Still a lot of the good guys around from '68 and more on the way soon... as well as much later. This will be FUN!
1970(79-83)Willie Horton leads the anemic offense with a .305 average- the only guy close to .300 and hits 17 taters before injuring an ankle
Jim Northrup leads in homers with 24 and RBIs with only 80
A team total of 29 steals is ridiculous.
The Almanac says:
1970 gets off to a horrible start and never really gets any better... Denny McLain was used to getting into minor trouble, but starts to go off the charts...in spring training it's announced that he will be suspended for gambling until July 1. After an unsuccessful comback, he'll be suspended 2 more times before the end of the season, his last in Detroit (we will have much more on Denny in his player page soon). The McLain circus is just a part of woes of '70... the pitching staff has declined badly...Earl Wilson wins only 4 times and is traded... Joe Sparma is gone...Mickey Lolich goes 14-19, but the Tiger bats bring home the lowest average in league. Mayo Smith might have been a fine "push-button" manager, but can't not fire up this bunch... guess who'll replace him? - The almanac knows!
1971(91-71)Norm Cash becomes Stormin' Norman again... finishes 2nd in AL homers with 32 and hits .283. We love this guy!
Mickey Lolich wins 25 games and hurls a GINORMOUS 376 innings... that's 2 seasons work for most pitchers... with-get this- 29 complete games... and gets GYPPED out of the Cy Young Award.
Joe Coleman wins 20... the first of 3 very good years. (By the way- McLain goes 18-36 for the rest of his career)
The Almanac says:
The Tigers step TOTALLY out of character with the hiring of Billy Martin as their new manager- a complete opposite of Mayo Smith, and it proves to be just what the team needs. Well, the absolute robbery from the Washington Senators for 3 great players, Eddie Brinkman, Aurelio Rodgriguez and pitcher Joe Coleman for Don Wert and a very washed up Denny "addition by subtraction" McLain has a lot to do with it too! Coleman and Mickey Lolich win 20 and 25 games while Brinkman and Rodriguez give the team a whole new left side of the infield! The team plays much better after the break, giving all of us a lot of hope for 1972
1972(86-70)Mickey Lolich has another MASSIVE year... 25 wins and 327 innings... How does he do it? ... the almanac is totally mystified!
Joe Coleman wins 19... he's no slouch- he pitches 280 innings
Al Kaline leads the team down the stretch and bats .313
The Almanac says:
The first ever players strike delays the start of the season and cost the Tigers 6 games off the 1972 schedule... but that's OK, because they nose out Boston for the Division Championship! This is a team that squeezes everything it can out of a lineup where no one has more than 61 RBIs or 22 home runs... the pitching really steps up- Monster years by Lollich and Coleman and the late season acquisition of Woodie Fryman, who wins 10 games in 2 months make the big difference! A tough LCS series with Oakland which wins 3 games to 2 ends a pretty successful season.
As in all championship... or otherwise noteworthy years in the almanac... we will cover this season in much more detail- COMING SOON!
1973(85-77)Willie Horton hits 17 home runs and misses a third of the season... he still leads the team in hitting with .316... and Jim Northrup hits .307
Ed Brinkman hits just .237 but still makes the All-Star team... that's the kind of leather he throws!
Joe Coleman has another great year- he wins 23 games... McLain wins-- uh... zero-- he's done.
The Almanac says:
Again this team gets everything it can from its aging talent... they finish 19 back, but Baltimore has reasserted its dominance after a one-year break... very little offensive punch- the high RBI men are Rodriguez and Stanley with only 58 and 57. Billy Martin's antics wear thin already and he's gone in September... and the beloved old gang... the "Syracuse Boys' are starting to break up...
1974(72-90)
The Great Al Kaline calls it quits after the season- leads the team in RBIs and gets his 3000th hit- after 22 years in a Tiger uniform.
