# 2003 Detroit Tigers season

The 2003 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 103rd season and fourth at Comerica Park. The team went 43–119, which surpassed the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the most losses in American League history (though not for the worst winning percentage) and came within one loss of tying the 1962 New York Mets of the National League for the most losses in modern major league history. This particular season gave the team the nickname of "Motor City Kitties".
The 119 losses was a mark that stood until it was surpassed by the 2024 Chicago White Sox. It was the Tigers who handed the White Sox their 121st loss to surpass the 1962 Mets for the most losses in a season.
The Tigers were outscored by 337 runs over the course of the season (928 to 591) and finished 47 games behind the Minnesota Twins. They were swept a total of 21 times while notching only eight series victories (by any margin) of their own. They were eliminated from playoff contention on August 22, the earliest elimination in the divisional era at the time, since surpassed by the 2018 Baltimore Orioles and 2024 Chicago White Sox.
Blame for the dismal season was shared by both the pitching staff, which had an ERA of 5.30, and the batters, who finished with a team batting average of .240, 19 points below the American League's .259 batting average. However, 2003 was a nadir from which the Tigers recovered remarkably quickly, making the World Series in 2006 and avoiding another 100-loss season until 2019.

## Season overview

Reeling from yet another terrible season in 2002, Tigers management found themselves in a big hole: a farm system that wasn't producing, a big-league club with major deficiencies, and contracts being paid to veterans not playing to expectations; those who did produce – Juan Acevedo, Randall Simon, and Robert Fick - did not return for 2003. Leading the team was first-year manager, former Tigers shortstop, and future Hall of Famer Alan Trammell, who had a dilemma nearly everywhere on the roster, particularly the starting rotation. Gary Knotts, who had pitched mostly in relief in his career, was to be converted to a starting role; Detroit area native Steve Avery was looking to make a comeback after not pitching in two years; two untested rookies, Jeremy Bonderman – drafted straight out of high school – and Nate Robertson - acquired in a trade for Mark Redman to the Florida Marlins – also vied for their chances to make the big-league rotation.
The results were disastrous. The Tigers lost their first nine games, won their first against the Chicago White Sox on April 12, then proceeded to drop eight in a row to fall to 1–17. An almost non-existent offense accounted for most of the team's early season problems, batting just .228 as a team in the first half. To the surprise of many, their young corps of pitchers were performing better than expected and remained durable as the team struggled to score runs and the losses continued to pile up – 18 in May, 22 in June – with no reason to expect any change in fortune.
By the end of May, the Tigers were 14–39, 16.5 games out of first, and their season was all but finished. On August 30, after a 5–2 loss to the White Sox, the Tigers had lost 100 games for the second straight season; furthermore, they were gaining nationwide attention as they seemed a sure bet to break the infamous 1962 Mets' record for most losses in a season. Looking for a spark from the farm system, players were constantly being shuffled back and forth between Detroit and nearby Toledo, where the team's Triple-AAA affiliate the Toledo Mud Hens played. Unfortunately, the Mud Hens were not well-stocked, either, compounding frustrations for a team already in complete disarray. Meanwhile, the pitching staff, which had remained remarkably intact through the first half, finally collapsed; Mike Maroth lost 21 games, the first MLB pitcher to lose 20 games in a season since Brian Kingman lost 20 for the 1980 Oakland Athletics, while Jeremy Bonderman lost 19 before Trammell mercifully pulled him from the rotation with two weeks remaining. Tigers' starters Maroth, Bonderman and Cornejo were the top three pitchers in losses for the 2003 season, the only time in Major League history that one team had the top three losers in a season. Franklyn Germán had the most saves on the team, with five in limited opportunities.
By September 22, the Tigers had lost ten straight and 118 on the season. Just as they appeared likely to go into the record books for futility, the Tigers roared back to life and won five of their last six games to finish 43–119. While it was one game short of the 120 losses by the 1962 Mets, it was still the most losses in American League history and one of the worst seasons for a non-expansion team in modern baseball history. The final series of the season was particularly memorable against the division champion Minnesota Twins, 48 games ahead of Detroit. The Twins sat their starters for almost all of the series in order to keep players rested for the playoffs. On September 27, in their next-to-last game, the Tigers came back from an 8–0 deficit to beat the Twins, 9–8 – on a strikeout wild pitch, an appropriate finish to a team that had struggled mightily all summer long. The Tigers then won the season finale, 9–4, to avoid tying the record and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
