1971 Detroit Tigers season

The 1971 Detroit Tigers finished in second place in the American League East with a 91–71 record, 12 games behind the Orioles. They outscored their opponents 701 to 645. They drew 1,591,073 fans to Tiger Stadium, the second highest attendance in the American League.

Offseason

October 9, 1970: Denny McLain, Elliott Maddox, Norm McRae, and Don Wert were traded by the Tigers to the Washington Senators for Ed Brinkman, Aurelio Rodríguez, Joe Coleman, and Jim Hannan.^[1]
March 30, 1971: Jerry Robertson was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the New York Mets for Dean Chance and Bill Denehy.^[2]

Regular season

Mickey Lolich became the second pitcher in the history of the American League to win 25 games but not win the Cy Young Award.^[3]

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

April 9, 1971: Dave Boswell was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.^[4]
May 28, 1971: Dave Boswell was released by the Tigers.^[4]
June 8, 1971: Gene Pentz was drafted by the Tigers in the 7th round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.^[5]
June 12, 1971: Carl Cavanaugh (minors) and Mike Fremuth (minors) were traded by the Tigers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Tony Taylor.^[6]

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Awards and honors

Mickey Lolich, Tiger of the Year award from Detroit baseball writers

League top ten finishers

Ed Brinkman

AL leader in games played at shortstop (159)
AL leader in innings played at shortstop (1395-2/3)
AL leader in assists by a shortstop (513)
#4 in AL in games played (159)
#7 in AL in times hit by pitch (7)

Norm Cash

Finished 12th in AL MVP voting
AL leader in at bats per home run (14.1)
#2 in AL in home runs (32)
#3 in AL in slugging percentage (.531)
#3 in AL in OPS (.903)
#7 in AL in times hit by pitch (7)
#8 in AL in RBIs (91)
#9 in AL in runs created (93)
7th oldest player in the AL

Joe Coleman

#3 in AL in strikeouts (236)
#4 in AL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (7.43)
#5 in AL in win percentage (.690)
#5 in AL in innings pitched (286)
#5 in AL in batters faced (1174)
#6 in AL in wins (20)
#9 in AL in complete games (16)

Bill Freehan

AL leader in games at catcher (144)
AL leader in complete games at catcher (128)
AL leader in innings played at catcher (1265)
AL leader in putouts by a catcher (912)
#3 in AL in times hit by pitch (9)
#8 in AL in doubles (26)
#9 in AL in extra base hits (51)
#9 in AL in at bats per strikeout (10.8)

Willie Horton

#7 in AL in slugging percentage (.496)
#7 in AL in times hit by pitch (7)
#10 in AL in extra base hits (48)
#10 in AL in at bats per home run (20.5)

Al Kaline

#3 in AL in on-base percentage (.416)
#6 in AL in OPS (.878)
#7 in AL in time hit by pitch (7)
#8 in AL in batting average (.294)
#10 in AL in bases on balls (82)
9th oldest player in the AL

Mickey Lolich

Finished 2nd in AL Cy Young Award voting (behind Vida Blue)
Finished 5th in AL MVP voting
MLB leader in wins (25)
MLB leader in strikeouts (308)
MLB leader in innings pitched (376)
MLB leader in games started (45)
AL leader in complete games (29)
MLB leader in hits allowed (336)
MLB leader in batters faced (1538)
#2 in MLB in home runs allowed (36)
#2 in MLB in earned runs allowed (122)
#4 in AL in sacrifice hits (16)
#4 in AL in strikeout to walk ratio (3.35)
#5 in AL in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (7.37)
#7 in AL in Adjusted ERA+ (125)
#8 in AL in bases on balls per 9 innings pitched (2.20)
#10 in AL in ERA (2.92)

Aurelio Rodríguez

#3 in AL in doubles (30)
#4 in AL in triples (7)
#4 in AL in outs (476)
#5 in AL in at bats (604)
#8 in AL in extra base hits (52)
#10 in AL in strikeouts (104)

Fred Scherman

#2 in AL in games by pitcher (69)
#3 in AL in saves (20)
#3 in AL in games finished (40)

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1972 Tigers were ranked among the Top 100 of all time at their position in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:

Bill Freehan: 12th best catcher of all time
Norm Cash: 20th best first baseman of all time
Dick McAuliffe: 22nd best second baseman of all time
Aurelio Rodríguez: 91st best third baseman of all time
Willie Horton: 55th best left fielder of all time
Al Kaline: 11th best right fielder of all time
Mickey Lolich: 72nd best pitcher of all time

Farm system

Notes

^ Denny McLain page at Baseball Reference
^ Jerry Robertson page at Baseball Reference
^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p. 236, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
^ a b Dave Boswell page at Baseball Reference
^ Gene Pentz page at Baseball Reference
^ Tony Taylor page at Baseball Reference

References

Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
Detroit Tigers 1971 Regular Season Statistics at Baseball Reference
BaseballLibrary.com Game by Game Summary of 1971 Tigers season