# 1905 Detroit Tigers season

1905 was the fifth year for the Detroit Tigers in the American League. The team finished in third place with a record of 79–74 (.516), 151⁄2 games behind the Philadelphia Athletics.

## Regular season

The 1905 Tigers were outscored by their opponents 602 to 512, the largest negative run differential ever for a Major League team with a winning record. The team's attendance at Bennett Park was 193,384, eighth out of the eight teams in the AL.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 92 | 56 | .622 | — | 51‍–‍22 | 41‍–‍34 |
| Chicago White Sox | 92 | 60 | .605 | 2 | 50‍–‍29 | 42‍–‍31 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 74 | .516 | 15½ | 45‍–‍30 | 34‍–‍44 |
| Boston Americans | 78 | 74 | .513 | 16 | 44‍–‍32 | 34‍–‍42 |
| Cleveland Naps | 76 | 78 | .494 | 19 | 41‍–‍36 | 35‍–‍42 |
| New York Highlanders | 71 | 78 | .477 | 21½ | 40‍–‍35 | 31‍–‍43 |
| Washington Senators | 64 | 87 | .424 | 29½ | 33‍–‍42 | 31‍–‍45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 54 | 99 | .353 | 40½ | 34‍–‍42 | 20‍–‍57 |

### Record vs. opponents

1905 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYH | PHA | SLB | WSH |
| Boston | — | 6–16–1 | 14–8 | 10–12 | 13–8 | 7–15 | 15–7 | 13–8 |
| Chicago | 16–6–1 | — | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 15–7–1 | 9–12–1 | 14–7–1 | 14–8–1 |
| Cleveland | 8–14 | 9–13 | — | 12–10 | 12–10 | 7–15 | 14–8–1 | 14–8 |
| Detroit | 12–10 | 11–11–1 | 10–12 | — | 13–8 | 9–13 | 13–9 | 11–11 |
| New York | 8–13 | 7–15–1 | 10–12 | 8–13 | — | 8–11–1 | 15–7 | 15–7–1 |
| Philadelphia | 15–7 | 12–9–1 | 15–7 | 13–9 | 11–8–1 | — | 15–7–1 | 11–9–1 |
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 7–14–1 | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | 7–15 | 7–15–1 | — | 9–13 |
| Washington | 8–13 | 8–14–1 | 8–14 | 11–11 | 7–15–1 | 9–11–1 | 13–9 | — |

### Notable transactions

* August 24, 1905: Ty Cobb was purchased by the Tigers from the Augusta Tourists.

### 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
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Lew Drill | 72 | 211 | 55 | .261 | 0 | 24 |
| 1B | Chris Lindsay | 88 | 329 | 88 | .267 | 0 | 31 |
| 2B | Germany Schaefer | 153 | 554 | 135 | .244 | 2 | 47 |
| 3B | Bill Coughlin | 137 | 489 | 123 | .252 | 0 | 44 |
| SS | Charley O'Leary | 148 | 512 | 109 | .213 | 0 | 33 |
| OF | Matty McIntyre | 131 | 495 | 130 | .263 | 0 | 30 |
| OF | Sam Crawford | 154 | 575 | 171 | .297 | 6 | 75 |
| OF | Duff Cooley | 97 | 377 | 93 | .247 | 1 | 32 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Charlie Hickman | 59 | 213 | 47 | .221 | 2 | 20 |
| Bobby Lowe | 58 | 181 | 35 | .193 | 0 | 9 |
| Ty Cobb | 41 | 150 | 36 | .240 | 1 | 15 |
| Jack Warner | 36 | 119 | 24 | .202 | 0 | 7 |
| Tom Doran | 34 | 94 | 15 | .160 | 0 | 4 |
| Jimmy Barrett | 20 | 67 | 17 | .254 | 0 | 3 |
| John Sullivan | 13 | 32 | 5 | .156 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Wood | 8 | 24 | 2 | .083 | 0 | 0 |
| John Eubank | 7 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 0 | 1 |
| Nig Clarke | 3 | 7 | 3 | .429 | 1 | 1 |
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
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| George Mullin | 44 | 347.2 | 21 | 21 | 2.51 | 168 |
| Ed Killian | 39 | 313.2 | 23 | 14 | 2.27 | 110 |
| Bill Donovan | 34 | 280.2 | 18 | 15 | 2.60 | 135 |
| Frank Kitson | 33 | 225.2 | 12 | 14 | 3.47 | 78 |
| Jimmy Wiggs | 7 | 60.2 | 3 | 3 | 3.27 | 37 |
| Herb Jackson | 2 | 11.0 | 0 | 2 | 5.73 | 3 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| George Disch | 8 | 47.2 | 0 | 2 | 2.64 | 18 |
| Gene Ford | 7 | 35.0 | 0 | 1 | 5.66 | 20 |
| Eddie Cicotte | 3 | 18.0 | 1 | 1 | 3.50 | 6 |
| John Eubank | 3 | 17.1 | 1 | 0 | 2.08 | 1 |
| Frosty Thomas | 2 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 7.50 | 5 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Walt Justis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.10 | 0 |
| Andy Bruckmiller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27.00 | 1 |

## Awards and honors
### League top five finishers

Ty Cobb
* Youngest player in the AL (18)
Ed Killian
* AL leader in shutouts (8)
* #3 in AL in wins (23)
* #3 in AL in bases on balls allowed (107)
* #4 in AL in complete games (33)
* #4 in AL in hit batsmen (13)
* #5 in AL in games started (37)
Frank Kitson
* #5 in AL in earned runs allowed (87)
Sam Crawford
* #2 in AL in OPS (.786)
* #2 in AL in doubles (38)
* #2 in AL in runs created (87)
* #2 in AL in extra base hits (54)
* #3 in AL in slugging percentage (.430)
* #3 in AL in hits (171)
* #3 in AL in total bases (247)
* #3 in AL in home runs (6)
* #3 in AL in times on base (224)
* #4 in AL in on-base percentage (.357)
* #4 in AL in RBIs (75)
* #4 in AL in Power/Speed Number (9.4)
* #5 in AL in batting average (.297)
Bill Donovan
* #4 in AL in bases on balls allowed (101)
Bobby Lowe
* 2nd oldest player in the AL (39)
George Mullin
* AL leader in complete games (35)
* AL leader in innings pitched (3472⁄3)
* AL leader in games started (41)
* AL leader in bases on balls allowed (138)
* AL leader in hits allowed (303)
* AL leader in batters faced (1473)
* #2 in AL in games (44)
* #3 in AL in earned runs allowed (97)
* #4 in AL in losses (21)
Bob Wood
* 3rd oldest player in AL (39)