1938 Detroit Tigers season
{{Short description|Major League Baseball season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{Infobox baseball team season
| name = Detroit Tigers
| season = 1938
| misc =
| league = American League
| ballpark = Briggs Stadium
| city = Detroit
| owners = Walter Briggs, Sr.
| general_managers = Mickey Cochrane
| managers = Mickey Cochrane, Del Baker
| television =
| radio = WWJ (AM)
(Ty Tyson)
WXYZ
(Harry Heilmann)
|}}
The 1938 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The Detroit Tigers compiled a record of 84 wins and 70 losses, good enough for fourth place in the American League. Hank Greenberg hit 58 home runs, and became the first unanimous selection as the American League MVP.
Offseason
- December 2, 1937: Mike Tresh, Marv Owen and Gee Walker were traded by the Tigers to the Chicago White Sox for Vern Kennedy, Tony Piet, and Dixie Walker.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/t/treshmi01.shtml Mike Tresh] at Baseball Reference
Regular season
The highlight of the 1938 season was first baseman Hank Greenberg challenging the single-season home run record held by Babe Ruth (60). Hank went into the season's final weekend against the Cleveland Indians with 58 home runs, but failed to homer on Saturday or Sunday. He did tie Jimmie Foxx's record for a right-handed hitter, set in 1932.{{cite web|url=http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/greenha01.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060312092740/http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/greenha01.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 12, 2006 |title=Hank Greenberg Facts from |publisher=The Baseball Page.com |access-date=March 16, 2010 }}
= Season standings =
{{1938 American League standings}}
= Record vs. opponents =
{{1938 AL Record vs. opponents|team=DET}}
= Roster =
| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%;" |
| colspan="10" style="background-color: #003366; color: white; text-align: center;" | 1938 Detroit Tigers |
|---|
| colspan="10" style="background-color: #bd5d29; color: white; text-align: center;" | Roster |
| valign="top" | Pitchers
{{MLBplayer|12|Elden Auker}} {{MLBplayer|29|Al Benton}} {{MLBplayer|10|Tommy Bridges}} {{MLBplayer|21|Slick Coffman}} {{MLBplayer|35|Woody Davis}} {{MLBplayer|26|Harry Eisenstat}} {{MLBplayer|16|George Gill}} {{MLBplayer|14|Bob Harris}} {{MLBplayer|11|Vern Kennedy}} {{MLBplayer|15|Roxie Lawson}} {{MLBplayer|17|Boots Poffenberger}} {{MLBplayer|34|Joe Rogalski}} {{MLBplayer|14|Schoolboy Rowe}} {{MLBplayer|18|Jake Wade}} | width="25px" | | valign="top" | Catchers {{MLBplayer|23|Ray Hayworth}} {{MLBplayer|28|Birdie Tebbetts}} {{MLBplayer| 4|Rudy York}} Infielders {{MLBplayer|20|Mark Christman}} {{MLBplayer| 2|Charlie Gehringer}} {{MLBplayer| 5|Hank Greenberg}} {{MLBplayer|24|Benny McCoy}} {{MLBplayer|27|Tony Piet}} {{MLBplayer| 7|Billy Rogell}} {{MLBplayer| 6|Don Ross}} | width="25px" | | valign="top" | Outfielders {{MLBplayer|19|Roy Cullenbine}} {{MLBplayer| 9|Pete Fox}} {{MLBplayer|3,25|Chet Laabs}} {{MLBplayer|25|Chet Morgan}} {{MLBplayer| 8|Dixie Walker}} {{MLBplayer|22|Jo-Jo White}} Other batters {{MLBplayer|35|George Archie}} | width="25px" | | valign="top" | Manager {{MLBplayer|32|Del Baker}} {{MLBplayer| 3|Mickey Cochrane}} Coaches {{MLBplayer|32|Del Baker}} {{MLBplayer|31|Bing Miller}} {{MLBplayer |
| -|Cy Perkins}} |
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
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||||||
| bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" | Pos
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | AB ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | H ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | Avg. ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | HR ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | RBI | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"
| C | {{sortname|Rudy|York}} | 135 | 463 | 138 | .298 | 33 | 127 |
| align="center"
| 1B | {{sortname|Hank|Greenberg}} | 155 | 556 | 175 | .315 | 58 | 146 |
| align="center"
| 2B | {{sortname|Charlie|Gehringer}} | 152 | 568 | 174 | .306 | 20 | 107 |
| align="center"
| SS | {{sortname|Billy|Rogell}} | 136 | 501 | 130 | .259 | 3 | 55 |
| align="center"
| 3B | {{sortname|Don|Ross|Don Ross (baseball)}} | 77 | 265 | 69 | .260 | 1 | 30 |
| align="center"
| OF | {{sortname|Dixie|Walker}} | 127 | 454 | 140 | .308 | 6 | 43 |
| align="center"
| OF | {{sortname|Pete|Fox}} | 155 | 634 | 186 | .293 | 7 | 96 |
| align="center"
| OF | {{sortname|Chet|Morgan}} | 74 | 306 | 87 | .284 | 0 | 27 |
== Other batters ==
