The 1911

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

had a record of 89–65 and finished in second place in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, 13 games behind the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

. They outscored their opponents 831–776, and drew 484,988 fans to Bennett Park (4th of 8 teams in attendance).

Regular season

Season summary

The 1911 Detroit Tigers opened the season with a phenomenal 21–2 record. The Tigers set the modern record for home wins to start the season, 12–0, and were 51–25 at home but 38–40 on the road. They were in first place in the American League every day except one until August 3, 1911. After going 59–24, the wheels fell off as the team lost 20 of 30 games in July and were 23–43 in the second half. The Tigers lost 20 of 30 games in July and ended up 13 games behind the Athletics. The 1911 Tigers had two of the best batters in baseball in

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the las ...

and

Sam Crawford Samuel Earl Crawford (April 18, 1880 – June 15, 1968), nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a s ...

. Cobb led both leagues in batting average (.420), RBIs (127), stolen bases (83), slugging (.621), runs (147), hits (248), total bases (367), doubles (47), and extra base hits (79). Crawford was not far behind, ranking in the top three in the AL in batting average (.378), slugging (.438), hits (217), total bases (302), and RBIs (115). The team ranked second best in the American League in runs scored but the pitching staff's earned run average of 3.73 was the second worst in the league—a full point above the league leading

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

' team ERA of 2.74. Playing in Bennett Field, with its 8,500-seat wooden grandstand, their home attendance for the entire season was 484,988.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Season chronology

* April 13: The Tigers beat the White Sox, 4–2, on Opening Day at Bennett Park. George Mullin was the Opening Day starter for Detroit. * April 18: The Tigers beat Cleveland, 5–1, as

stole home on a double steal in the first inning. George Mullin won his second game of the year. * April 20: The Tigers beat the White Sox, 6–3, to open the season with six consecutive wins. * April 28: The Tigers beat Cleveland, 5–3, for their 12th win against only one defeat to that point in the season. * May 1: The Tigers beat Cleveland, 14–5. Ty Cobb stole home for the second time in less than a month off Cleveland pitcher

George Kahler George Runnells "Krum" Kahler (September 6, 1889 – February 7, 1924) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from Athens, Ohio. He played for the Cleveland Naps from 1910 to 1914. The spelling of Kahler's last name has varied in different newsp ...

. * May 7: The Tigers beat the White Sox, 5–4, as Ty Cobb went 4-for-5. * May 9: The Tigers beat New York, 10–0, as

Ralph Works Ralph Talmadge Works (March 16, 1888 – August 8, 1941), nicknamed "Judge," was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers (1909–12) and Cincinnati Reds ...

pitched his second shutout of the season. Off to a scorching hot start, the Tigers were 21–2 at that point. * May 10: The Tigers lost their first game at Bennett Park in 1911, a 6–2 loss to New York. The Tigers had a 21–2 record and would lead the American League until July 4. * May 12: The Tigers beat the Yankees, 6–5. Ty Cobb scored a run from first base on a short single to right‚ scored from second base on a wild pitch‚ then doubled home two runs in the 7th inning to tie the game. When New York catcher Ed Sweeney argued the call at the plate‚ the rest of the infield gathered‚ leaving Cobb unattended at second base. With no time out called‚ Cobb strolled to third base‚ and then walked in to observe the continuing argument. When he spotted an opening in the circle of players‚ he slid in with the winning run. * May 13: After taking a 10–1 lead, the Tigers lost to the Red Sox, 13–11, in 10 innings. Ty Cobb hit the first grand slam of his career in the third inning grand slam. * May 15: The Tigers beat the Red Sox, 5–4. Ty Cobb drew an intentional walk in the 10th inning, and

Jim Delahanty James Christopher Delahanty (June 20, 1879 – October 17, 1953) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played thirteen seasons with eight clubs: the Chicago Orphans (1901), New York Giants (1902), Boston Beaneaters (1904–05), Cinci ...

drove him in for the win. Cobb began a 40-game hit streak. * May 19: The Tigers beat the A's, 9–8. Detroit pitcher Jack Lively was hit in the head with pitch in the second inning, but woozily continued for several innings. Ty Cobb had a triple, scored two runs, and started a double play from center field.

