Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Detroit Stars All-Star Team: 1919-1931

The Detroit Stars were a charter member of the Negro National League in 1920

(Photo Credit: MLBemuseum.com)


 

On December 16, Major League Baseball announced that it will now officially recognize seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920-1948 as major leagues.  Historians have long considered baseball played in these leagues as comparable in quality to the White major leagues.  It is about time that they these leagues get their due recognition.  


It is of course tragic that the Black leagues were not integrated with the White leagues and shameful it has taken so long for them to be classified as major leagues.  Now that it has finally happened though, it is time for more baseball writers and analysts to delve into the records and stories and make the rich history of the Negro Leagues more widely known.  

For those of us who love statistics, it is important to understand the challenges of analyzing Negro Leagues data.  Hall of Fame historian Jay Jaffe discussed these issues in a recent FanGraphs article.  I will summarize some of them here:

  • Negro Leagues statistics are only about three quarters (73%) complete according to Ben Lindbergh, writer at The Ringer.  It varies by era depending on how frequently newspapers printed box scores and accounts.  For example, the 1920s era is mostly complete while the 1940s era is only about half complete. 
  • Seasons prior to 1920 will be excluded.  For example, Hall of Fame outfielder Pete Hill played for the Chicago American Giants, one of the greatest Black teams ever, from 1911-1918 but those years will not be counted in official major league statistics.  His statistics from 1920-1925 with the Detroit Stars and other teams will count.
  • Seasons after 1948 will be excluded.  So, seasons for players, such as Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks, playing in the highly competitive Negro American League from 1949-1962 will not be recognized.  
  • Players like Jackie Robinson who played in both the Negro Leagues between 1920-1948 and also the White major leagues will have their official total statistics altered to include their time in the Negro Leagues.
  • The Negro Leagues had shorter seasons - usually somewhere between 50 and 100 games - than the White majors.  Teams may have played 100 or more additional games outside of league play often against inferior local teams, but these games will not be counted.  
  • The official site for Negro Leagues statistics is Seamheads.com.  It is a fun site and you should get to know it.  

My first dive into the Seamheads database and other more anecdotal sites will involve putting together a Detroit Stars All Star team similar to the decades teams I have been assembling for the Tigers.

The Detroit Stars were established as an independent league team in 1919 and became a founding member of the Negro National League in 1920.  The Stars played through 1931 when the Negro National League collapsed due to the great depression.  A different Negro National League was established in 1933.  The Detroit Stars played in the league the first year, but were not very successful and played under 40 games.  

My All Star team is going to be based on 1919-1931.  While 1919 is not officially recognized, they had a strong team in a competitive  league that year.    

In prior posts, I have assembled All Star Teams for the Detroit Tigers by decade:       

1910-1919

1920-1929

1930-1939

1940-1949

1950-1959


The Stars All Star team will be constructed similarly.  I will select nine position players, one for each position on the field plus one other hitter.  This ninth player could be a multiple position player who didn't fit neatly into one position and/or the best hitter who didn't get selected as a position player.  I refer to this final hitter as the utility player.  I will also select five pitchers.  


The All Star teams are listed in Tables 1 and 2 below.  Player profiles follow. 


Table 1: Detroit Stars All Star Position Players: 1919-1931

Pos

Player

From

To

G

PA

OPS+

C

Bruce Petway

1919

1925

284

954

69

1B

Edgar Wesley

1919

1927

467

1,971

145

2B

Frank Warfield

1919

1922

263

1,208

96

SS

Bill Riggins

1921

1926

541

2,348

94

3B

Claude Johnson

1927

1929

230

1,004

102

LF

Wade Johnston

1928

1931

263

1,172

126

CF

Turkey Stearnes

1923

1931

639

2,783

179

RF

Pete Hill

1919

1921

144

589

185

UT

Ed Rile

1927

1930

294

1,245

142

Source:Seamheads.com

 

