1959 Detroit Tigers season
The 1959 Detroit Tigers season was the 59th season for the American League franchise in Detroit. Although the Tigers lost 15 of their first 17 games in 1959—resulting in the May 2 firing of manager Bill Norman—they recovered under his successor, Jimmy Dykes, to finish in fourth place with a record of 76–78, eighteen games behind the AL Champion Chicago White Sox.
1959 Detroit Tigers | |
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Owner(s) | Fred Knorr, John Fetzer |
General manager(s) | Rick Ferrell, Bill DeWitt |
Manager(s) | Bill Norman, Jimmy Dykes |
Local television | WJBK |
Local radio | WKMH (Van Patrick, George Kell) |
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Offseason
- October 13, 1958: Maury Wills was sent to the Tigers by the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a conditional deal.[1]
- November 20, 1958: Billy Martin and Al Cicotte were traded by the Tigers to the Cleveland Indians for Don Mossi, Ray Narleski, and Ossie Álvarez.[2]
- December 1, 1958: Lou Skizas was drafted from the Tigers by the Chicago White Sox in the 1958 rule 5 draft.[3]
- Prior to 1959 season: Andy Kosco was signed as an amateur free agent by the Tigers.[4]
Regular season
Season standings
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Chicago White Sox | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | — | 47–30 | 47–30 |
Cleveland Indians | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | 5 | 43–34 | 46–31 |
New York Yankees | 79 | 75 | 0.513 | 15 | 40–37 | 39–38 |
Detroit Tigers | 76 | 78 | 0.494 | 18 | 41–36 | 35–42 |
Boston Red Sox | 75 | 79 | 0.487 | 19 | 43–34 | 32–45 |
Baltimore Orioles | 74 | 80 | 0.481 | 20 | 38–39 | 36–41 |
Kansas City Athletics | 66 | 88 | 0.429 | 28 | 37–40 | 29–48 |
Washington Senators | 63 | 91 | 0.409 | 31 | 34–43 | 29–48 |
Record vs. opponents
1959 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | NYY | WSH | |||||
Baltimore | — | 8–14 | 11–11–1 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 12–10 | |||||
Boston | 14–8 | — | 8–14 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 13–9 | 10–12 | |||||
Chicago | 11–11–1 | 14–8 | — | 15–7 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9–1 | 16–6 | |||||
Cleveland | 12–10 | 14–8 | 7–15 | — | 14–8 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 16–6 | |||||
Detroit | 9–13 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 8–14 | — | 15–7 | 14–8 | 10–12 | |||||
Kansas City | 14–8 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 7–15 | 7–15 | — | 5–17 | 12–10 | |||||
New York | 10–12 | 9–13 | 9–13–1 | 11–11 | 8–14 | 17–5 | — | 15–7 | |||||
Washington | 10–12 | 12–10 | 6–16 | 6–16 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 7–15 | — |
Notable transactions
- April 2, 1959: Maury Wills was returned by the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a conditional deal.[1]
- June 13, 1959: Bob Smith was selected off waivers by the Tigers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.[5]
Roster
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
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Player stats
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 |
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1B | Gail Harris | 114 | 349 | 77 | .221 | 9 | 39 |
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 |
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Ossie Álvarez | 8 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
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Jim Bunning | 40 | 249.2 | 17 | 13 | 3.89 | 201 |
Don Mossi | 34 | 228 | 17 | 9 | 3.36 | 125 |
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 |
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Ray Narleski | 42 | 104.1 | 4 | 12 | 5.78 | 71 |
Bob Bruce | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 1 |
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 |
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George Susce | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.89 | 9 |
Bob Smith | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.18 | 10 |
Hank Aguirre | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 3 |
Farm system
References
- Maury Wills at Baseball Reference
- Billy Martin at Baseball Reference
- Lou Skizas at Baseball Reference
- Andy Kosco at Baseball Reference
- Bob Smith at Baseball Reference