1981 Detroit Tigers season

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1981 Detroit Tigers
Major league affiliations
Location
1981 Information
Owner(s) John Fetzer
Manager(s) Sparky Anderson
Local television WDIV-TV
(George Kell, Al Kaline)
ON-TV
(Norm Cash, Larry Adderley)
Local radio WJR
(Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey)

The 1981 Detroit Tigers finished in fourth place in the American League Eastern Division with a record of 31-26 (.544) in the first half of the season, and in third place with a record of 29-23 (.558) in the second half, for an overall record of 60-49. They outscored their opponents 427 to 404. The Tigers drew 1,149,144 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1981, ranking 5th of the 14 teams in the American League.

Contents

[edit] Season standings

[edit] Roster

1981 Detroit Tigers roster
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Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

[edit] First half of season

American League Eastern Division
Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB
1st New York Yankees 34 22 .607    --
2nd Baltimore Orioles 31 23 .574   2.0
3rd Milwaukee Brewers 31 25 .568   3.0
4th Detroit Tigers 31 26 .544   3.5
5th Boston Red Sox 30 26 .536   4.0
6th Cleveland Indians 26 24 .520   5.0
7th Toronto Blue Jays 16 42 .276 19.0

[edit] Second half of season

American League Eastern Division
Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB
1st Milwaukee Brewers 31 22 .585    --
2nd Boston Red Sox 29 23 .558   1.5
2nd Detroit Tigers 29 23 .558   1.5
4th Baltimore Orioles 28 23 .549   2.0
5th Cleveland Indians 26 27 .491   5.0
6th New York Yankees 25 26 .490   5.0
7th Toronto Blue Jays 21 27 .438   7.5

[edit] Overall record

American League Eastern Division
Rank Club Wins Losses Win % GB
1st Milwaukee Brewers 62 47 .569    --
2nd Baltimore Orioles 59 46 .562   1.0
3rd New York Yankees 59 48 .551   2.0
4th Detroit Tigers 60 49 .550   2.0
5th Boston Red Sox 59 49 .546   2.5
6th Cleveland Indians 52 51 .505   7.0
7th Toronto Blue Jays 37 69 .349 23.5

[edit] Regular season player stats

[edit] Batting

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
Lance Parrish 96 348 85 .244 10 46
Richie Hebner 78 226 51 .226 5 28
Lou Whitaker 109 335 88 .263 5 36
Tom Brookens 71 239 58 .243 4 25
Alan Trammell 105 392 101 .258 2 31
Steve Kemp 105 372 103 .277 9 49
Al Cowens 85 253 66 .261 1 18
Kirk Gibson 83 290 95 .328 9 40
John Wockenfuss 70 172 37 .215 9 25
Rick Peters 63 207 53 .256 0 15
Lynn Jones 71 174 45 .259 2 19
Champ Summers 64 165 42 .255 3 21
Ron Jackson 31 95 27 .284 1 12
Stan Papi 40 93 19 .204 3 12
Rick Leach 54 83 16 .193 1 11
Mick Kelleher 61 77 17 .221 0 6

Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

[edit] Pitching

[edit] Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jack Morris 25 198.0 14 7 3.05 97
Milt Wilcox 24 166.3 12 9 3.03 79
Dan Petry 23 141.0 10 9 3.00 79
Dan Schatzeder 17 71.3 6 8 6.06 20
Howard Bailey 9 36.7 1 4 7.36 17

[edit] Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV GF ERA SO
Kevin Saucier 38 4 2 13 23 1.65 23
Dave Tobik 27 2 2 1 9 2.69 32
Aurelio López 29 5 2 3 19 3.64 53
Dave Rozema 28 5 5 3 12 3.63 46

[edit] Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1981 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract:

[edit] Award winners and league leaders

Kirk Gibson

  • Tiger of the Year Award, from Detroit baseball writers
  • #3 in AL in batting average (.328)
  • #4 in AL in Power/Speed Number (11.8)

Steve Kemp

  • #4 in AL in on base percentage (.389)
  • #3 in AL in bases on balls (70)
  • #3 in AL in times on base (174)

Jack Morris

  • MLB leader in wins (14) (tied with four others)
  • MLB leader in bases on balls allowed (78)
  • AL All Star Team, pitcher (starter)
  • #2 in MLB in innings pitched (198)
  • #2 in MLB in games started (25)
  • #3 in AL in hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (6.95)
  • #3 in MLB in complete games (15)
  • #3 in MLB in batters faced (798)
  • #6 in AL in home runs allowed (14)
  • #9 in AL in earned runs allowed (67)

Lance Parrish

  • #3 in AL in times grounded into double plays (16)

Kevin Saucier

  • #5 in AL in saves (13)

Alan Trammell

  • AL Gold Glove Award at shortstop
  • AL leader in sacrifice hits (16)

Lou Whitaker

  • AL leader in games played (109)
  • AL leader in games at second base (108)
  • AL leader in innings at second base (918-1/3)
  • AL leader in assists by a second baseman (354)

Milt Wilcox

  • #5 in AL in games started (24)
  • #5 in AL in hit batsmen (6)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
1981 MLB season by team
AL East
Baltimore • Boston • Cleveland • Detroit • Milwaukee • New York • Toronto
AL West
NL East
NL West
1981 All-Star Game • 1981 World Series
v • d • e
Detroit Tigers
Based in Detroit, Michigan
Franchise
Ballparks
Boulevard Park • Bennett Park • Tiger Stadium • Comerica Park
Culture
Rivalries
Important figures
Retired numbers
2 • 5 • 6 • 16 • 23 • 42
Minors
Key personnel
Owner: Mike Ilitch • General Manager: Dave Dombrowski • Manager: Jim Leyland
World Series
championships (4)
1935 • 1945 • 1968 • 1984
League pennants (10)
American League: 1907 • 1908 • 1909 • 1934 • 1935 • 1940 • 1945 • 1968 • 1984 • 2006
Division titles
Eastern: 1972 • 1984 • 1987 • Central: none • Wild Card: 2006