Oscar Stanage Oscar Harland Stanage (March 17, 1883 – November 11, 1964) was an American baseball catcher. He played professional baseball for 24 years from 1903 to 1926, including 13 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers. A native of T ...

hit a home run in the 8th inning to win it. * May 20: The Tigers lost to the A's, 14–12. Ty Cobb went 3-for-4. In the 1st inning, Detroit's promising young first baseman,

Del Gainer Dellos Clinton Gainer (November 10, 1886 – January 29, 1947), nicknamed "Sheriff," was an American baseball player. A native of West Virginia, Gainer played professional baseball, primarily as a first baseman, for 21 years from 1909 to 1929, i ...

broke his wrist when he was hit by a pitch. He would not play again until September. His replacement Jack Ness started a 1–6 triple play to

Donie Bush Owen Joseph "Donie" Bush (; October 8, 1887Sources differ as to Bush's date of birth. Sources listing the date as October 8, 1887, include (i) baseball-reference.com, and (ii) findagrave.com. Sources listing the date as October 3, 1887, include ( ...

. * May 23: The Tigers beat the Senators and

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

‚ 9–8. Johnson walked Ty Cobb with the bases loaded in the 8th inning for the winning run. Cobb was 3-for-4 with 3 stolen bases in the game. * June 3: The Tigers again beat the Senators and Walter Johnson, 7–2. Ty Cobb had three hits, including two triples. * June 18: After falling behind, 13–1, the Tigers staged the biggest comeback in MLB history, defeating the White Sox, 16–15. Ty Cobb had four hits and five RBIs and scored the game-winning run in the 9th inning on an RBI double by

. * June 19: The Tigers beat the White Sox, 8–5, as Ty Cobb scored from first on a single and tied the AL record by getting a hit in his 29th straight game. * June 20: Ty Cobb broke the AL record by getting a hit in his 30th straight game. The Tigers beat Cleveland, 8–3, as Cobb also stole two bases. * July 1: The Tigers shut out the Browns, 8–0, behind the pitching of Ed Willett. Ty Cobb beat out a ground ball for an infield single to extend his hit streak to 39 games. * July 2: The Tigers beat Cleveland, 14–6, as Ty Cobb had three hits and three runs to extend his hitting streak to 40 games. * July 4: Ty Cobb's 40-game hitting streak ended in a 7–3 loss to the White Sox. Cobb hit .491 during his 40-game streak began on May 15. * July 12: The Tigers shut out the A's, 9–0, behind pitcher "Wild Bill" Donovan. Ty Cobb walked‚ then stole second, third and home on consecutive pitches off

Harry Krause Harry William "Hal" Krause (July 12, 1888 – October 23, 1940) was a Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of five seasons (1908–1912) with the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Naps. He led the American League in earned ...

. Sam Crawford added a home run in the third inning. After Cobb reached on a fielder's choice in the 3rd‚ Sam Crawford homered. In the 7th inning‚ Cobb walked‚ advanced to second on a bunt‚ and scored on a sacrifice fly‚ knocking the ball out of the hands of catcher

Paddy Livingston Patrick Joseph Livingston (January 14, 1880 – September 19, 1977) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for seven seasons. He played for the Cleveland Blues in 1901, the Cincinnati Reds in 1906, the Philadelphia Athletics from 1909 to ...

. * July 13: The Tigers edged the A's, 8–7, to remain in first place in the AL. With the score tied 7–7, Ty Cobb scored from first in the 9th inning on a single by Jim Delahanty. Cobb ran through

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won Nat ...

' hold sign at third base and used his fadeaway slide to elude the tag at the plate. * August 3: The Tigers lost, 3–2, to the Red Sox. "Wild Bill" Donovan was the losing pitcher. With the loss, the Tigers dropped into second place behind the A's. The Tigers had been in first place all but one day up to that point in the season, but the A's would pull away and win the pennant by 13 points. * August 10: The Tigers announced plans to build a new $300,000 grandstand in the off-season. At the beginning of the 1912 season, Bennett Park would be renamed

Navin Field Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbu ...

