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List of Detroit Tigers managers

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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

The Detroit Tigers are a professional baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. The Tigers are members of the American League Central Division in Major League Baseball. In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager, or more formally, the field manager. The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/manager|title=Manager: Definition | Dictionary.com|year=2006|work=Dictionary.Reference.com|publisher=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language|access-date=2009-02-24}}{{cite book|title=The Dickson Baseball Dictionary|edition=Third|author=Dickson, P.|page=530|year=2009|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.|isbn=978-0-393-06681-4}} The team initially began in the now defunct Western League in 1894, and later became one of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901. Since the inception of the team in 1894, it has employed 48 different managers.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/managers.shtml|title=Detroit Tiger Managerial Register|work=Baseball-Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=October 26, 2009}} The Tigers' current manager is A. J. Hinch, who was named manager on October 30, 2020, following the sudden retirement of Ron Gardenhire.{{cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/aj-hinch-hired-as-tigers-manager |title=Hinch: 'The good times are coming' to Detroit |first=Jason |last=Beck |website=MLB.com |date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=October 30, 2020}}

The franchise's first manager after the team's arrival in the American League was George Stallings, who managed the team for one season. Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings, who managed the team from 1907 to 1920, led the team to three American League championships. Jennings however was unable to win the World Series, losing to the Chicago Cubs in 1907 and 1908 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909. The Detroit Tigers did not win their first World Series until 1935 under the leadership of player-manager Mickey Cochrane. Steve O'Neill later led the Tigers to another World Series victory again in 1945. The Tigers would not win another World Series until 1968 World Series when the Tigers, led by Mayo Smith, defeated the St. Louis Cardinals. Sparky Anderson's 1984 Detroit Tigers team was the franchise's last World Series victory, and marked the first time in Major League Baseball history that a manager won the World Series in both leagues. In total, the Tigers have won the American League pennant 10 times, and the World Series 4 times.

The longest tenured Tiger manager was Sparky Anderson. Anderson managed the team for 2,579 games from 1979 to 1995. Hughie Jennings, Bucky Harris and Jim Leyland are the only other Detroit Tiger managers who have managed the team for more than 1,000 games. Anderson's 1331 wins and 1248 losses also lead all Tiger managers, while Cochrane's winning percentage of .582 is the highest of any Tiger manager who has managed at least one full-season. Nine Hall of Famers have managed the Tigers: Ed Barrow, Jennings, Ty Cobb, Cochrane, Joe Gordon, Bucky Harris, Alan Trammell, Anderson, and Leyland. Barrow was elected as an executive, Jennings, Anderson, and Leyland were elected as managers; the others were elected as players.

Key

class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%;"
#

|Number of managers{{ref label|Note1|a|a}}

G

|Regular season games managed; may not equal sum of wins and losses due to tie games

W

|Regular season wins

L

|Regular season losses

Win%

|Winning percentage

PA

|Playoff appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the playoffs

PW

|Playoff wins

PL

|Playoff losses

LCLeague Championships: number of League Championships, or pennants, achieved by the manager
WSWorld Series Championships: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager
Ref

|Reference(s)

style="background-color:#ffe6bd"|†

| Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame primarily as a manager or executive

style="background-color:#ccffcc"|*

| Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame primarily as a player

style="background-color:#e0e0e0"|**

|Manager acted as interim manager

Managers

=Western League=

{{unreferenced section|date=February 2014}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

!class="unsortable"| #{{ref label|Note1|a|a}} !! class="unsortable"|Image !! Manager !! Seasons !! W !! L !! Win% !! Ref

{{sort|01|1}}60px{{sortname|Bob|Glenalvin}}{{sort|01|1894}}
{{sort|02|2}}{{sortname|Con|Strouthers}}{{sort|03|1895–96}}
{{sort|03|3}}60px{{sortname|George|Stallings}}1896
{{sort|04|4}}60px{{sortname|Bob|Allen|Bob Allen (shortstop)}}1897
{{sort|05|5}}60px{{sortname|Frank|Graves|Frank Graves (baseball)}}1897–98
{{sort|06|6}}60px{{sortname|Ollie|Beard}}1898
{{sort|07|7}}60px{{sortname|Tony|Mullane}}1898
{{sort|08|8}}60px{{sortname|George|Stallings}}1898–1900

=American League=

:Through September 18, 2020

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"

