The 1991

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 ...

finished in a tie for second 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 ...

with a record of 83-79 (.519). They outscored their opponents 817 to 794. The Tigers drew 1,641,661 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1991, ranking 12th of the 14 teams 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 ...

Offseason

* November 26, 1990:

John Shelby John T. Shelby (born February 23, 1958) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1981 to 1991. He began his career as a member of the Baltimore Orioles before later playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroi ...

was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.John Shelby
at ''Baseball Reference'' * December 3, 1990:

Bill Gullickson William Lee Gullickson (born February 20, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played professionally in Canada, the U.S. and Japan, during an 18-year professional career, of which 14 seasons were spent in MLB. MLB career ...

was signed as a free agent by the Tigers. * December 3, 1990:

Buddy Groom Wedsel Gary "Buddy" Groom Jr. (born July 10, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed middle relief pitcher. He attended the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1987 amateur draft. He play ...

was drafted by the Tigers from the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in the 1990 minor league draft. * January 11, 1991: Jeff Robinson was traded by the Tigers to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

for

Mickey Tettleton Mickey Lee Tettleton (born September 16, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. Although Tettleton played most ...

. * January 21, 1991:

Skeeter Barnes William Henry "Skeeter" Barnes (born March 3, 1957) is a retired Major League Baseball utility player for the Cincinnati Reds (1983–1984 and 1989), Montreal Expos (1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1987) and Detroit Tigers (1991–1994). Biography B ...

was signed as a free agent by the Tigers. * March 19, 1991:

Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo ( ; born July 25, 1965) is an American professional baseball manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB), appointed November 4, 2016. Lovullo served as the first base coach for the Toron ...

was traded by the Tigers to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

for

Mark Leiter Mark Edward Leiter (born April 13, 1963) is an American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career from to and in . Leiter grew up in Toms River, New Jersey. Leiter graduated from Central Regional High Scho ...

Regular season

* In 1991,

Cecil Fielder Cecil Grant Fielder (; born September 21, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Fielder was a power hitter in the 1980s and 1990s. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV ...

led all of baseball in home runs (44) and RBIs (133) for the second consecutive season. Once again, he finished second in the MVP voting. The MVP award was given to Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. Angry over missing out on the honor for the second straight season, Fielder lashed out at the voters, going so far as to accuse them of racism in their selection of Ripken, who was white. * During the season,

would be the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Tigers in the 20th century.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

DH Tony Phillips
LF Lloyd Moseby
SS Alan Trammell
1B Cecil Fielder
2B Lou Whitaker
RF Rob Deer
C Mickey Tettleton
3B Travis Fryman
CF Milt Cuyler

Notable transactions

* April 5, 1991:

Scott Lusader Scott Edward Lusader (born September 30, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player who played for the Detroit Tigers from 1987 to 1990 and briefly for the New York Yankees in 1991. Lusader played all three outfield positions in his maj ...

was selected off waivers from the Tigers by the

. * June 3, 1991: Kevin Morgan was drafted by the Tigers in the 30th round of the

1991 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental first round selections Compensation picks Other notable players *Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philade ...

. * June 11, 1991: Jeff Kaiser was signed as a free agent by the Tigers. * August 5, 1991:

John Moses John Moses may refer to: * John Moses (Norwegian politician) (1781–1849), member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly * John Moses (Illinois politician) (1825–1898), Illinois judge and politician * John Moses (American politician) (1885–1945) ...

was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.John Moses
at ''Baseball Reference'' * August 13, 1991: John Shelby was released by the Tigers. * August 25, 1991: John Moses was released by the Tigers.

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; GF = Games Finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

, AL Silver Slugger Award at catcher *

, AL Silver Slugger Award at first base

League top ten finishers

Rob Deer Robert George Deer (born September 29, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Early life Deer attended Canyon High School in Anaheim and Fresno City College. During his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers, he worked for his ...

* MLB leader in strikeouts (175) * #8 in AL in bases on balls (89) * #9 in AL in at bats per home run (17.9)

* Finished 2nd in AL MVP voting behind

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...

* MLB leader in home runs (44) * MLB leader in RBIs (133) * MLB leader in games played (162) * #2 in AL in at bats per home run (11.2) * #3 in AL in strikeouts (151) * #6 in AL in total bases (320) * #6 in AL in extra base hits (69) * #8 in AL in plate appearances (712) * #9 in AL in slugging percentage (.513) * #9 in AL in runs scored (102) * #10 in AL in runs created (110)

Travis Fryman David Travis Fryman (born March 25, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman shortstop, and a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system. He also managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers from 2008 to 2010 and in ...

* #4 in AL in strikeouts (149) Paul Gibson * #7 in AL in games (68)

* Finished 8th in AL Cy Young Award voting * MLB leader in wins (20) * AL leader in games started (35) * #4 in AL in win percentage (.690) * #4 in AL in bases on balls per 9 innings pitched (1.75) * #7 in AL in earned runs allowed (98)

Mike Henneman Michael Alan Henneman (born December 11, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher with a 10-year career from 1987 to 1996. He played for the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers, both of the American League, and the Houston Astros of the Nat ...

* #9 in AL in games finished (50)

Walt Terrell Charles Walter Terrell (born May 11, 1958) is a retired Major League Baseball player. A starting pitcher, Terrell pitched from 1982 to 1992 for the New York Mets (1982–1984), Detroit Tigers (1985–1988), San Diego Padres (1989), New York Yank ...

* AL leader in hits allowed (257) * #3 in AL in earned runs allowed (103) * #4 in AL in losses (14) * #5 in AL in complete games (8) * #6 in AL in shutouts (2)

* #2 in AL in bases on balls (101) * #4 in AL in at bats per home run (16.2) * #6 in AL in home runs (31) * #7 in AL in strikeouts (131)

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1991 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 ...

: *

Lou Whitaker Louis Rodman Whitaker Jr. (born May 12, 1957), nicknamed "Sweet Lou", is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Whitaker spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. From 1977 to 1995, he appeared in 2,390 games for the ...

: 13th best second baseman of all time * Alan Trammell: 9th best shortstop of all time

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

Notes

References

1991 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Statistics at Baseball Reference

Detroit Tigers at Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:1991 Detroit Tigers Season Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

1991 in Detroit