1950 Detroit Tigers season

1950 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
Location
Other information
Owner(s) Walter Briggs, Sr.
General manager(s) Billy Evans
Manager(s) Red Rolfe
Local television WWJ
(Harry Heilmann, Paul Williams, Ty Tyson)
Local radio WJBK/WXYZ
(Harry Heilmann)
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The 1950 Detroit Tigers had a record of 95–59 (.617), the seventh-best winning percentage in the Tigers' 107-year history. After a tight back-and-forth pennant race, they finished in second place, three games behind a Yankees team that swept the Phillies in the 1950 World Series.

Regular season

The 1950 Tigers outscored their opponents 837 to 713, had the second best team ERA in the American League and scored the third most runs of the eight American League teams. The Tigers' home attendance of 1,951,474 was the second highest in the major leagues, trailing only the Yankees.

The 1950 team was led by: third baseman George Kell, who was second in the American League in batting with a .340 average, finished 4th in the AL MVP voting and led the major leagues with 218 hits and 56 doubles; center fielder Hoot Evers who had a .323 batting average, 109 RBIs, and led American League outfielders in fielding percentage (.997) with one error in over 325 chances; right fielder Vic Wertz who had 27 home runs, 123 RBIs, and a .408 on-base percentage; and pitcher Art Houtteman who had a record of 19–12 with a 3.54 ERA (Adjusted ERA+ of 132), 21 complete games and four shutouts.

Season summary

The Tigers spent most of the season in first place but lost the pennant in the last two weeks of the season to the Yankees.

The Tigers got off to a hot start and were in first place from Opening Day until May 18, 1950, when the Yankees edged ahead. The Tigers retook first place on June 10, 1950, and remained there for most of the summer until August 30, 1950, leading by as much as 4½ games. The month of September saw one of the tightest pennant races in history as the Yankees and Tigers exchanged the first place eight times in the final month. The Tigers’ loss of 5 of 6 game to the Cleveland Indians in the last two weeks of the season helped the Yankees take the pennant by three games.

The 1950 Tigers' winning percentage ranks as the 7th best in team history.

The players

Catchers: Robinson, Swift and Ginsberg

Catching duties were split between Aaron Robinson (.226 batting average in 107 games), Bob Swift (.227 average in 67 games), and Joe Ginsberg (.232 average in 36 games).

On September 24, 1950, with the Tigers in the middle of a tight pennant race with the Yankees, Robinson became the "goat." Heavy smoke from a Canadian forest fire forced the Indians to turn on the lights for a Sunday afternoon game against the Tigers. With the game tied 1–1, Cleveland pitcher Bob Lemon opened the 10th inning with a triple, and two intentional walks followed. With the bases loaded and one out, Robinson thought he could force out Lemon by stepping on the plate without tagging him. Because of the haze, he did not see first baseman Don Kolloway remove the force after fielding the ball. Robinson's mental lapse cost Detroit the game, and he was blamed for squelching the Tigers' pennant hopes.

Infield: Kolloway/Kryhoski, Priddy, Lipon and Kell

First base duties for the 1950 Tigers were split between Don Kolloway, who hit .289 and had a career-high 62 RBIs, and Dick Kryhoski, who hit .219 with 19 RBIs.

Second baseman Jerry Priddy played in a career and AL high 157 games in 1950, all at second base. He hit .277 with a .376 on-base percentage, 13 home runs, 75 RBIs, and was among the AL leaders with 104 runs scored (10th), 95 walks (7th), 126 singles (7th), 253 times on base (10th), 13 sacrifice hits (6th), 618 at bats (4th), 22 time grounded into a double play (5th), and 95 strikeouts (2nd). Priddy also led AL second basemen in 1950 with 542 assists and 150 double plays. He finished 17th in the 1950 AL MVP voting.