While the 2003 Tigers finished with what were at the time the third-most losses in major league history (behind the 1899 Cleveland Spiders and 1962 Mets), they fare slightly better based on winning percentage.
As of 2023, the 2003 Tigers rank only as the 12th worst team in history based on winning percentage (minimum 120 games), but unlike the 2003 Tigers, most of the other teams usually described as the worst of all time were plagued by significant off-field troubles:
* The owners of the 1899 Spiders also owned the St. Louis Browns, and transferred all their best players from Cleveland to St. Louis.
* The 1916 and 1919 A's had been plagued by financial problems, and their owner Connie Mack had sold off the team's best players, stocking the team with minor leaguers.
* The 1890 Alleghenys had almost all of their star players jump to the Players' League, leaving only a shell of a team.
* The 1886 Senators and Cowboys, 1889 Colonels, 1897–98 Browns, 1904 Senators and 1935 Braves were all plagued by financial and/or ownership issues, with the Colonels and Braves ownership failing to finish out the season.
* The 1962 Mets were a first-year expansion team.
For this reason, the 2003 Tigers had been described as being possibly "the worst team of all time without a good excuse."
Designated hitter/left fielder Dmitri Young was the one member of the 2003 Tigers to have a truly good year, with a .297 batting average, 29 home runs, and .537 slugging percentage. According to Win Shares, the Tigers would have had about six fewer wins without him.
On the pitching staff, Jamie Walker stands out as the one pitcher who had a good season. Walker appeared in 78 games (2nd most in the AL) and had an ERA of 3.32 (Adjusted ERA+ of 130).
Some blamed first-year manager Alan Trammell for the team's performance. However, the 2002 team was 55–106 under manager Luis Pujols and in short, Trammell inherited a team in shambles. The Tigers did not sign any significant new talent in 2003 and lost several key players from the 2002 team, including the team's best starter, Jeff Weaver, closer Juan Acevedo, second baseman Damion Easley, right fielder Robert Fick, and designated hitter Randall Simon. Dean Palmer, who had 275 career home runs, tried to resuscitate an injury-plagued career, but ended up retiring. Even with fellow 1984 teammates Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish on the coaching staff, Trammell could not turn the team around in 2003.
After the 2003 season, the Tigers acquired Iván Rodríguez, Carlos Guillén, Ugueth Urbina, and Rondell White. With the infusion of new talent, Trammell was able to lead the start of the franchise's turnaround, as the team improved to 72–90 in 2004, a 29-game improvement over the 2003 season which was the largest single-season improvement in the American League since Baltimore's 33-game improvement from 1988 to 1989.
Three years after losing 119 games, the Tigers went 95–67 and made it to the 2006 World Series. The 2006 pennant winners featured 10 players from the 2003 team: Brandon Inge, Ramón Santiago (who spent 2004 and 2005 with the Seattle Mariners), Craig Monroe, Omar Infante, Mike Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Jamie Walker, Wilfredo Ledezma, and Fernando Rodney. Dmitri Young was released in September 2006 following a number of off-field issues.
The loss record would not be threatened until 2018, when the Baltimore Orioles went 47–115. A year later, the Tigers themselves would also threaten the mark -- winning just 47 games. However, due to a cancelled game that reduced their season to 161 games, they only had 114 losses, meaning that Baltimore had the worst team of the 2010s.
It would be 2024 when both the American League and MLB records would finally fall thanks to the Chicago White Sox. In a bit of irony, it would be the Tigers who handed Chicago the record breaking 121st loss -- while simultaneously clinching a spot in the Postseason as a Wildcard Team.

### Season standings

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Twins | 90 | 72 | .556 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 42‍–‍39 |
| Chicago White Sox | 86 | 76 | .531 | 4 | 51‍–‍30 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Kansas City Royals | 83 | 79 | .512 | 7 | 40‍–‍40 | 43‍–‍39 |
| Cleveland Indians | 68 | 94 | .420 | 22 | 38‍–‍43 | 30‍–‍51 |
| Detroit Tigers | 43 | 119 | .265 | 47 | 23‍–‍58 | 20‍–‍61 |

