The 1951

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 ...

season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 73–81, 25 games behind the New York Yankees.

Offseason

* January 20, 1951: Marv Grissom and

George Vico George Steve Vico (August 9, 1923 – January 14, 1994), nicknamed "Sam", was a professional baseball player from 1941–1957 who spent two years in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers (1948–1949). Career Born in San Fernando, California, ...

were traded by the Tigers to the Seattle Rainiers for

Wayne McLeland Wayne Gaffney McLeland (August 29, 1924 – May 9, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher whose 11-year (1942; 1946–1955) pro career included ten games played in Major League Baseball for the 1951–1952 D ...

Regular season

On August 19, the Tigers played a doubleheader in St. Louis against the Browns. In the second game, after the Tigers had batted in the top of the first inning, the Browns sent midget Eddie Gaedel up to pinch-hit for leadoff batter

Frank Saucier Francis Field Saucier (born May 28, 1926) is an American former professional baseball player, an outfielder who played two months of the baseball season for the St. Louis Browns. He is known for being replaced by the shortest player in baseball h ...

. Gaedel, at a height of 3'7", is to date the shortest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. Umpire Ed Hurley challenged the decision to allow Gaedel to participate in an at-bat. Browns manager Zack Taylor produced a copy of Gaedel's contract. Tigers pitcher

Bob Cain Robert Max "Sugar" Cain (October 16, 1924 – April 8, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns between 1949 and 1954. He batted and threw left-handed. Cain was the p ...

walked him.''Numbelievable!'', p. 93

Jim Delsing James Henry Delsing (November 13, 1925 – May 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who is most remembered for having been the pinch runner for -tall Eddie Gaedel on August 19, 1951. He also was the centerfielder replaced ...

pinch ran for Gaedel, but failed to score. The Tigers won the game, 6–2.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

All-Star Game

The 1951 All-Star Game was originally awarded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. The City of Detroit was celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1701 and requested to host the year's All-Star Game. Although the National League was scheduled to host the game in '51, the game was moved to Detroit's Briggs Stadium to coincide with the city's celebration. The Phillies instead hosted the 1952 All-Star Game at Shibe Park.

Roster

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''

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''

Relief pitchers

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

Farm system

Notes

References

*
1951 Detroit Tigers season
at ''Baseball Reference'' {{Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season

1951 in Detroit