From the 1900s to the 2000s, these are the best Tigers by decade
Published April 1, 2015
The Tigers are a charter member of the American League, beginning play in 1901. That makes 11 full decades, plus part of a 12th, of big league baseball in Detroit.
Just for fun, as the calendar moves into April and closer to Opening Day, let's take a look at the list of Tigers who best represented the decades in which they played.
Crawford, an outfielder, earned the nickname "Wahoo" because he hailed from Wahoo, Nebraska. He joined the Tigers in 1903 after spending two seasons in Cincinnati.
From 1903-1909, Crawford amassed 1,221 hits and batted .304, with a high of .323 in 1907.
Crawford also feuded with Ty Cobb (who didn't?) after Cobb joined the Tigers in the middle of the decade. Crawford's jealousy of Cobb fueled the discord, which at times would be so rancorous that the two would never speak except during games.
 Cobb's selection doesn't need to be supported by numbers, and the only reason he's not the player of the 1900s as well is because he didn't make his big league debut until 1905, as an 18-year-old.
From 1910-1919, Cobb was not only the best Tiger but arguably the best player in baseball, period. In the decade, Cobb hit .400 twice and threatened it three other times.
 Frankly, Cobb threatens to be the best Tiger of three decades, but Heilmann gets the nod because he played all ten years of the 1920s for the Tigers and Cobb left after the 1926 season.
Heilmann, an outfielder, hailed from San Francisco and was claimed by the Tigers in the 1913 major league draft.
In the Roaring Twenties, Heilmann roared the loudest of all the Tigers, eclipsing 200 hits four times in the decade. On four occasion in the '20s, Heilmann batted over .390, including .403 in 1923.
Heilmann has the distinction of being the last Tiger to bat .400.
"The Mechanical Man" from Fowlerville, MI, Gehringer manned second base for the Tigers throughout the 1930s.
Gehringer gathered 200-plus hits six times in the decade, including five years in a row (1933-37).
The other "G-Man," Hank Greenberg, missed several seasons in the decade and played only a small portion of another, thus eliminating him from contention---in case you were wondering.
 Normally you wouldn't tab a pitcher for "player of the decade," but we'll make an exception for Prince Hal.
Newhouser was the only Tiger to play in every year of the decade, which was infamous for players missing time due to war obligations.
The Hall of Fame lefty won consecutive MVP Awards (1944-45) and from 1944-46, Newhouser amassed 80 wins in three seasons.
He had a slow start to the 1940s but from 1944-49, Newhouser was one of the best pitchers in baseball. In those six years, Prince Hal pitched an astounding 148 complete games.
Kuenn was much more than the guy who was traded for Rocky Colavito in the famous 1960 deal that swapped defending batting champ (Kuenn) for defending home run champ.
Kuenn debuted in 1952 and only once in the decade did he fail to bat at least .300. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1953.
Kuenn, a shortstop, was never known for his defense but his offense more than made up for any deficiencies with the glove.
 Mr. Tiger. Number 6. Do we even need to say more?
Kaline's career overlapped three decades, but the 1960s was the only one in which he played all 10 seasons.
The decade was highlighted, of course, by Kaline's performance in the 1968 World Series, in which he made manager Mayo Smith look like a genius by hitting .379 after Smith moved Mickey Stanley to shortstop to make room in the outfield for Kaline.
Kaline batted .300-plus four times in the 1960s and his numbers were stilted by missing many games due to injury. He also played through pain in his deformed foot.
 This was a tough call, because the '70s wasn't exactly a great decade for Tigers baseball. It started good, but after 1973 the Tigers were mostly a sub-.500 outfit.
Horton gets the nod because while his career overlapped with the 1960s, he put up some good numbers from 1970-76 as well (Horton was traded to Texas after one game in 1977).
Horton was the American League Designated Hitter of the Year in 1975, and he, too, was hampered by injuries throughout the decade, as Kaline was in the 1960s.