Shortstop Johnny Lipon played for the Tigers from 1942 to 1952, though he missed 3½ years to the war. In 1950, Lipon hit .293 with a .378 on-base percentage, scored 104 runs, walked 88 times, and had 63 RBIs. Lipon also led AL shortstops in 1950 with 483 assists and 126 double plays. In 1951, Lipon scored a run in Bob Feller's third career no-hitter, when he reached on an error, stole second base, advanced to third on an errant pickoff throw, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

Third baseman George Kell had a tremendous season for the 1950 Tigers. He was second in the AL in batting with a .340 batting average, played in the All Star game, and was 4th in the AL MVP voting. He also led the league in hits (218), doubles (56), runs created (124), games (157), and at bats (641), and was among the league leaders with 310 total bases (4th), 114 runs (5th), 285 times on base (3rd), 148 singles (2nd), and 35.6 at bats per strikeout (2nd). Kell was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1983.

Outfield: Wertz, Evers, and Groth

Right fielder Vic Wertz played for the Tigers from 1947 to 1952 and again from 1961 to 1963. In 1950, he hit .308 and was among the AL leaders with a .408 on-base percentage (9th), .533 slugging percentage (6th), 123 RBIs (4th), 37 doubles (2nd), 120 runs created (4th), 27 home runs (9th), 172 hits (9th), 68 extra base hits (5th), 298 total bases (8th), 91 walks (10th), 267 times on base (10th), and 20.7 at bats per home run (7th). He finished 10th in the AL MVP voting. Wertz is remembered as the batter who hit the 450-foot fly ball that Willie Mays caught in the 1954 World Series, a play that has become known as "The Catch."

Center fielder Hoot Evers also had a big year for the 1950 Tigers. He was selected for the All Star team, hit for the cycle on September 7, 1950, led the AL with 11 triples, finished 11th in the AL MVP voting, and was among the AL leaders with a .551 slugging percentage (3rd), 34 doubles (4th), .959 OPS (4th), 67 extra base hits (6th), .323 batting average (7th), 109 RBIs (9th), 259 total bases (9th), and .408 on-base percentage (10th). Evers also led AL outfielders in fielding percentage (.997) with one error in over 325 chances. When Evers came to the plate in Detroit, Tigers fans would rise to their feet and yell "Ho-o-o-o-t", "Ho-o-o-o-t."

Left fielder Johnny Groth played for the Tigers from 1946 to 1952. Tabbed for superstardom in 1949 by Time, Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post, and Life after he hit .340 for the Buffalo Bisons, Groth hit .306 in 1959 with career-highs in home runs (12), RBIs (85), hits (173), runs scored (95), on-base percentage (.407), doubles (30), walks (95), plate appearances (670), and games played (157). At one point during the 1950 season, he had eight consecutive hits.

Pat Mullin was a backup outfielder for the 1950 Tigers. He hit .251 in 97 games.

Pitching: Houtteman, Newhouser, Hutchinson, Gray and Trout

The Tigers' 1950 pitching staff had a team ERA of 4.12, second best in the American League behind the Cleveland Indians.

The ace of the staff was Art Houtteman. In 1950, Houtteman was chosen for the All Star team for the only time in his career. He had a record of 19–12 with a 3.54 ERA (Adjusted ERA+ of 132), 21 complete games and four shutouts in 274⅔ innings pitched.

Fred Hutchinson had the second most wins on the 1950 staff. He finished the year with a 17–8 record, a .680 winning percentage, and a 3.96 ERA in 231⅔ innings pitched.

Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser had his poorest season since 1943, finishing with a 15–13 record and a 4.34 ERA in 213⅔ inning pitched.

Dizzy Trout led the team with a .722 winning percentage (2nd best in the AL) with a 13–5 record and 3.75 ERA (Adjusted ERA+ of 124) in 184⅔ innings pitched.

Ted Gray led the team with 102 strikeouts. Despite a 4.40 ERA, he finished the season with a 10–7 record in 149⅓ innings pitched.

