The Baseball Scholar

The 20 Greatest Detroit Tigers of All-Time

Dave Franks
1–2 minutes

Rankings based on seasons 1901 – 2025.

To be eligible, position players need 1,500 plate appearances, starting pitchers have to have started a minimum of 75 games, and relief pitchers need to have 150 innings pitched for the franchise.

  1. Ty CobbHOFMVP

    Ty Cobb Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    145 167 2806 12105 10591 2088 3900 665 284 111 1804 865 154 1148 329 .368 .434 .516 .950

  2. Al KalineHOF

    • Age: 18–39
    • Years: 1953–1974
    • Positions: RF, CF, 1B
    • Teams: Detroit Tigers
    Al Kaline Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    92.8 134 2834 11597 10116 1622 3007 498 75 399 1583 137 65 1277 1020 .297 .374 .479 .853

  3. Charlie GehringerHOFMVP

    • Age: 21 – 39
    • Years: 1924 – 1942
    • Positions: 2B
    • Teams: Detroit Tigers
    Charlie Gehringer Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    84.7 124 2323 10237 8860 1774 2839 574 146 184 1427 181 89 1186 372 .320 .398 .480 .878

  4. Harry HeilmannHOF

    • Age: 19, 21-34
    • Years: 1914, 1916-1929
    • Positions: RF
    • Teams: Detroit Tigers
    Harry Heilmann Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    67.8 143 1991 8390 7297 1209 2499 497 145 164 1442 111 64 792 498 .342 .410 .518 .927

  5. Hal NewhouserHOF2x MVP

    Hal Newhouser Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    58.8 76 460 373 200 148 3.07 2940.5 212 33 19 1181 1003 1227 1770 14.2% 1.31

  6. Hank Greenberg

    • Age: 19, 22-30, 34-35
    • Years: 1930, 1933-1941, 1945-1946
    • Positions: 1B
    • Teams: Detroit Tigers
    Hank Greenberg Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    52.8 154 1269 5586 4791 980 1528 366 69 306 1202 58 26 748 771 .319 .412 .616 1.028

  7. Miguel Cabrera2x MVP

    • Age: 25-40
    • Years: 2008-2023
    • Positions: 1B, DH, 3B
    • Teams: Detroit Tigers
    Miguel Cabrera Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    49 139 2077 8724 7662 1102 2332 444 7 373 1358 23 10 936 1513 .304 .380 .510 .890

  8. Alan TrammellHOF

    Alan Trammell Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    70.7 111 2293 9375 8288 1231 2365 412 55 185 1003 236 109 850 874 .285 .346 .415 .762

  9. Justin VerlanderHOFMVPCy YoungRookie of the Year

    Justin Verlander Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    56.6 82 380 380 183 114 3.50 2508.9 23 7 0 1057 975 766 2373 22.8% 1.19

  10. Lou WhitakerRookie of the Year

    Lou Whitaker Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    75.1 118 2390 9967 8570 1386 2369 420 65 244 1084 143 75 1197 1099 .276 .359 .426 .785

  11. Sam CrawfordHOF

    Sam Crawford Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    63.7 139 2114 8869 7984 1115 2466 402 249 70 1264 317 30 646 104 .309 .362 .448 .810

  12. Norm Cash

    Norm Cash Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    51.7 139 2018 7772 6593 1028 1793 241 40 373 1087 42 29 1025 1081 .272 .374 .490 .865

  13. Bobby Veach

    Bobby Veach Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    46 127 1604 6782 5979 859 1859 345 136 59 1042 189 75 512 345 .311 .370 .444 .814

  14. Dizzy Trout

    Dizzy Trout Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    44.3 80 493 305 161 153 3.21 2587.7 156 28 34 1101 922 978 1199 10.9% 1.35

  15. Mickey Lolich

    Mickey Lolich Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    46.7 96 508 459 207 175 3.45 3358.4 190 39 10 1415 1289 1014 2679 19.2% 1.22

  16. Bill Freehan

    • Age: 19, 21 – 34
    • Years: 1961, 1963-1976
    • Positions: C
    • Teams:Detroit Tigers
    Bill Freehan Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    44.8 113 1774 6899 6073 706 1591 241 35 200 758 24 21 626 753 .261 .337 .411 .749

  17. Tommy Bridges

    • Age: 23-36, 38-39
    • Years: 1930-1943, 1945-1946
    • Positions: SP
    • Teams: Detroit Tigers
    Tommy Bridges Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    51.6 80 424 362 194 138 3.58 2823.3 200 33 10 1321 1122 1192 1674 13.8% 1.37

  18. Dick McAuliffe

    Dick McAuliffe Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    37.6 113 1656 6829 5898 856 1471 218 70 192 672 61 59 842 932 .249 .345 .408 .753

  19. John Hiller

    • Age: 22-27, 29-37
    • Years: 1965-1970, 1972-1980
    • Positions: RP
    • Teams: Detroit Tigers
    John Hiller Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    31.1 75 545 43 87 76 2.84 1239.9 13 6 125 437 391 535 1036 19.9% 1.27

  20. Jack MorrisHOF

    Jack Morris Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    37.7 93 430 408 198 150 3.74 3040.1 154 24 0 1382 1262 1086 1980 15.5% 1.27

    21. The Next 5

  21. 21. Chet Lemon
  22. 22. Jim Bunning
  23. 23. Frank Lary
  24. 24. Tony Phillips
  25. 25. Kirk Gibson

    26. All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

    3 responses to “The 20 Greatest Detroit Tigers of All-Time”

    1. robert kruman Avatar
      robert kruman

      I thought for sure that Harvey Kuenn would make the cut.

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    2. Kevin Joseph Foley Avatar
      Kevin Joseph Foley

      Detroit with out a doubt, has one of the greatest all time rosters in MLB history. Hall of Famers everywhere! One of the truly great, historic franchises in all of sports.

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    3. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Although Denny McClain had issues – he was one hell of a pitcher. Frank Lary, Jim Bunning. Willie Horton. Rocky Colavito, Frank Bolling. Charley Maxwell. Just a few

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    100 Greatest Players of all time