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | AB ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | H ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | Avg. ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | HR ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | RBI | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Mark|Christman}} | 95 | 318 | 79 | .248 | 1 | 44 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Chet|Laabs}} | 64 | 211 | 50 | .237 | 7 | 37 |
| align=center
| {{sortname|Jo-Jo|White}} | 78 | 206 | 54 | .262 | 0 | 15 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Birdie|Tebbetts}} | 53 | 143 | 42 | .294 | 1 | 25 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Tony|Piet}} | 41 | 80 | 17 | .213 | 0 | 14 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Roy|Cullenbine}} | 25 | 67 | 19 | .284 | 0 | 9 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Ray|Hayworth}} | 8 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 0 | 5 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Benny|McCoy}} | 7 | 15 | 3 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|George|Archie}} | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
= Pitching =
== Starting pitchers ==
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | IP ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | W ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | L ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | ERA ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | SO | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Vern|Kennedy}} | 33 | 190.1 | 12 | 9 | 5.06 | 53 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|George|Gill|George Gill (pitcher)}} | 24 | 164.0 | 12 | 9 | 4.12 | 30 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Elden|Auker}} | 27 | 160.2 | 11 | 10 | 5.27 | 46 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Tommy|Bridges}} | 25 | 151.0 | 13 | 9 | 4.59 | 101 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Schoolboy|Rowe}} | 4 | 21.0 | 0 | 2 | 3.00 | 4 |
== Other pitchers ==
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | IP ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | W ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | L ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | ERA ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | SO | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Roxie|Lawson}} | 27 | 127.0 | 8 | 9 | 5.46 | 39 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Harry|Eisenstat}} | 32 | 125.1 | 9 | 6 | 3.72 | 37 |
| align=center
| {{sortname|Boots|Poffenberger}} | 25 | 125.0 | 6 | 7 | 4.82 | 28 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Al|Benton}} | 19 | 95.1 | 5 | 3 | 3.30 | 33 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Bob|Harris|Bob Harris (baseball)}} | 3 | 10.0 | 1 | 0 | 7.20 | 7 |
== Relief pitchers ==
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||||||
| bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="16%" | Player
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | G ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | W ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | L ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | SV ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | ERA ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="9%" | SO | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Slick|Coffman}} | 39 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6.02 | 31 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Jake|Wade|Jake Wade (baseball)}} | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6.56 | 23 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Joe|Rogalski}} | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 2 |
| align="center"
| {{sortname|Woody|Davis}} | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 | 1 |
| align="center" |
Awards and honors
- Hank Greenberg finished third in the American League MVP voting.
Farm system
{{See also|Minor League Baseball}}
{{MLB Farm System
|level14=A1|team14=Beaumont Exporters|league14=Texas League|manager14=Al Vincent
|level15=C|team15=Charleston Senators|league15=Middle Atlantic League|manager15=Paul O'Malley
|level16=D|team16=Andalusia Bulldogs|league16=Alabama–Florida League|manager16=Yam Yaryan
|level17=D|team17=Beckley Bengals|league17=Mountain State League|manager17=Eli Harris
|level18=D|team18=Tiffin Mud Hens|league18=Ohio State League|manager18=Tony Rogala
|level19=D|team19=Harlingen Hubs|league19=Texas Valley League|manager19=Jake Atz
|level20=D|team20=Hobbs Boosters|league20=West Texas–New Mexico League|manager20=Neal Rabe
}}
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Beaumont, Beckley, HarlingenJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
Notes
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
{{Portal|Baseball}}
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/1938.shtml 1938 Detroit Tigers season] at Baseball Reference
{{1938 MLB season by team}}
{{Detroit Tigers}}
Category:Detroit Tigers seasons
{{DetroitTigers-season-stub}}