Table 2: Detroit Stars All Star Pitchers: 1919-1931

Pos

Player

From

To

G

IP

ERA+

SP

Andy Cooper

1920

1930

230

1,237

120

SP

Bill Holland

1920

1922

88

543

133

SP

Bill Force

1921

1923

100

584

112

SP

Bill Gatewood

1920

1921

45

283

136

RP

Yellow Horse Morris

1925

1927

77

417

102

UT

Ed Rile

1927

1929

23

162

134

Source:Seamheads.com


Player Profiles


C Bruce Petway


Bruce Petway was one of the top catchers in the early days of the Negro Leagues.  He was a great receiver with a strong accurate arm and was one of the first catchers to consistently throw to second base without coming out of his squat.  Playing in exhibition games in Cuba in 1910, he reportedly threw out Ty Cobb three times in three attempts.  Petway was also very fast for a catcher and was a good bunter and base stealer (Negro League Baseball Museum, nlbemuseum.com). 


Petway played for the Stars towards the end of his career starting at age 33 from 1919-1925.  He also managed the team from 1922-1925.  He batted just .251 with a 69 OPS+, but was known more for his managing and catching at that point in his career.  His best offensive years for the Stars were 1921 and 1924.  In 1921, he batted .301 with a 105 OPS+ in 249 plate appearances.  He batted .326 with a 124 OPS+ in 110 plate appearances in 1924 at age 38.  


1B Edgar Wesley   


Edgar Wesley was a big left-handed slugger and strong defensive first baseman and was considered the best all around player at his position in the early years of the Negro National League.  He was also known to be an aggressive base runner.  Indianapolis catcher Larry Brown recalled Wesley barreling into home plate so hard that he cut his chest protector: "My mask went one direction, my glove went the other and the ball went up to the stands" (Richard Bak, Turkey Stearnes and the Detroit Stars).


In eight years with the Stars, Wesley hit .322 with a 144 OPS+.  He led the league with 11 home runs in 1920, but his best was yet to come.  He had a monster year in 1925 leading the league in batting (.404), slugging percentage (.715) and OPS+ (202). He also hit 17 home runs in 264 plate appearances which was second to his legendary teammate Turkey Stearnes (19).   


2B Frank Warfield


Frank Warfield was an elite defender who had good speed, reactions and a strong arm.  He also had a unique underhanded snap throw to first base which helped him in turning double plays.  He had little power, but was a slap hitter who could draw walks and was an excellent base runner.


The five-foot-seven-inch 160-pound infielder was an intense competitor on and off the field.  While he was a smart player, he was very sarcastic and caustic with teammates and opponents and he carried a knife.  He was unpopular enough that he earned the nickname "weasel".  He once got into a violent fight in Cuba with teammate Oliver Marcelle and bit off part of Marcelle's nose.  All of this was the result of a dice game and $5 which Marcelle owed Warfield (Negro League Baseball Museum, nlbemuseum.com).  


The Weasel batted mostly leadoff for the Stars between 1919-1922 hitting .278 with a .347 on base percentage and 96 OPS+.  He was remarkably consistent with OPS+ of 98, 96, 99 and 93 over the four years.  In 1921, he finished second in the league in walks (43) and seventh in runs scored (72). 


SS Bill Riggins


There is some confusion about Riggins' real name.  It appears that he was named Arvell at birth, but it's often spelled Orville (Agatetype.typepad.com).  During his playing career, he went by the name Bill or "Mule".  Before his playing career, he worked in the coal mines of Southern Illinois.  Mule was a heavy drinker, but it didn't seem to affect his playing skills.  He was an excellent fielder and baserunner and Bill James ranked him the fifth best shortstop in Negro League history (The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract)


Riggins played with the Stars from 1920-1926 batting .286 with a 102 OPS+ in 538 games.  In 1926, the switch-hitting shortstop batted .300, finished second in the league in stolen bases (25) and fifth in runs scored (80).  He also finished second in steals in 1925 with 26.  In both cases, the league leader was Cool Papa Bell, the fastest runner in Negro League history.


3B Claude Johnson


Claude Cecil Johnson started out as a second baseman with the Cleveland Stars in 1921 and also managed the team in 1923.  Hooks joined the Detroit Stars 1n 1927 and played mostly third base.  His best season was in 1928 when he batted .333 with a 123 OPS+ in 75 games.  He finished seventh in on base percentage that year (.421).