John Hiller continues his amazing recovery from a heart attack with 17 wins...all in relief
Old pro, Bill Freehan leads in homers with 18
The Almanac says:
As expected, the wheels come off this aging machine...Norm Cash is released... Al Kaline retired... Dick McAuliffe is gone... only Bill Freehan remains from the glory days as a regular player. The team hangs around and plays .500 ball for half a season, staying within SHOUTING distance in a weak division, but fades badly in the second half... finishing in the cellar- the first time since 1952- under "The Major," Ralph Houk.
1975(57-102)Ron LeFlore puts in his first full season after being paroled from prison... hits .258, leads in runs scored and swipes 28 bases!
Willie Horton is still productive with 25 cranks and 92 ribbies
Good thing Al Kaline left before this mess...
The Almanac says:
This is the team of Tom Veryzer, Nate Colbert, Jack Pierce and "Suds" Sutherland... most of the great names are gone... Mickey Lolich pitches well, but goes 12-18... Joe Coleman doesn't pitch well and goes 10-18... Ralph Houk is the caretaker/skipper and suffers through a 19 game losing streak where the team thinks "win" means "Whip Inflation Now"... first last place finish since 1952.
1976(74-87)Mark "The Bird" Fidrych captivates baseball and wins 19 games!
Ron LeFlore begins the season with a 30 game hitting streak... hits .316 and steals 58 bases, more than most Tiger teams usually get!
Rusty Staub hits .299 with 96 RBIs
The Almanac says:
This could have been one of the worst years in Tiger history... instead it turns into one of the best! Sure, Ron LeFlore really arrives- 30 game hitting streak and a ton of stolen bases... Rusty Staub comes over from the Mets- for Mickey Lolich- but the year really belongs to a young rookie, Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, the coolest guy to ever play baseball! The Bird congratulates teammates on great plays during the inning... gets down on his hands and knees to groom the mound... talks to the ball... just has a great time... AND he wins 19 games doing it, packs the stands and helps the Tigers to draw over 400,000 more than in 1975. Oh yeah- a significantly better finish than last year- 17 more wins and a lot more fun!
1977(74-88)Jason Thompson crushes 31 with over 100 RBIs
Grand Rapids' Dave Rozema -almost as flaky as The Bird- wins 15 as a rookie
Another big year for Ron LeFlore who hits .325 with 16 long balls
The Almanac says:
1977 is not nearly as much fun as '76...Fidrych suffers a knee injury in spring training, develops a sore shoulder when he comes back and never really recovers... he'll win only 10 more games in his career. Guys who'll provide the nucleus of the big teams of the '80s start showing up... Jack Morris, Alan Trammell, Lou Whittaker and Lance Parrish come to Detroit, but are too young to help much... the record is pretty much the same as 1976, but better things are on the way!
1978(86-76)The Redhead, Rusty Staub steals 3 bases!! - oh, he also hits 24 homers and drives in 121... a "professional hitter"
Ron LeFlore steals 65 more than Rusty... bats .297- and has a movie made about his life!
Mickey Stanley closes out his 15 season career... a very popular and respected bridge back to the glory days
The Almanac says:
The Bengals get off to a great start... 15 out of the first 20 before cooling down a bit, but this is turning into a pretty good young team that's beginning to expect to win. Best season since '72 for wins and finishing 13½ games behind... Jim Slaton paces the team in victories with 17, but we gave up Ben Oglivie for him- Ben hits a lotta homers for Milwaukee, and Slaton goes back to Beertown as a free agent--OUCH! Manager Ralph Houk retired- the Major has done a good job in this transitional time, helping to develop the youngsters
1979(85-76)
Aurelio "Senor Smoke" Lopez arrives to save 21 games
Jack Morris wins 17 in his first big year
Steve Kemp is the only All-Star as he crashes 26... drives in 105 and averages a robust .318
The Almanac says:
The big news? The hiring of Les Moss to replace Houk... no, not really... Poor Les only lests 53 games when management jumps to hire Sparky Anderson. The team muddles around .500 most of the year and finally gains a little traction toward the end. Sub-par year for Rusty Staub; he's traded following a bitter salary holdout... the kids- Morris, Whittaker, Trammell and Parrish all play well, but it's clear that this team still needed more pitching.
Continue on to the AWESOME '80s!
Go back to the SUPER '60s!
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