newhouser was the four-time
American League wins leader and two-time Major League ERA and
strikeout leader. No pitcher in franchise history has started more
games and struck out more batters than Lolich. The left-hander
pitched three complete-game victories in the 1968 World Series.
He was a three-time All-Star, World Series MVP in 1968. Lolich also
led the Major Leagues in wins and strikeouts in 1971.
Bullpen
Closer -- Todd Jones
Willie Hernandez, Aerilio Lopez, John Hiller, Jose Valverde, Mike
Henneman, Joel Zumaya
Jones was not spectacular or dominant but he was reliable. Jones
is the franchise leader with 235 career saves. Jones spent eight
seasons with the Tigers over the course of two different stints.
Hernandez and Lopez formed a tremendous lefty/righty
combination. Hernandez spent just six seasons with the Tigers but
is one of three pitchers in Major League history to win both the Cy
Young and MVP Award in the same season. Hernandez pulled off
that feat in 1984 in helping the Tigers win the World Series. Lopez,
nicknamed “Senor Smoke” pitched a total of seven seasons with
the Tigers, including an All-Star season in 1983 and helping the
franchise win their 1984 World Series. Hiller spent his entire career
with the Tigers and was the Major League saves leader in 1973,
All-Star in 1974, and helped the franchise when their 1968 World
Series title. Hiller recorded 125 career saves.
Valverde and Zumaya each had short careers with the Tigers but
they were all impactful. Valverde was an All-Star in 2011 and was
49-for-49 in save opportunities. Zumaya was primarily a middle
reliever and setup man and compiled an ERA of 3.05. Henneman
pitched nine seasons with the Tigers and is second in franchise
history with 154 career saves behind Jones.
Infield
Catcher -- Bill Freehan; First base -- Hank Greenberg; Second
base -- Lou Whitaker; Third base -- George Kell; Shortstop -- Alan
Trammell
Freehan is comparatively less heralded than various Tiger players
of his time but he was also no less valuable. Freehan spent all 15
of his seasons with the Tigers, 11 of which were All-Stars and five of
which were Gold Glove Award winning seasons. Freehan was also
an unheralded vital contributor to the Tigers 1968 World Series title.
Greenberg spent 11 of his 12 seasons of his Hall of Fame career
with the Tigers. Being of Jewish descent, Greenberg endured anti-
semitic threats, as a result, he was one of the few players to open
the welcome Jackie Robinson into the Major Leagues. Greenberg
was a five-time All-Star, four-time American League home run leader,
four-time American League RBI leader, two-time American League
MVP, and led the Tigers to two World Series titles. Kell was
somewhat of an anomaly in that he played a power-hitting position
but was not known for power. Kell is one of the two Major League
players since the World War II era to compile 90 or more RBIs in a
season while hitting five or fewer home runs. Kell spent seven
seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Tigers with six of them
being All-Star campaigns and he was the American League batting
champion in 1949.
You would be hard-pressed to find a better second baseman/
shortstop combination in Major League history than Whitaker and
Trammell. The former is not in the Hall of Fame but a very strong
case could be made that he should have been there long ago.
Whitaker spent all nineteen of his Major League seasons with the
Tigers. He was a five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger Award
winner, and three-time Gold Glove Award winner. He was the
American League Rookie of the Year in 1978 and helps the
Tigers to their 1984 world series title. Like Whitaker, Trammell
spent his entire career with the Tigers. Trammell was inducted into
the Hall of Fame in 2018 and was a six-time All-Star, four-time
Gold Glove Award winner, and three-time Silver Slugger Award
winner. Trammell led the Tigers to the 1984 World Series title and
was the MVP of the World Series.
Outfield
Leftfield -- Willie Horton; Centerfield -- Ty Cobb; Rightfield -- Al
Kaline
Though Horton is not in the Hall of Fame, one could make a strong
case that he should be. He spent 15 of his 18 years with the Tigers.