LF Wade Johnston


Like Claude Johnson above, William Wade Johnston started out with the Cleveland Stars in 1921.  He joined the Detroit Stars in 1928 and became their starting left fielder for four years batting .310 with a .391 on base percentage.  He was small at five-foot-seven-inches tall and 142 pounds, but he had good power,  In 1929, he finished third in the league in homeruns (16) and sixth in OPS+ (164).  He apparently had some patience as he led the league with 35 walks in just 200 plate appearances in 1931. 


CF Turkey Stearnes


Norman Thomas Turkey Stearnes was the top player in Detroit Stars history and one of the best in Negro Leagues history.  He was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.


Stearnes was quiet and unassuming off the field, but he was a dynamic player on the field.  The legendary Satchell Paige once said that Stearnes "was one of the greatest hitters we ever had.  He was as good as Josh (Gibson).  He was as good as anybody who ever played" (BaseballHall.org).  


If Turkey played today, he would be described as a five-tool player.  Cool Papa Bell said "that man could hit the ball as far as anybody and he was one of our best all around players.  He could field, he could hit, he could run.  He had plenty of power. (BaseballHall.org).


The left-handed hitting outfielder batted .348 with a 173 OPS+ in 1,049 games lifetime.  His 197 home runs was the third most behind Gibson (238) and Oscar Charleston (211) in recorded Negro League history.  


In nine years with the Stars, Stearnes lead the league in homeruns four times and in OPS+ twice.  He finished in the top ten in OPS+ every year and the top five seven times. 


RF Pete Hill


Pete Hill played most of his career in the pre-Negro League era prior to 1920.  His organized baseball years ran from 1899 to 1925 and he was one of the pioneers of Negro League Baseball.  He was the captain of Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants from 1911-1918, the most dominant African American team of the time.  Foster created the Detroit Stars in 1919 and named Hill the manager.  Foster then organized the Negro National League in 1920 and the Stars were one of the original franchises.  


Negro League statistics were not accurately kept or well published and statistics for Black baseball prior to 1920 were even worse, but Hill was considered an excellent fielder with a cannon arm and great glove.  Offensively, he was a line drive hitter and a speedy base runner.  Prominent baseball historian and author of Biographical Encyclopedia of Negro Baseball James Riley said that he would include Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Pete Hill in his pre-1920 era all star outfield.  


Hill's days with the Detroit Stars did not come until he was 36 years of age in 1919.  He was a player manager from 1919-1921 and he could still hit.  He put up Ruthian numbers in 1919 batting .396 with 16 home runs and a 273 OPS+ in 165 plate appearances.  He followed that up with OPS+ of 139 and 153 in 1920 and 1921 respectively. Hill was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.  


UT Ed Rile   


Edward "Huck" Rile was a two-way player (first baseman and pitcher) who played for 11 teams over 14 seasons.  At six-feet-six-inches and 230 pounds, Rile was one of the biggest players in Negro Leagues history.  Huck excelled on both sides of the ball with a lifetime OPS+ of 122 and ERA+ of 110.      


The switch hitting Rile had a fantastic season as both a batter and pitcher for Detroit in 1927.  At the plate, he hit .389 with a .660 slugging average and finished second in the league with a 188 OPS+ in 297 plate appearances.  From the mound, he was second in the league with a 157 ERA+ in 141 innings.  He didn't pitch a lot in 1928, but continued to excel offensively batting .348 with a 147 OPS+.      

  

SP Andy Cooper  

Andrew Lewis Cooper was a left-handed pitcher who worked for 19 years mostly with the Stars and Kansas City Monarchs.  Sturdily built at six-foot-two-inches and 220 pounds, Cooper was a durable and steady performer.  He went into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 (BaseballHall.org).  


