The 1975

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 ...

compiled a record of 57–102, the fifth worst season in Detroit Tigers history. They finished in last place in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

, 37½ games behind the

Boston 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 ...

. Their team

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .249 and team

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

of 4.27 were the second worst 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 ...

. They were outscored by their opponents 786 to 570.

Offseason

* November 18, 1974:

Ed Brinkman Edwin Albert Brinkman (December 8, 1941 – September 30, 2008) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a shortstop, for the Washington Senators (1961–19 ...

was traded by the Tigers to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, and

Bob Strampe Robert Edwin Strampe ( ; born June 13, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher in for the Detroit Tigers. Baseball career Strampe was born in Janesville, ...

and

Dick Sharon Richard Louis Sharon (born April 15, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to for the Detroit Tigers and the San Diego Padres. Baseball career Sharon was born in San M ...

were traded by the Tigers to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

as part of a three-team trade. The Padres sent

Nate Colbert Nathan Colbert Jr. (April 9, 1946 – January 5, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1966 to 1976, most prominently as a member of the newly formed San Diego Padre ...

to the Tigers, and a player to be named later to the Cardinals. The Cardinals sent Alan Foster,

Rich Folkers Richard Nevin Folkers (born October 17, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and M ...

, and

Sonny Siebert Wilfred Charles "Sonny" Siebert (born January 14, 1937) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher from 1964 to 1975. He finished with a record of 140-114 and a 3.21 ERA. He threw a no-hitter on June 10, 1966, against the Washingto ...

to the Padres. The Padres completed the deal by sending

Danny Breeden Danny Richard Breeden (born June 27, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to for the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs. Baseball career Breeden was born in Albany, Geo ...

to the Cardinals on December 12. * December 4, 1974:

Woodie Fryman Woodrow Thompson Fryman (April 12, 1940 – February 4, 2011), was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, across 18 seasons (–). A two-time National League (NL) All-Star, he helped th ...

was traded by the Tigers to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

for Tom Walker and

Terry Humphrey Terryal Gene Humphrey (born August 4, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. A catcher, he appeared in 415 games played over all or parts of nine Major League Baseball seasons for the Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Detroit Tig ...

. * January 9, 1975:

Tom Brookens Thomas Dale Brookens (born August 10, 1953) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Brookens was on the Tigers coachi ...

was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (4th pick) of the

1975 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. Many baseball draft experts consider the 1975 draft to be the weakest in MLB history. Other notable selections ''*'' Did not sign N ...

. * February 1, 1975:

Gene Michael Eugene Richard Michael (June 2, 1938 – September 7, 2017), known as Stick, was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, manager and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1966 to 1975, most promine ...

was signed as a free agent by the Tigers. * March 29, 1975:

Reggie Sanders Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, S ...

was traded by the Tigers to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

for Jack Pierce.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* June 15, 1975: Nate Colbert was purchased from the Tigers by the Montreal Expos.Nate Colbert
at ''Baseball-Reference''

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; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games; 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; GF = Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

1975 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1975 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 46th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 15, 1975 ...

Bill Freehan William Ashley Freehan (November 29, 1941 – August 19, 2021) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire 15-year career with the Detroit Tigers. The premier catcher in the American League for several years from the 19 ...

, reserve

League top ten finishers

Joe Coleman * AL leader in wild pitches (15) * #2 in MLB in losses (18) * #2 in MLB in earned runs allowed (124) * #4 in AL in hit batsmen(9)

Ron LeFlore Ronald LeFlore (born June 16, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball center fielder. He played six seasons with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to the Montreal Expos. He retired with the Chicago White Sox in 1982. He stole 455 ...

* #2 in AL in strikeouts (139) * #2 in MLB in times caught stealing (20)

Mickey Lolich Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for the Detroit Tigers. A three-time All-Star, ...

* #2 in MLB in losses (18) * #6 in MLB in complete games (19) Dan Meyer * AL leader in at bats per strikeout (18.8)

Willie Horton William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951), commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted felon who became notorious for committing violent crimes while on furlough from prison, where he was serving a life sentence without the ...

* #3 in AL in game played (159) * #4 in AL in at bats (615)

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1975 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by

The 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: *

: 12th best catcher of all time *

Aurelio Rodríguez Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr. (December 28, 1947 – September 23, 2000), sometimes known by the nickname "Chi Chi", was a Mexicans, Mexican professional baseball player, who spent the bulk of his Major League Baseball, Major League career ...

: 91st best third baseman of all time *

: 80th best center fielder of all time *

Ben Oglivie Benjamin Ambrosio Oglivie Palmer (born February 11, 1949) is a Panamanians, Panamanian former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox (1971–1973), Detroit Tigers (1974–1977), and Mi ...

: 64th best left fielder of all time *

: 55th best left fielder of all time (played DH for 1975 Tigers) *

: 72nd best pitcher of all time

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville, Montgomery

Notes

References

*
1975 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Statistics at Baseball Reference
{{Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season Detroit Tiger 1975 in Detroit