!class="unsortable"| #{{ref label|Note1|a|a}} !! class="unsortable"|Image !! Manager !! Seasons !! W !! L !! Win% !! PA !! PW !! PL !! LC !! WS !!class="unsortable"| Ref

{{sort|01|1}}60px{{sortname|George|Stallings}}1901{{Wins-losses-pct in table|74|61}}{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/managers.shtml|title=Detroit Tigers Managers|publisher=baseball-reference.com|access-date=October 21, 2013}}
{{sort|02|2}}60px{{sortname|Frank|Dwyer}}1902{{Wins-losses-pct in table|52|83}}
{{sort|03|3}}60pxstyle="background-color:#ffe6bd" | {{sortname|Ed|Barrow}}†1903–1904{{Wins-losses-pct in table|97|117}}
{{sort|04|4}}60pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Bobby|Lowe}}**1904{{Wins-losses-pct in table|30|44}}
{{sort|05|5}}60px{{sortname|Bill|Armour}}1905–1906{{Wins-losses-pct in table|150|152}}
{{sort|06|6}}60pxstyle="background-color:#ffe6bd" | {{sortname|Hughie|Jennings}}†1907–1920{{Wins-losses-pct in table|1131|972}}341230{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/J/Pjennh101.htm|title=Hughie Jennings|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}
{{sort|07|7}}60pxstyle="background-color:#ccffcc" | {{sortname|Ty|Cobb}}*1921–1926{{Wins-losses-pct in table|479|444}}
{{sort|08|8}}60px{{sortname|George|Moriarty}}1927–1928{{Wins-losses-pct in table|150|157}}
{{sort|09|9}}60px{{sortname|Bucky|Harris}}1929–1933{{Wins-losses-pct in table|355|410}}
1060pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Del|Baker}}**1933{{Wins-losses-pct in table|2|0}}{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B/Pbaked102.htm|title=Del Baker|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}
1160pxstyle="background-color:#ccffcc" | {{sortname|Mickey|Cochrane}}*1934–1936{{Wins-losses-pct in table|259|166}}27621{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/C/Pcochm101.htm|title=Mickey Cochrane|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}
–60px{{sortname|Del|Baker}}1936{{Wins-losses-pct in table|18|16}}
–60pxstyle="background-color:#ccffcc" | {{sortname|Mickey|Cochrane}}*1937{{Wins-losses-pct in table|42|33}}
–60px{{sortname|Del|Baker}}1937{{Wins-losses-pct in table|41|23}}
1260pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Cy|Perkins}}**1937{{Wins-losses-pct in table|6|9}}
–60pxstyle="background-color:#ccffcc" | {{sortname|Mickey|Cochrane}}*1938{{Wins-losses-pct in table|47|51}}
–60px{{sortname|Del|Baker}}1938–1942{{Wins-losses-pct in table|356|316}}13410
1360px{{sortname|Steve|O'Neill}}1943–1948{{Wins-losses-pct in table|509|414}}14311{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/O/Poneis101.htm|title=Steve O'Neill|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}
1460px{{sortname|Red|Rolfe}}1949–1952{{Wins-losses-pct in table|278|256}}
1560px{{sortname|Fred|Hutchinson}}1952–1954{{Wins-losses-pct in table|155|235}}
–60px{{sortname|Bucky|Harris}}1955–1956{{Wins-losses-pct in table|161|147}}
1660px{{sortname|Jack|Tighe}}1957–1958{{Wins-losses-pct in table|99|104}}
17{{sortname|Bill|Norman|dab=baseball}}1958–1959{{Wins-losses-pct in table|58|64}}
1860px{{sortname|Jimmy|Dykes}}1959–1960{{Wins-losses-pct in table|118|115}}
1960pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Billy|Hitchcock}}**1960{{Wins-losses-pct in table|1|0}}
2060pxstyle="background-color:#ccffcc" | {{sortname|Joe|Gordon}}*1960{{Wins-losses-pct in table|26|31}}
2160px{{sortname|Bob|Scheffing}}1961–1963{{Wins-losses-pct in table|210|173}}
2260px{{sortname|Chuck|Dressen}}1963–1964{{Wins-losses-pct in table|140|124}}
2360px{{sortname|Bob|Swift}}1965{{Wins-losses-pct in table|24|18}}
–60px{{sortname|Chuck|Dressen}}1965–1966{{Wins-losses-pct in table|81|65}}
–60pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Bob|Swift}}**1966{{Wins-losses-pct in table|32|25}}
2460pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Frank|Skaff}}**1966{{Wins-losses-pct in table|40|39}}
2560px{{sortname|Mayo|Smith}}1967–1970{{Wins-losses-pct in table|363|285}}14311{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/Psmitm105.htm|title=Mayo Smith|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}
2660px{{sortname|Billy|Martin}}1971–1973{{Wins-losses-pct in table|248|204}}12300{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmartb105.htm|title=Billy Martin|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}
2760pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Joe|Schultz}}**1973{{Wins-losses-pct in table|14|14}}
2860px{{sortname|Ralph|Houk}}1974–1978{{Wins-losses-pct in table|363|443}}
2960px{{sortname|Les|Moss}}1979{{Wins-losses-pct in table|27|26}}
3060pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Dick|Tracewski}}**1979{{Wins-losses-pct in table|2|0}}
3160pxstyle="background-color:#ffe6bd" | {{sortname|Sparky|Anderson}}†1979–1995{{Wins-losses-pct in table|1331|1248}}28511{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/A/Pandes101.htm|title=Sparky Anderson|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}
3260px{{sortname|Buddy|Bell}}1996–1998{{Wins-losses-pct in table|184|277}}
3360px{{sortname|Larry|Parrish}}1998–1999{{Wins-losses-pct in table|82|104}}
3460px{{sortname|Phil|Garner}}2000–2002{{Wins-losses-pct in table|145|185}}
3560pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Luis|Pujols}}**2002{{Wins-losses-pct in table|55|100}}
3660pxstyle="background-color:#ccffcc" | {{sortname|Alan|Trammell}}*2003–2005{{Wins-losses-pct in table|186|300}}
3760px{{sortname|Jim|Leyland}}†2006–2013{{Wins-losses-pct in table|700|597}}4252320{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/L/Pleylj801.htm|title=Jim Leyland|website=Retrosheet.org|access-date=1 August 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/2013.shtml|title=2013 Detroit Tigers Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=1 August 2018}}
3860px{{sortname|Brad|Ausmus}}2014–2017{{Wins-losses-pct in table|314|332}}10300
3960px{{sortname|Ron|Gardenhire}}2018–2020{{Wins-losses-pct in table|132|241}}00000{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/ron-gardenhire-is-tigers-new-manager-c259076774|title=Tigers, Gardenhire finalize skipper's 3-year deal |last=Beck |first=Jason |publisher=MLB.com |date=October 20, 2017 |access-date=October 20, 2017}}
4060pxstyle="background-color:#E0E0E0" | {{sortname|Lloyd|McClendon}}**2020{{Wins-losses-pct in table|2|6}}00000{{cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/ron-gardenhire-retires-as-tigers-manager |title=Citing health, Tigers manager Gardy retires |first=Jason |last=Beck |website=MLB.com |date=September 19, 2020 |access-date=September 19, 2020}}
4160px{{sortname|A. J.|Hinch}}2021–present{{Wins-losses-pct in table|287|334}}14300