According to Russ J. Cowans in 1941 in The Chicago Defender (one of the leading African American newspapers of the day) "Andy never possessed the fine assortment of curves held in the supple arms of other pitchers.  However, he did have what so many pitchers lack - sterling control.  Cooper could almost put the ball any place he wanted it to go.  In addition, Cooper had a keen knowledge of batters.  He knew the weakness of every batter in the league and would pitch to that weakness when he was on the mound." 


Cooper's best season in Detroit was 1925 when he went 12-2 and was second in the league with a 2.88 ERA in 147 innings.  He had five other seasons of 120 ERA+ or better with the stars.  


SP Bill Holland


Elvis William Holland started 226 games in the official 1920-1948 window which is more than any other Negro Leagues pitcher.  His 1,920 innings pitched total was second to Bill Foster (2,005) and his 1,085 strikeouts was third among Negro Leagues pitchers.  


The Right-handed Holland had a wide array of pitches but was most known for his fastball which is probably the reason for one of his nicknames ("Speed").  He also had a competitive streak and fiery disposition resulting in his being dubbed "Devil".  


Holland's best year in Detroit was 1922 when he was third in ERA+ (153) and second in strikeouts (115) in 191 innings.  In 1921, he lead the circuit with 140 strikeouts in 218 innings pitched. 


SP Bill Force


William "Buddie" Force was a left-handed pitcher for the Stars, Baltimore Black Sox and Brooklyn Royal Giants over a ten year career.  In 1922 with Detroit he finished second in the league in strikeouts (120) and posted a 120 ERA+ in 176 innings pitched.  He had a similar year in 1923 finishing third in strikeouts (92) and registering a 119 ERA+ in 195 innings.  


Buddie pitched a no hitter versus the St. Louis Stars on June 27, 1922 (Detroit Free Press, June 28, 1922).


SP Yellow Horse Morris


John Harold Goodwin Morris had a relatively brief Negro Leagues career pitching six seasons from 1924-1930 with the Stars, Kansas City Monarchs and Chicago American Giants.  After his career, he played briefly for one of the famous House of David barnstorming teams.


The House of David was a religious cult that banned alcohol, sex and shaving, but they loved baseball.  They established teams which toured or barnstormed the country playing amateur, semi-pro and eventually professional teams.  They often included well known major leaguers or ex-major leaguers such as Mordecai Brown and Pete (Grover Cleveland) Alexander.  Players grew beards and long hair or had fake beards and hair.  Much like the Harlem Globe Trotters, they entertained fans with trick plays such as hiding the ball in their beards.   


The original House of David team was a White team which often played some of the best Negro Leagues teams.  It was the first time in many towns especially those in rural areas where fans saw Blacks and Whites on the same field.  Later, there were Black teams such as the Van Dyke colored House of David in Sioux City Iowa for which Morris played (Ryan Whirty, Des Moines Register, April 4, 2015).


Morris pitched three seasons in Detroit posting a 102 ERA+ in 417 innings.  His best season was 1927 when he had a record of 14-8 with a 3.16 ERA (120 ERA+) in 185 innings.


SP Bill Gatewood 

According to Bill Johnson at SABR.org, Bill Gatewood was known for three things:


  • He gave Cool Papa Bell his nickname.
  • He taught Satchell Paige his notorious hesitation pitch.
  • On June 6, 1921 against the Cincinnati Cuban Stars, he pitched the first no hitter in Negro National League history.  He later pitched a second no hitter.   

Morris pitched only two years in Detroit but they were dominant seasons.  In 1920, he had a 15-5 win/loss record and 138 ERA+ in 159 innings.  The following year in 1921, he posted a 134 ERA+ in 124 innings. 

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Tigers All Stars: 1950-1959

 

20-year-old Tigers outfielder Al Kaline batted .340 in 1955 to become the youngest player ever to win a batting title. 


(Photo credit: BaseballHall.org)


This week, I present the Detroit Tigers All Star team for the 1950-1959 decade.  All Star teams for previous decades are found below:


1901-1909

1910-1919

1920-1929

1930-1939

1940-1949


In each decade, I select nine position players, one for each position on the field plus one other hitter.  This ninth player could be a designated hitter, a multiple position player who didn't fit neatly into one position and/or the best hitter who didn't get selected as a position player.  I refer to this final hitter as the utility player.  Then I select five pitchers: four starters and one reliever.  In earlier decades when relievers were not frequently used, it will just be the fifth best starting pitcher.  


