The 1960 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. It involved the Tigers' sixth-place finish 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 ...

with a 71–83 record, 26 games behind the AL Champion

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

Offseason

* October 26, 1959:

Gus Zernial Gus Edward Zernial (June 27, 1923 – January 20, 2011) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Philadelphia Athletics with whom he remained when they moved west a ...

was released by the Tigers. * November 30, 1959: Steve Bilko was drafted by the Tigers from the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in the 1959 Rule 5 draft. * December 5, 1959:

Ted Lepcio Thaddeus Stanley "Ted" Lepcio (July 28, 1929 – December 11, 2019) was an American professional baseball utility infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Whit ...

Ken Walters Kenneth Rogers Walters (November 11, 1933 – January 26, 2010) was a right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1960 to 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies and in 1963 with the Cincinnati Reds. Walters was born in 1933 i ...

, an
Alex Cosmidis
(minors) were traded by the Tigers to the Philadelphia Phillies for

Chico Fernández Humberto "Chico" Fernández Pérez (March 2, 1932 – June 11, 2016) was a Cuban professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball ( MLB) with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and New York Mets from ...

and

Ray Semproch Roman Anthony Semproch (born January 7, 1931), also known as Baby and Ray, is a retired right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1958 to 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels. He was signed by ...

. * The team changed the home jersey from featuring an Olde English 'D' to displaying "Tigers" in

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

; the Olde English 'D' returned in 1961.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* April 12, 1960: The Tigers acquired

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Norm Cash from the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

Steve Demeter; Cash played in 2,018 games and slugged 373 homers for Detroit (1960–74); Demeter played in four games and was hitless in five at-bats for the Indians before disappearing into the minor leagues. * April 17, 1960: Reigning American League

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 ...

champion

Harvey Kuenn Harvey Edward Kuenn (; December 4, 1930 – February 28, 1988) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a shortstop and outfielder, he played with the Detroit Tigers (1952–1959), Clev ...

(.353 in 1959) was traded by the Tigers to the Indians, even-up, for reigning AL

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

champ

Rocky Colavito Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito Jr. (born August 10, 1933) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1955 to 1968, most prominently as a m ...

(42 homers in 1959, tied with

Harmon Killebrew Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He was a prolific power hitter who spent most of hi ...

). * June 15, 1960:

and cash were traded by the Tigers to the

for

Clem Labine Clement Walter Labine (August 6, 1926 – March 2, 2007) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) best known for his years with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960. As a key member of the Dodger ...

. * July 26, 1960:

Harry Chiti Harry Dominic Chiti Jr. (pronounced ) (November 16, 1932 – January 31, 2002) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. He appeared in 502 games over all or parts of ten seasons between and for the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Athletic ...

was purchased by the Tigers from the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

.Harry Chiti
at ''Baseball Reference'' * August 3, 1960: In the only manager-for-manager trade in Major League history, the Tigers swapped

Jimmy Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

to the Indians for

Joe Gordon Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash" in reference to the comic-book character ''Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yank ...

; coaches

Luke Appling Lucius Benjamin "Luke" Appling (April 2, 1907 – January 3, 1991), nicknamed "Old Aches and Pains" was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox (1930–1950). He was elected to the Base ...

and Jo-Jo White also traded teams.

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

References

External links

1960 Detroit Tigers season
at ''Baseball Reference'' {{Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers seasons Detroit Tigers season Detroit Tigers 1960 in Detroit