 Wow---this was tough as well, but because of the plethora of talent that wore the Old English D in the decade.
For those who think this is a cop out by selecting two players, let's be honest. Trammell and Whitaker will forever be joined at the hip, and part of that is due to the eerily similar numbers both players amassed in their Tigers careers, which took place predominantly in the 1980s.
So how can you pick one over the other?
Jack Morris won the most games of any pitcher in the 1980s, but Trammell and Whitaker's body of work trumps Jack's feat.
 Big Daddy burst onto the Tigers scene in 1990, but what made his impact so significant was that he far exceeded expectations.
Fielder was playing in Japan when the Tigers flew overseas and brought him back to the states. His big league career wasn't flourishing with the Toronto Blue Jays before Asia, but after coming back from Japan, Fielder was a beast.
In 1990, Fielder became the first Tiger since Hank Greenberg in 1938 to hit 50 home runs (51), including one over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium off Oakland's Dave Stewart.
Fielder led the American League in RBI three years in a row (1990-92).
The Tigers traded Fielder to the Yankees at the trading deadline in 1996, and Big Daddy helped the Bronx Bombers win the World Series that fall.
 Pudge Rodriguez helped return the Tigers to respectability in 2004, but so did Carlos Guillen---and Guillen played through the decade (Pudge was traded to the Yankees in 2008).
Guillen arrived via trade from Seattle after the 2003 season---a steal of amazing proportions (Ramon Santiago, and the two would end up as Tigers teammates two years later).
Another decade player hampered by injuries, Guillen nonetheless put up some good numbers when healthy, highlighted by his 2007 season (21/102/.296).
Guillen was also a fine man and a favorite of Tigers manager Jim Leyland for Guillen's utmost professionalism and perseverance through injuries.
 The decade is half over, and while Miguel Cabrera looks like the obvious choice, there are still five more years to be played. Stay tuned!
The Tigers are a charter member of the American League, beginning play in 1901. That makes 11 full decades, plus part of a 12th, of big league baseball in Detroit.
Just for fun, as the calendar moves into April and closer to Opening Day, let's take a look at the list of Tigers who best represented the decades in which they played.
1900s: "Wahoo" Sam Crawford
Crawford, an outfielder, earned the nickname "Wahoo" because he hailed from Wahoo, Nebraska. He joined the Tigers in 1903 after spending two seasons in Cincinnati.
From 1903-1909, Crawford amassed 1,221 hits and batted .304, with a high of .323 in 1907.
Crawford also feuded with Ty Cobb (who didn't?) after Cobb joined the Tigers in the middle of the decade. Crawford's jealousy of Cobb fueled the discord, which at times would be so rancorous that the two would never speak except during games.
1910s: Ty Cobb
 Cobb's selection doesn't need to be supported by numbers, and the only reason he's not the player of the 1900s as well is because he didn't make his big league debut until 1905, as an 18-year-old.
From 1910-1919, Cobb was not only the best Tiger but arguably the best player in baseball, period. In the decade, Cobb hit .400 twice and threatened it three other times.
1920s: Harry Heilmann
 Frankly, Cobb threatens to be the best Tiger of three decades, but Heilmann gets the nod because he played all ten years of the 1920s for the Tigers and Cobb left after the 1926 season.
Heilmann, an outfielder, hailed from San Francisco and was claimed by the Tigers in the 1913 major league draft.
In the Roaring Twenties, Heilmann roared the loudest of all the Tigers, eclipsing 200 hits four times in the decade. On four occasion in the '20s, Heilmann batted over .390, including .403 in 1923.
Heilmann has the distinction of being the last Tiger to bat .400.
1930s: Charlie Gehringer
"The Mechanical Man" from Fowlerville, MI, Gehringer manned second base for the Tigers throughout the 1930s.
Gehringer gathered 200-plus hits six times in the decade, including five years in a row (1933-37).
The other "G-Man," Hank Greenberg, missed several seasons in the decade and played only a small portion of another, thus eliminating him from contention---in case you were wondering.