### Record vs. opponents

2003 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Anaheim | — | 1–8 | 3–6 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 6–1 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 8–12 | 8–11 | 6–3 | 9–10 | 2–7 | 11–7 |
| Baltimore | 8–1 | — | 9–10 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 6–13–1 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 8–11 | 7–2 | 8–11 | 5–13 |
| Boston | 6–3 | 10–9 | — | 5–4 | 4–2 | 8–1 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 12–7 | 5–4 | 10–9 | 11–7 |
| Chicago | 4–3 | 4–2 | 4–5 | — | 11–8 | 11–8 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 4–2 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 10–8 |
| Cleveland | 3–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 8–11 | — | 12–7 | 6–13 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 5–2 | 4–5 | 2–4 | 6–12 |
| Detroit | 1–6 | 3–3 | 1–8 | 8–11 | 7–12 | — | 5–14 | 4–15 | 1–5 | 3–6 | 1–8 | 2–4 | 1–6 | 2–7 | 4–14 |
| Kansas City | 3–6 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 8–11 | 13–6 | 14–5 | — | 11–8 | 2–4 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–3 | 7–2 | 1–5 | 9–9 |
| Minnesota | 4–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 10–9 | 10–9 | 15–4 | 8–11 | — | 0–7 | 8–1 | 3–6 | 6–0 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 10–8 |
| New York | 6–3 | 13–6–1 | 10–9 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 7–0 | — | 3–6 | 5–4 | 14–5 | 4–5 | 10–9 | 13–5 |
| Oakland | 12–8 | 7–2 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–2 | 1–8 | 6–3 | — | 7–12 | 6–3 | 15–4 | 5–2 | 9–9 |
| Seattle | 11–8 | 5–4 | 2–5 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 12–7 | — | 4–5 | 10–10 | 3–4 | 10–8 |
| Tampa Bay | 3–6 | 11–8 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 0–6 | 5–14 | 3–6 | 5–4 | — | 3–6 | 11–8 | 3–15 |
| Texas | 10–9 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 6–1 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 4–15 | 10–10 | 6–3 | — | 5–4 | 4–14 |
| Toronto | 7–2 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 3–6 | 4–2 | 7–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 8–11 | 4–5 | — | 10–8 |

### Transactions

* November 25, 2002: Randall Simon was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and Adrian Burnside (minors). The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Roberto Novoa (December 16, 2002) to the Detroit Tigers to complete the trade.
* November 29, 2002: Ernie Young was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
* January 20, 2003: Bill Haselman was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
* January 23, 2003: Steve Avery was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
* March 27, 2003: Bill Haselman was released by the Detroit Tigers.
* March 29, 2003: A. J. Hinch was purchased by the Detroit Tigers from the Cleveland Indians.