Some further general rules are as follows:

  • A player must have played at least half of his games with the Tigers at a given position or played that position more than any other position.  In rare cases, I might cheat a little bit if none of the players qualifying at a given position are any good at all and there is a superior player who played a good number of games at that position. 
  • A player must have played at least two full seasons with the Tigers, preferably at the assigned position. 
  • Only games played with the Tigers are considered. 
  • If a player played other positions with the Tigers besides his assigned position, his hitting performance in those games does count. 

Many statistics and sometimes, especially for fielding evaluation, anecdotal information will be considered.  For hitters, some of the statistics I consider are:

  • Games Played (G)
  • Plate Appearances (PA) 
  • Wins Above Replacement (Baseball-Reference WAR), 
  • Adjusted Batting Runs (ABR
  • Adjusted On Base Plus Slugging (OPS+)
The follow are among those I use for evaluating pitchers:

The 1950s decade was not one of the most eventful periods in Tigers history.  In 1950, the Tigers finished in second place in The American League with a 95-59 record, three games behind the New York Yankees.  From 1951-1959, they finished no higher than fourth place.  From 1951-1954, The Tigers endured four consecutive losing seasons including a record of 50-104, the first 100-loss season in franchise history.  


The Tigers then played around .500 ball or a little above from 1955-1959, but were still never in serious contention for a title.  The Tigers teams of the fifties did not feature as many stars as previous eras, but Al Kaline did start his Hall of Fame career in 1953.   

The top Tigers of 1950-1949 by Wins Above Replacement were:


Al Kaline 34

Harvey Kuenn 21

Frank Lary 20

Charlie Maxwell 17

Ray Boone 17


The decade All Star team is listed in Tables 1 and 2 below and player profiles follow. 


Table 1: Tigers All Star Position Players: 1950-1959


Pos

Player

From

To

G

PA

WAR

ABR

OPS+

C

Red Wilson

1954

1959

440

1,560

6

-8

95

1B

Earl Torgeson

1955

1957

236

831

4

21

119

2B

Frank Bolling

1954

1959

646

2,680

11

-12

95

SS

Harvey Kuenn

1952

1959

1,049

4,750

21

72

112

3B

Ray Boone

1953

1958

683

2,856

17

107

130

LF

Charlie Maxwell

1955

1959

610

2,371

17

80

129

CF

Johnny Groth

1950

1959

597

2,100

5

11

102

RF

Al Kaline

1953

1959

904

3,777

34

143

131

UT

Vic Wertz

1950

1952

372

1,571

11

70

137

Source: Baseball-Reference.com


Table 2: Tigers All Star Pitchers: 1950-1959


Pos

Player

From

To

G

IP

WAR

PR

ERA+

SP

Frank Lary

1954

1959

191

1,254

20

91

121

SP

Jim Bunning

1955

1959

150

841

13

44

112

SP

Paul Foytack

1953

1959

187

998

11

23

104

SP

Billy Hoeft

1952

1959

239

1,324

14

7

98

RP

Ned Garver

1952

1956

105

702

8

16

106

Source: Baseball-Reference.com



Player Profiles


C Red Wilson

Wilson platooned behind the plate with Frank House from 1954-1957 and ,as the right-handed hitter, he received fewer at bats than House.  Wilson, however, out produced House with an OPS+ of 95 versus 85 as a Tiger in the fifties decade.  He then took over the starting job in 1958 when House was traded to Kansas City.  Wilson' best season was was 1956 when he had a 122 OPS+ and 2.2 WAR.
  
The auburn haired catcher was regarded as a good receiver.  Detroit Sports columnist Watson Spoelstra said that "Red Wilson deserves an assist in the conclusion that improved pitching has made Detroit a solid first division club." (The Sporting News, July 15, 1955)  The Tigers finished 79-75 in 1955 after four consecutive losing seasons.