Horton was a four-time All-Star and helped lead the Tigers to their
1968 World Series title. Regardless of position or era, Cobb is one
of the best players ever to play the game. Cobb’s .366 career
batting average is the highest in Major League history and he is
second all-time in career hits and runs scored. Cobb spent 22 years
with the Tigers. He was a 12-time batting champion, six-time stolen
base leader, four-time RBI leader American League home run leader
in 1909, and Triple Crown winner in 1909. Kaline was simply known
as “Mr. Tiger.” Kaline spent all 22 of his Major League seasons of
his Hall of Fame career with the Tigers. He was an 18-time All-Star,
ten-time Gold Glove Award winner American League batting
champion in 1955. Kaline helped the Tigers win the 1968 World
Series Championship. He also eclipsed the 3,000-career hit mark.
Bench
Mickey Cochrane, Miguel Cabrera, Charlie Gehringer, Travis
Fryman, Chet Lemon, Harry Heilman
Cochrane spent only four seasons with the Tigers and was already
a heralded Hall of Fame player when coming over from the
Philadelphia Athletics. Cochrane played the role of player, manager,
and general manager for two years. Both of Cochrane's All-Star
seasons came as a member of the Tigers and he was the American
League MVP in 1934 and helped the franchise win their 1935 World
Series title. One could make a strong case for Cabrera to be the
starting first baseman as he led the Tigers to four straight division
titles while battling through injuries. The Venezuelan-born Cabrera
was an 11-time All-Star in a Tigers uniform and two-time American
League MVP Award winner. He was also a four-time batting
champion and led the American League in both home runs and RBIs
twice. On the way to a Hall of Fame career, Gehringer spent all 19
of his seasons with the Tigers, six of which were All-Star campaigns.
He helped lead the Tigers to three consecutive pennants and the
1935 World Series championship. Gehringer was the American
League MVP and batting champion in 1937 and led the American
League in stolen bases in 1929.
Fryman was drafted as a shortstop but given the presence of
Trammell, Fryman converted to third base and became quite
accomplished. Fryman spent eight seasons with the Tigers with
four of them being All-Star. He was also a Silver Slugger Award
winner in 1992. Lemon spent eight seasons with the Tigers and
even though he was an All-Star only once, he was a solid two-way
player that provided versatility to the Tigers lineup. Lemon was
also part of the 1984 World Series championship. Heilmann spent
15 of his 17 seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Tigers.
On the way to a Hall of Fame career, he was a four-time American
League batting champion at the time of his retirement, Heilmann
was sixth in Major League history with 542 career doubles and
eighth with 1,543 RBIs.
Manager
Sparky Anderson
Anderson became the first manager in Major League history to win
a World Series in both the National and American Leagues. Tony
LaRussa later equaled that accomplishment in 2006. In a sense,
Anderson's managerial approach led to a Major League trend of
relying on bullpens as he was known as “Captain Hook” because
he would pull his starting pitcher at the first sign of weakness.
Anderson managed the Tigers for 17 seasons with the high point
being the 1984 world series title and he also led the franchise to
the 1987 American League East title. Anderson holds the franchise
record with 1,331 career wins. Until Trammell was inducted into
the Hall of Fame in 2018, Anderson was the only member of the
1984 Tigers to be enshrined. Anderson also became the first
manager in Major League history to have a 100 win season
and both the National and American League.
Team
1984
The Tigers came out of the gate strong with a 35-5 start and never
looked back. They won the American League Eastern Division by
15 games over there closest pursuers, the Toronto Blue Jays. The
Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 3-1 in the ALCS and swept
the San Diego Padres in the World Series. The 1984 campaign
marked the Tigers’ first division championship since 1972 and their
first World Series since 1968. The Tigers had three players hit 20 or
more home runs but the team did not leave the league in batting
average, or slugging percentage. This version of the Tigers is also
one of only three teams in Major League history to lead the league
from start to finish.
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