. * August 13: Ty Cobb‚ having reportedly concluded that the Tigers could not catch up with the A's in the pennant race, began a vacation. * August 18: The Tigers beat the Red Sox‚ 9–4. Ty Cobb stole home in the first inning on the front end of a triple steal with Jim Delahanty and

Delos Drake Delos Daniel Drake (December 3, 1886 – October 3, 1965) was an American professional baseball player from 1906 to 1916. He played three seasons of Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers in 1911 and for the St. Louis Terr ...

. * August 29: The Tigers bet the A's, 9–8, in 11 innings. Detroit third baseman Jim Delahanty set an MLB record by making an unassisted double play for the second day in a row.

Marv Owen Marvin James Owen (March 22, 1906 – June 22, 1991) was an American baseball player, manager, coach and scout. A native of northern California, Owen played both baseball and football at Santa Clara University. He made his Major League Baseb ...

was the next to do it, in 1934. * September 9: The Tigers shut out the White Sox, 1–0, behind pitcher George Mullin. Left fielder Delos Drake started a triple play, making the catch, throwing to Donie Bush who relayed to first baseman Del Gainer. * September 26: The A's clinched the pennant with an 11–5 win over the Tigers. "Home Run" Baker had a home run and two doubles. The Tigers had led by 12 games in May, but finished in second place, 13 games behind the A's. * September 29: Ty Cobb was fined $100 for playing a Sunday game with a semipro club in New York. * October 4: The Tigers beat Cleveland, 2–0, as George Mullin threw his second shutout in less than a month. * October 7: The Tigers shut out the Browns, 1–0, behind the pitching of Ralph Works. With inclement weather in St. Louis, the game was played in front of a crowd of 66 fans. * October 11: With the World Series starting on October 14, the A's played an American League All Star team. Ty Cobb had three hits for the All Stars. On that day, Cobb was also announced as the winner of the first American League Most Valuable Player award. Cobb received a Chalmers automobile for the award.

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; 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 pitched; 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''

Awards and honors

League top five finishers

* AL leader in bases on balls (98) * AL leader in outs (461) * #2 in AL in runs scored (126) * #2 in AL in plate appearances (692) * #5 in AL in sacrifice hits (30)

* MLB batting crown (.420) * MLB leader in RBIs (127) * MLB leader in stolen bases (83) * MLB leader in slugging percentage (.621) * MLB leader in OPS (1.088) * MLB leader in runs (147) * MLB leader in hits (248) * MLB leader in total bases (367) * MLB leader in doubles (47) * MLB leader in extra base hits (79) * MLB leader in times on base (300) * MLB leader in singles (169) * MLB leader in runs created (169) * AL leader in triples (24) * #2 in MLB in on-base percentage (.467) * #2 in AL in home runs (8) * #2 in Power/Speed Number (14.6) * #4 in AL in at bats per home run (73.9)

* #3 in AL in batting average (.378) * #4 in AL in on-base percentage (.438) * #3 in AL in slugging percentage (.526) * #3 in AL in OPS (.964) * #4 in AL in runs scored (109) * #3 in AL in hits (217) * #3 in AL in total bases (302) * #3 in AL in home runs (7) * #2 in AL in RBIs (115) * #3 in AL in singles (160) * #3 in AL in runs created (143) * #4 in AL in extra base hits (57) * #3 in AL in times on base (278) * #5 in AL in Power/Speed Number (11.8) George Mullin * #5 in AL in complete games (25) * #4 in AL in home runs allowed (7) Ed Willett * #4 in AL in hit batsmen (14) * #5 in AL in hits allowed (261) * #5 in AL in earned runs allowed (94)

* #5 in AL in win percentage (.688)

Players ranking among top 100 of all time at position

The following members of the 1911 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 players of all time at their position, as ranked in

The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract ''The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'' is a reference book written by Bill James featuring an overview of professional baseball decade by decade, along with rankings of the top 100 players at each position. The original edition was publi ...

in 2001: *

: 51st best shortstop of all time *

: 2nd best center fielder of all time *

: 10th best right fielder of all time

References

External links

Baseball-Reference.com 1911 Detroit Tigers
{{DEFAULTSORT:1911 Detroit Tigers Season Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season

1911 in Detroit