  
1B Earl Torgeson
    
The first base position was a revolving door for the Tigers in the 1950s with six different primary first basemen (player who who had the highest number at bats on the team as a first baseman in a given season).  None had a WAR of more than 2.4 in a season.  Clifford Earl Torgeson was the best with 2.4 and 1.8 WAR in 1955 and 1956 respectively.  The tall bespectacled first sacker had a .400 on base percentage and 119 OPS+ in just 831 plate appearances.  

Torgeson had a 18.2% walk rate which was higher than any Tiger in the decade with 800+ plate appearances and fifth highest in team history (Fangraphs.com):

Eddie Yost 19.8%
Roy Cullenbine 19.1%
Aaron Robinson 19.0%
Mickey Tettleton 18.3% 
Earl Torgeson 18.2%

Although well liked, by teammates and foes, the Earl of Snohomish was a fighter on and off the field.  According to Mark Amour (SABR.org), Torgeson was once charged with assault for punching out two men in Seattle who had used vulgar language in front of his wife.  The judge dismissed the case telling the assembled that "I would have done the same thing" (John Gillooly, Sportfolio, September, 1947).   


2B Frank Bolling

Frank Bolling played six seasons with the Tigers missing one while serving in the military in 1955.  He was a solid hitter and defender in 646 games with the Tigers during the decade.  He never had a great season but was between 2 and 4 WAR each year between 1956-1959.  His best WAR as a Tiger was 3.6 WAR in 1958 when he won a Gold Glove and finished in the top ten in the American League in hits (164), doubles (25), times on base (222) and runs (91).

According to sports writer Tom Meany, Kansas City Athletics manager Harry Craft once (circa 1958) invited reporters to name the five most talented players in the American League.  They suggested the likes of Al Kaline  and Mickey Mantle.  Craft responded: "If you are all through, I've got my man.  Frank Bolling, the Tigers second baseman.  He's magnificent.  He can become one of the big men in the game" (Sport Magazine, May, 1961).   


SS Harvey Kuenn 
 
Harvey Kuenn won the American League Rookie of the Year award at age 22 in 1953 leading the league in hits (209) and finishing in the top ten in batting average.  Kuenn's reputation and numbers at shortstop were very poor which is why he became an outfielder at age 27, but he could hit.  He led the league in hits four times and finished in the top ten in batting average six times between 1953-1959.    

Kuenn's best season was 1959 when he hit .353 to win the American League batting title.  Interestingly, he was traded to the Indians after the season for outfielder Rocky Colavito who led the league in home runs in 1959, a trade that turned out great for the Tigers.


3B Ray Boone

Ray was the patriarch of the Boone family which spanned three generations in the major leagues.  His son Bob played 19 years as a catcher primarily with the Phillies and Angels and his grandsons Aaron and Bret were both long-time infielders.  All the Boones played in all star games at some point during their careers.

Ray batted .312/.395/.556 in 101 games for the Tigers after being traded from Cleveland in 1953.  His 156 OPS+ that year was the best for any Tiger third baseman other than Miguel Cabrera.  He finished in the top ten in OPS four times as a Tiger.


LF Charlie Maxwell

Charlie Maxwell was nicknamed "Sunday Punch" due to his propensity to hit home runs on Sunday.  According to Baseball: A Doubleheader Collection of Facts, Feats & Firsts published by The Sporting News, Maxwell hit 40 of his 148 career home runs on Sundays, but he hit well on other days too.
  
The Michigan native had his best year in 1956 when he batted .326/.414/.534 with a 149 OPS+ and 5.9 WAR.  He also reached 5 WAR in 1957.    


CF Johnny Groth

In the Spring of 1949, Johnny Groth was described as a can't miss prospect or the next Joe Dimaggio.  He hit two home runs on opening day and was batting .449 at the end of April which added to his expectations.  He was profiled in a number of publications including Life, Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post and Time Magazine (Greg Erion, SABR.org). 
 
