1975 Detroit Tigers season
Major League Baseball season
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The 1975 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 75th season and the 64th season at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers compiled a record of 57–102, which was — at the time — the second worst season in franchise history (it now ranks as the sixth). They finished in last place in the American League East, 37½ games behind the Boston Red Sox. Their team batting average of .249 and team ERA of 4.27 were both second worst in the American League. They were outscored by their opponents 786 to 570. The season included a 19-game losing streak, lasting from July 29 through Aug. 15.
| 1975 Detroit Tigers | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | East |
| Ballpark | Tiger Stadium |
| City | Detroit, Michigan |
| Owners | John Fetzer |
| General managers | Jim Campbell |
| Managers | Ralph Houk |
| Television | WWJ-TV (George Kell, Larry Osterman, Don Kremer) |
| Radio | WJR (Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey) |
Offseason
- November 18, 1974: Ed Brinkman was traded by the Tigers to the St. Louis Cardinals, and Bob Strampe and Dick Sharon were traded by the Tigers to the San Diego Padres as part of a three-team trade. The Padres sent Nate Colbert to the Tigers, and a player to be named later to the Cardinals. The Cardinals sent Alan Foster, Rich Folkers, and Sonny Siebert to the Padres. The Padres completed the deal by sending Danny Breeden to the Cardinals on December 12.[1]
- December 4, 1974: Woodie Fryman was traded by the Tigers to the Montreal Expos for Tom Walker and Terry Humphrey.[2]
- January 9, 1975: Tom Brookens was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft.[3]
- February 1, 1975: Gene Michael was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.[4]
- March 29, 1975: Reggie Sanders was traded by the Tigers to the Atlanta Braves for Jack Pierce.[5]
Regular season
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Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 95 | 65 | .594 | — | 47–34 | 48–31 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 69 | .566 | 4½ | 44–33 | 46–36 |
| New York Yankees | 83 | 77 | .519 | 12 | 43–35 | 40–42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 79 | 80 | .497 | 15½ | 41–39 | 38–41 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 68 | 94 | .420 | 28 | 36–45 | 32–49 |
| Detroit Tigers | 57 | 102 | .358 | 37½ | 31–49 | 26–53 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | TEX | |
| Baltimore | — | 9–9 | 6–6 | 7–4 | 10–8 | 12–4 | 7–5 | 14–4 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | |
| Boston | 9–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 13–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 10–2 | 11–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | |
| California | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 9–9 | 3–9 | 6–5 | 4–14 | 7–5 | 8–10 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 9–9 | |
| Chicago | 4–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | — | 7–5 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 5–13 | |
| Cleveland | 8–10 | 11–7 | 9–3 | 5–7 | — | 12–6 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 3–6 | 9–9 | 2–10 | 5–7 | |
| Detroit | 4–12 | 5–13 | 5–6 | 7–5 | 6–12 | — | 6–6 | 7–11 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 6–6 | 1–11 | |
| Kansas City | 5–7 | 5–7 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 11–7 | 14–4 | |
| Milwaukee | 4–14 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 5–7 | — | 2–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 6–6 | |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 2–10 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–3 | 8–4 | 7–11 | 10–2 | — | 4–8 | 6–12 | 8–10 | |
| New York | 10–8 | 5–11 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 5–7 | 9–9 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 12–6 | 6–6 | — | 12–6 | |
| Texas | 5–7 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–12 | — | |
Notable transactions
- June 15, 1975: Nate Colbert was purchased from the Tigers by the Montreal Expos.[6]
Roster
| 1975 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
Outfielders
Other batters
|
Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bill Freehan | 120 | 427 | 105 | .246 | 14 | 47 |
| 1B | Jack Pierce | 53 | 170 | 40 | .235 | 8 | 22 |
| 2B | Gary Sutherland | 129 | 503 | 130 | .258 | 6 | 39 |
| 3B | Aurelio Rodríguez | 151 | 507 | 124 | .245 | 13 | 60 |
| SS | Tom Veryzer | 128 | 404 | 102 | .252 | 5 | 48 |
| LF | Ben Oglivie | 100 | 332 | 95 | .286 | 9 | 36 |
| CF | Ron LeFlore | 136 | 550 | 142 | .258 | 8 | 37 |
| RF | Leon Roberts | 129 | 447 | 115 | .257 | 10 | 38 |
| DH | Willie Horton | 159 | 615 | 169 | .275 | 25 | 92 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Meyer | 122 | 470 | 111 | .236 | 8 | 47 |
| Mickey Stanley | 52 | 164 | 42 | .256 | 3 | 19 |
| Nate Colbert | 45 | 156 | 23 | .147 | 4 | 18 |
| Gene Michael | 56 | 145 | 31 | .214 | 3 | 13 |
| John Wockenfuss | 35 | 118 | 27 | .229 | 4 | 13 |
| Billy Baldwin | 30 | 95 | 21 | .221 | 4 | 8 |
| John Knox | 43 | 86 | 23 | .267 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Humphrey | 18 | 41 | 10 | .244 | 0 | 1 |
| Art James | 11 | 40 | 9 | .225 | 0 | 1 |
| Gates Brown | 47 | 35 | 6 | .171 | 1 | 3 |
| Bob Molinaro | 6 | 19 | 5 | .263 | 0 | 1 |
| Jerry Manuel | 6 | 18 | 1 | .056 | 0 | 0 |
| Chuck Scrivener | 4 | 16 | 4 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Gene Lamont | 4 | 8 | 3 | .375 | 0 | 1 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Lolich | 32 | 240.2 | 12 | 18 | 3.78 | 139 |
| Joe Coleman | 31 | 201.0 | 10 | 18 | 5.55 | 125 |
| Vern Ruhle | 32 | 190.0 | 11 | 12 | 4.03 | 67 |
| Lerrin LaGrow | 32 | 164.1 | 7 | 14 | 4.38 | 75 |
| Ray Bare | 29 | 150.2 | 8 | 13 | 4.48 | 71 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Walker | 36 | 115.1 | 3 | 8 | 4.45 | 60 |
| Dave Lemanczyk | 26 | 109.0 | 2 | 7 | 4.46 | 67 |
| Ed Glynn | 3 | 14.2 | 0 | 2 | 4.30 | 8 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | GF | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Hiller | 36 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 34 | 2.17 | 87 |
| Bob Reynolds | 21 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 4.67 | 26 |
| Fernando Arroyo | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4.56 | 25 |
| Gene Pentz | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 3.20 | 21 |
| Ike Brookens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5.23 | 8 |
| Tom Makowski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.82 | 3 |
| Steve Grilli | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1.35 | 5 |
Awards and honors
1975 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Bill Freehan, reserve
League top ten finishers
- AL leader in wild pitches (15)
- #2 in MLB in losses (18)
- #2 in MLB in earned runs allowed (124)
- #4 in AL in hit batsmen(9)
- #2 in AL in strikeouts (139)
- #2 in MLB in times caught stealing (20)
- #2 in MLB in losses (18)
- #6 in MLB in complete games (19)
- AL leader in at bats per strikeout (18.8)
- #3 in AL in game played (159)
- #4 in AL in at bats (615)
Players ranking among top 100 all time at position
The following members of the 1975 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:
- Bill Freehan: 12th best catcher of all time
- Aurelio Rodríguez: 91st best third baseman of all time
- Ron LeFlore: 80th best center fielder of all time
- Ben Oglivie: 64th best left fielder of all time
- Willie Horton: 55th best left fielder of all time (played DH for 1975 Tigers)
- Mickey Lolich: 72nd best pitcher of all time
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville, Montgomery