Managers with multiple tenures

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| #

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| Manager

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| Seasons

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| G

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| W

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| L

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| Win%

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| PA

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| PW

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| PL

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| LC

! scope="col" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| WS

! scope="col" class="unsortable" style="{{Baseball primary style|Detroit Tigers|border=2}}"| Ref

align="center"|{{sort|09|9}}

| {{sortname|Bucky|Harris}}

| 1929–1933
1955–1956

| 1,078

516557{{winpct|516|557}}

|

|
align="center"|{{sort|10|10}}

| style="background-color:#ccffcc" |{{sortname|Mickey|Cochrane}}*

| 1934–1936, 1937, 1938

| 600

348250{{winpct|348|250}}

| 2

7621

|

align="center"| 11

| {{sortname|Del|Baker}}

| 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938–1942

| 675

417355{{winpct|417|355}}

|

|
align="center"| 22

| {{sortname|Chuck|Dressen}}

| 1963–1964
1965–1966

| 411

221189{{winpct|221|189}}

|

|
align="center"| 23

| {{sortname|Bob|Swift}}

| 1965, 1966

| 99

5643{{winpct|56|43}}

|

|

Notes

  • {{note label|Note1|a|a}}A running total of the number of managers of the Tigers. Thus, any manager who has two or more separate terms as a manager is only counted once.

References

{{Reflist}}

{{MLB managers by team}}

{{Detroit Tigers managers}}

{{Detroit Tigers}}

*

Detroit Tigers

Managers