1940s: Hal Newhouser
 Normally you wouldn't tab a pitcher for "player of the decade," but we'll make an exception for Prince Hal.
Newhouser was the only Tiger to play in every year of the decade, which was infamous for players missing time due to war obligations.
The Hall of Fame lefty won consecutive MVP Awards (1944-45) and from 1944-46, Newhouser amassed 80 wins in three seasons.
He had a slow start to the 1940s but from 1944-49, Newhouser was one of the best pitchers in baseball. In those six years, Prince Hal pitched an astounding 148 complete games.
1950s: Harvey Kuenn
Kuenn was much more than the guy who was traded for Rocky Colavito in the famous 1960 deal that swapped defending batting champ (Kuenn) for defending home run champ.
Kuenn debuted in 1952 and only once in the decade did he fail to bat at least .300. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1953.
Kuenn, a shortstop, was never known for his defense but his offense more than made up for any deficiencies with the glove.
1960s: Al Kaline
 Mr. Tiger. Number 6. Do we even need to say more?
Kaline's career overlapped three decades, but the 1960s was the only one in which he played all 10 seasons.
The decade was highlighted, of course, by Kaline's performance in the 1968 World Series, in which he made manager Mayo Smith look like a genius by hitting .379 after Smith moved Mickey Stanley to shortstop to make room in the outfield for Kaline.
Kaline batted .300-plus four times in the 1960s and his numbers were stilted by missing many games due to injury. He also played through pain in his deformed foot.
1970s: Willie Horton
 This was a tough call, because the '70s wasn't exactly a great decade for Tigers baseball. It started good, but after 1973 the Tigers were mostly a sub-.500 outfit.
Horton gets the nod because while his career overlapped with the 1960s, he put up some good numbers from 1970-76 as well (Horton was traded to Texas after one game in 1977).
Horton was the American League Designated Hitter of the Year in 1975, and he, too, was hampered by injuries throughout the decade, as Kaline was in the 1960s.
1980s: Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker
 Wow---this was tough as well, but because of the plethora of talent that wore the Old English D in the decade.
For those who think this is a cop out by selecting two players, let's be honest. Trammell and Whitaker will forever be joined at the hip, and part of that is due to the eerily similar numbers both players amassed in their Tigers careers, which took place predominantly in the 1980s.
So how can you pick one over the other?
Jack Morris won the most games of any pitcher in the 1980s, but Trammell and Whitaker's body of work trumps Jack's feat.
1990s: Cecil Fielder
 Big Daddy burst onto the Tigers scene in 1990, but what made his impact so significant was that he far exceeded expectations.
Fielder was playing in Japan when the Tigers flew overseas and brought him back to the states. His big league career wasn't flourishing with the Toronto Blue Jays before Asia, but after coming back from Japan, Fielder was a beast.
In 1990, Fielder became the first Tiger since Hank Greenberg in 1938 to hit 50 home runs (51), including one over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium off Oakland's Dave Stewart.
Fielder led the American League in RBI three years in a row (1990-92).
The Tigers traded Fielder to the Yankees at the trading deadline in 1996, and Big Daddy helped the Bronx Bombers win the World Series that fall.
2000s: Carlos Guillen
 Pudge Rodriguez helped return the Tigers to respectability in 2004, but so did Carlos Guillen---and Guillen played through the decade (Pudge was traded to the Yankees in 2008).
Guillen arrived via trade from Seattle after the 2003 season---a steal of amazing proportions (Ramon Santiago, and the two would end up as Tigers teammates two years later).
Another decade player hampered by injuries, Guillen nonetheless put up some good numbers when healthy, highlighted by his 2007 season (21/102/.296).
Guillen was also a fine man and a favorite of Tigers manager Jim Leyland for Guillen's utmost professionalism and perseverance through injuries.
2010s: ???
 The decade is half over, and while Miguel Cabrera looks like the obvious choice, there are still five more years to be played. Stay tuned!
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