Groth didn't live up to his advance billing, but he made the decade all star team as the best of a mediocre group at the position.  The right-handed batting Groth patrolled centerfield in Briggs Stadium from 1949-1952.  His best season was 1950 when he batted .306 with a 117 OPS+.

          
RF Al Kaline

Al Kaline joined the Tigers straight out of high school in 1953 at age 18 and remained with the organization in some capacity until his death in 2020.  That amounted to more than half the team's existence. He led the league in batting (.340) and accumulated 8.2 WAR at the age of 20 in 1955.  That turned out to be arguably his best season, but he had a lot of other great seasons in route to the Hall of Fame.  

The legendary Bengal right fielder was really good at every facet of the game for a long time with two plus WAR for 18 consecutive years.  Mr Tiger finished in the top 10 in WAR 11 times and in MVP voting 9 times.  He will show up again on other decade teams.  


UT Vic Wertz


Vic Wertz is best known as the Cleveland Indians batter who hit the long fly ball resulting in Willie Mays' famous catch and throw in game one of the 1954 World Series.  Nothing that memorable happened during his nine years with the Tigers, but did have some good seasons at the plate.  Wertz finished in the American League top ten in both home runs (27 each year) and OPS+ (136 and 140) in both 1950 and 1951.     


SP Frank Lary

The Mule was a very durable starter for the Bengals leading the league in innings pitched three times and in complete games three times.  Lary's two best season were 1956 and 1958 exceeding six WAR both years.  In 1956, the hard throwing righty won 21 games and posted a 132 ERA+ in 294 innings.  In 1958, he had a 139 ERA+ in 274 innings.

Lary was best known as the "Yankee Killer" for his 28-13 lifetime record versus the perennial champs (Jim Sargent, SABR).  


Jim Bunning

Bunning had, in effect, two baseball careers reaching 30 WAR with both the Tigers and Phillies.  The Southgate, Kentucky native reached six WAR twice and led the league in strikeouts twice as a Tiger.  Unfortunately, he was traded too soon as he had his three best seasons in Philadelphia from 1965-1967.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996.  After his playing career, Bunning was a long-time Kentucky congressman serving in both houses. 

Bunning's best season for the Tigers in the fifties was 1957 when he had a won-loss record of 20-6 and a 144 ERA+ in a league leading 267 innings.  In 1959, he led the league with 201 strikeouts.    


SP Paul Foytack

Foytack was a durable and dependable starter averaging 235 innings and a 119 ERA+ from 1956-1958.  His WAR totals in those seasons were almost identical: 3.6, 3.7, 3.5. 

Foytack had a propensity to give up gopher balls throughout his career and his final game was no exception.  In the last game of his career pitching for the Angels in 1964, Foytack gave up four consecutive home runs before departing, but had a sense of humor about it.  After the fourth homer, manager Bill Rigney came to the mound. According to Foytack, “Upon arriving Rigney said, ‘Well, Paul, what do you think?’ ‘Gee, Bill,’ I said, ‘I think I am in pretty good shape. There’s nobody on base.’ (Jerry Nechal, SABR) 


SP Billy Hoeft

Billy Hoeft pitched in Detroit from 1952-1959 logging more innings (1,324) than any other Tigers pitcher that decade.  The tall trim southpaw had his best season in 1955 when he finished sixth in the American League in both ERA (2.99) and WAR (5.4).  He had four other years with two plus WAR during the decade. 

He hit two home runs in one game on July 14, 1957.

According to Billy Nowlin of SABR, Hoeft once pitched a perfect game in legion ball where he struck out all 27 batters.  That is quite a feat at any level.

RP Ned Garver

The Tigers did not have any high leverage relievers in the fifties, so the fifth spot goes to Ned Garver, another starter.  Garver, who pitched for 14 years with four teams, spent the middle part of his career from 1952-1956 with the Tigers. 

Garver had his best years with St. Louis Browns leading the league in complete games in both 1950 and 1951.  He maintained his durability with the Tigers with 45 complete games between 1953-1955, the fifth best total in the American League.  His most impressive season in Detroit was 1954 when he was seventh in the league with a 2.81 ERA in 246 innings.

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