In 1976, a young righty starter named Mark Fidrych took over not just Detroit, but all of baseball. Fidrych used to talk to himself on the mound which was amusing. Fidrych pitched in 31 games (29 starts) for the Tigers in 1976, and he was 19-9 with a 2.34 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Fidrych threw 24 complete games, 4 shutouts and he finished both of the games in which he appeared as a reliever. He gave up 217 hits in 250 1/3 innings despite not missing a lot of bats as he only whiffed 97 batters. Fidrych was the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1976. He was also an All-Star, he finished #2 in the Cy Young Award voting and he finished #11 in the MVP voting. Fidrych was never the same after 1976 as he dealt with injuries quite a bit in Detroit. Fidrych pitched in 58 games (56 starts) in his five year major league career (all with the Tigers) and he was 29-19 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He completed an amazing 34 of his 56 starts (60.7%) in his career with the Tigers. Fidrych died in 2009, but he won’t be ever forgotten in Detroit.

Lefty closer Willie Hernandez won both the A.L. Cy Young and the MVP Award in 1984 for the Tigers. Hernandez pitched in 80 games (0 starts) for the Tigers in 1984 and he was 9-3 with 32 saves, a 1.92 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Hernandez worked an amazing 140 1/3 innings for the Tigers in 1984. Hernandez pitched in 358 games (0 starts) in his six years with the Tigers and he was 36-31 with 120 saves, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He is currently #4 in Tigers’ history in saves with 120 of them. It’s very rare for a reliever to win the Cy Young Award let alone the MVP Award, so 1984 was a magical year for Willie Hernandez.

Forget about those weak 1-inning saves when taking about righty John Hiller. Back in 1973, Hiller was the best closer around in the major leagues. He pitched in 65 games (0 starts) for the Tigers in 1973 and he was 10-5 with 38 saves, a 1.44 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He only gave up 89 hits in 125 1/3 innings while whiffing 124 batters which showed how nasty he was. He led the majors in saves in 1973 while finishing 4th in the voting for each the Cy Young Award and the MVP Award in the A.L. Hiller backed up his big 1973 season with a strong year in 1974. Hiller pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Tigers in 1974 and he was 17-14 with 13 saves, a 2.64 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Hiller gave up only 127 hits in 150 innings that season while whiffing 134 batters. 1974 was the only season that Hiller made the All-Star team. Hiller pitched in 545 games (43 starts) in his 15 years with the Tigers and he was 87-76 with 125 saves, a 2.83 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Hiller is the Tigers’ all-time leader in games pitched with 545. He is also #3 in saves (125) and #7 in ERA (2.83) in Tigers’ history.

For 14 years righty starting pitcher Jack Morris led the way for the Tigers’ starting rotation. Morris pitched in 430 games (408 starts) with the Tigers and he was 198-150 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He was an All-Star 4 times with the Tigers, he won at least 20 games twice for Detroit and he won at least 11 games 14 different years with the Tigers. Morris is #9 all-time in games pitched (430) in Tigers’ history. He is also #5 in wins (198), #4 in innings pitched (3,042 2/3), #2 in strikeouts (1,980), #2 in games started (408), #8 in complete games (154) and #8 in shutouts (24) in Tigers’ history. The master of the split fingered fastball deserves to be inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. If he does get into the Hall it will without a doubt be as a Detroit Tiger.

2B Lou Whitaker and SS Alan Trammell were a outstanding combo in the middle infield for the Detroit Tigers and they were two huge keys to the success of the team during their long tenures in Detroit. Lou Whitaker started his career with the Tigers off fast as he won the Rookie of the Year Award in the A.L. in 1978. Whitaker played in 139 games in 1978 in which he was 138 of 484 (.285 avg, .718 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 3 homers, 58 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. From 1983-87 Whitaker made the All-Star team every year and he also won 3 Gold Gloves and 4 Silver Slugger Awards for the Tigers. Whitaker played in 2,390 games in his 19 years with the Tigers and he was 2,369 of 8,570 (.276 avg, .789 OPS) with 1,386 runs scored, 244 homers, 1,084 RBIs and 143 stolen bases. He is #3 all-time in games played with the Tigers (2,390), #6 in hits (2,369), #6 in homers (244), #8 in RBIs (1,084), #10 in stolen bases (143), #5 in doubles (420) and #2 in walks (1,197). Whitaker won’t likely make the Baseball Hall of Fame but if the Tigers have one he should be in it.

SS Alan Trammell also was a 5-time All Star for the Tigers. He also won 4 Gold Gloves and 3 Silver Slugger Awards in his 20 years with the Tigers. Trammell played in 2,293 games for the Tigers in which he was 2,365 of 8,288 (.285 avg, .767 OPS) with 1,231 runs scored, 185 homers, 1,003 RBIs and 236 stolen bases. Trammell is fifth all-time in games played (2,293) in Tigers’ history. He is also #7 all-time in hits (2,365), #6 in runs scored (1,231), #10 in RBIs (1,003), #5 in stolen bases (236), #6 in doubles (412) and #7 in walks (850). Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly as they were one of the best double play combos both offensively and defensively of their time.