Season standings

American League W L Pct. GB
New York Yankees 98 56 .636 --
Detroit Tigers 95 59 .617 3
Boston Red Sox 94 60 .610 4
Cleveland Indians 92 62 .597 6
Washington Senators 67 87 .435 31
Chicago White Sox 60 94 .390 38
St. Louis Browns 58 96 .377 40
Philadelphia Athletics 52 102 .338 46

Record vs. opponents

1950 American League Records

Sources:

Team BOS CWS CLE DET NYY PHI STL WSH
Boston — 15–7 10–12 10–12 9–13 19–3 19–3 12–10
Chicago 7–15 — 8–14 6–16–2 8–14 11–11 12–10 8–14
Cleveland 12–10 14–8 — 13–9–1 8–14 17–5 13–9 15–7
Detroit 12–10 16–6–2 9–13–1 — 11–11 17–5 17–5 13–9
New York 13–9 14–8 14–8 11–11 — 15–7 17–5 14–8–1
Philadelphia 3–19 11–11 5–17 5–17 7–15 — 8–14 13–9
St. Louis 3–19 10–12 9–13 5–17 5–17 14–8 — 12–10
Washington 10–12 14–8 7–15 9–13 8–14–1 9–13 10–12 —

Season chronology

Roster

1950 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

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

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Robinson, AaronAaron Robinson 107 283 64 .226 9 37
1B Kolloway, DonDon Kolloway 125 467 135 .289 6 32
2B Priddy, JerryJerry Priddy 157 618 171 .277 13 75
3B Kell, GeorgeGeorge Kell 157 641 218 .340 8 101
SS Lipon, JohnnyJohnny Lipon 147 601 176 .293 2 63
OF Groth, JohnnyJohnny Groth 157 566 173 .306 12 85
OF Wertz, VicVic Wertz 149 559 172 .308 27 123
OF Evers, HootHoot Evers 143 526 170 .323 21 103

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
Kryhoski, DickDick Kryhoski 53 169 37 .219 4 19
Mullin, PatPat Mullin 69 142 31 .218 6 23
Swift, BobBob Swift 67 132 30 .227 2 9
Ginsberg, JoeJoe Ginsberg 36 95 22 .232 0 12
Keller, CharlieCharlie Keller 50 51 16 .314 2 16
Berry, NeilNeil Berry 39 40 10 .250 0 7
Lake, EddieEddie Lake 20 7 0 .000 0 0
House, FrankFrank House 5 5 2 .400 0 0
Campbell, PaulPaul Campbell 3 1 0 .000 0 0

Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Houtteman, ArtArt Houtteman 41 274.2 19 12 3.54 88
Hutchinson, FredFred Hutchinson 39 231.2 17 8 2.96 71
Newhouser, HalHal Newhouser 35 213.2 15 13 4.34 87
Trout, DizzyDizzy Trout 34 184.2 13 5 3.75 88
Gray, TedTed Gray 27 149.1 10 7 4.40 102
Trucks, VirgilVirgil Trucks 7 48.1 3 1 3.54 25

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
White, HalHal White 42 111 9 6 4.54 53
Rogovin, SaulSaul Rogovin 11 40 2 1 4.50 11
Borowy, HankHank Borowy 13 32.2 1 1 3.31 12
Herbert, RayRay Herbert 8 22.1 1 2 3.63 5

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Calvert, PaulPaul Calvert 32 2 2 4 6.31 14
Stuart, MarlinMarlin Stuart 19 3 1 2 5.56 19
Connelly, BillBill Connelly 2 0 0 0 6.75 1

Awards and honors

1950 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

League leaders

Players ranking among top 100 of all time at position

The following members of the 1950 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their positions, as ranked by The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Toledo Mud Hens American Association Eddie Mayo
AA Little Rock Travelers Southern Association Jack Saltzgaver
A Flint Arrows Central League Gene Desautels
A Williamsport Tigers Eastern League Jack Tighe
B Durham Bulls Carolina League Ace Parker
C Butler Tigers Middle Atlantic League Marv Olson
D Thomasville Tigers Georgia–Florida League Bob Benish
D Richmond Tigers Ohio–Indiana League Ralph DiLullo and Ken Holtcamp
D Jamestown Falcons PONY League Bob Shawkey

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Butler

See also

References

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