## Game log

2003 Game Log: 43–119 (Home: 23–58; Away: 20–61) :
March: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
1March 31Twins1–3Radke (1–0)Maroth (0–1)Guardado (1)40,4270–1L1 :
April: 3–20 (Home: 1–7; Away: 2–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
2April 2Twins1–8Mays (1–0)Bonderman (0–1)—21,1230–2L2
3April 3Twins0–3Lohse (1–0)Bernero (0–1)Guardado (2)8,8620–3L3
4April 4@ White Sox2–5Loaiza (1–0)Cornejo (0–1)Koch (1)40,3950–4L4
5April 5@ White Sox0–7Buehrle (1–1)Maroth (0–2)—16,9720–5L5
6April 6@ White Sox2–10Marte (1–0)German (0–1)—14,5140–6L6
7April 9Royals6–9Affeldt (1–0)Bonderman (0–2)MacDougal (4)14,2860–7L7
8April 10Royals2–4Asencio (1–0)Maroth (0–3)MacDougal (5)9,0800–8L8
9April 11White Sox0–5Loaiza (2–0)Bernero (0–2)—12,5770–9L9
10April 12White Sox4–3Cornejo (1–1)Stewart (0–1)Anderson (1)12,9851–9W1
11April 13White Sox2–3Colón (1–0)Knotts (0–1)—12,8081–10L1
12April 15@ Twins4–6Lohse (2–1)Maroth (0–4)Guardado (5)14,0361–11L2
13April 16@ Twins2–4Reed (1–2)Bernero (0–3)Guardado (6)13,5031–12L3
14April 17@ Twins0–6Rogers (2–0)Bonderman (0–3)—13,0151–13L4
15April 18@ Royals3–4Carrasco (1–0)Anderson (0–1)—38,9371–14L5
16April 19@ Royals2–9Lopez (3–0)Knotts (0–2)—13,7771–15L6
17April 20@ Royals3–4MacDougal (1–0)Maroth (0–5)—16,2031–16L7
18April 22@ Athletics5–6Rincón (1–1)Ledezma (0–1)—11,5591–17L8
19April 23@ Athletics4–1Bonderman (1–3)Zito (3–2)Anderson (2)23,5582–17W1
20April 24@ Athletics0–2Mulder (3–1)Cornejo (1–2)—11,8432–18L1
21April 25@ Mariners0–6Pineiro (2–1)Maroth (0–6)—33,4582–19L2
22April 26@ Mariners6–4Walker (1–0)Franklin (1–2)Anderson (3)36,2583–19W1
23April 27@ Mariners3–4Garcia (2–3)Bernero (0–4)Nelson (2)39,6783–20L1
24April 29Orioles3–11Johnson (4–0)Bonderman (1–4)—10,8293–21L2 :
May: 11–18 (Home: 4–12; Away: 7–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
25May 1 (1)Orioles2–5Ryan (3–0)Germán (0–2)Julio (7)3–22L3
26May 1 (2)Orioles4–6Daal (2–3)Maroth (0–7)Julio (8)16,1773–23L4
27May 2Devil Rays0–2Kennedy (2–2)Knotts (0–3)—14,5713–24L5
28May 3Devil Rays6–8Levine (2–1)Ledezma (0–2)—13,3713–25L6
29May 4Devil Rays7–3Bonderman (2–4)Sosa (1–4)Spurling (1)12,9564–25W1
30May 5@ Orioles6–1Cornejo (2–2)Johnson (4–1)Sparks (1)17,2675–25W2
31May 6@ Orioles7–6Germán (1–2)Groom (1–1)—22,9066–25W3
32May 7@ Orioles9–4Knotts (1–3)Daal (2–4)—22,7707–25W4
33May 9@ Devil Rays0–2Parque (1–1)Bernero (0–5)Carter (6)8,8947–26L1
34May 10@ Devil Rays1–3McClung (3–1)Bonderman (2–5)Carter (7)12,3257–27L2
35May 11@ Devil Rays9–2Cornejo (3–2)Sosa (1–5)—9,2598–27W1
36May 13Athletics1–3Lilly (3–2)Maroth (0–8)Foulke (11)12,5638–28L1
37May 14Athletics2–1Avery (1–0)Rincón (2–2)—11,0919–28W1
38May 15Athletics2–11Zito (6–3)Bernero (0–6)—10,5139–29L1
39May 16Mariners3–6Meche (5–2)Bonderman (2–6)Sasaki (5)17,6419–30L2
40May 17Mariners3–6Moyer (6–2)Cornejo (3–3)Sasaki (6)23,2749–31L3
41May 18Mariners2–6Pineiro (4–3)Maroth (0–9)—16,2639–32L4
42May 19@ Indians9–10Traber (2–2)Walker (1–1)Riske (1)16,4929–33L5
43May 20@ Indians4–6Riske (1–0)Roney (0–1)—15,4999–34L6
44May 21@ Indians0–4Sabathia (3–2)Bonderman (2–7)—16,5349–35L7
45May 22@ Indians3–2Germán (2–2)Phillips (0–1)Sparks (2)18,34710–35W1
46May 23@ White Sox3–2Maroth (1–9)Gordon (2–4)Spurling (2)15,06911–35W2
47May 24@ White Sox1–0Knotts (2–3)Loaiza (7–2)Germán (1)27,53512–35W3
48May 25@ White Sox5–8Glover (1–0)Sparks (0–1)—21,39812–36L1
49May 26Indians6–5Avery (2–0)Boyd (0–1)Germán (2)17,61913–36W1
50May 27Indians2–5Miceli (1–2)Walker (1–2)Báez (10)10,84413–37L1
51May 28Indians2–8Rodríguez (3–5)Maroth (1–10)—17,38813–38L2
52May 30Yankees0–6Contreras (2–1)Knotts (2–4)—28,00313–39L3
53May 31Yankees4–2Bernero (1–6)Weaver (3–4)Germán (3)24,95914–39W1 :
June: 5–22 (Home: 2–12; Away: 3–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
54June 1Yankees9–10Wells (7–2)Sparks (0–2)Acevedo (6)44,09514–40L1
55June 3@ Padres3–2Walker (2–2)Lawrence (3–7)Germán (4)15,52115–40W1
56June 4@ Padres5–3Ledezma (1–2)Hackman (1–1)Germán (5)13,22716–40W2
57June 5@ Padres1–5Eaton (2–4)Bernero (1–7)—14,71016–41L1
58June 6@ Giants3–5Rueter (7–1)Bonderman (2–8)Worrell (15)41,55416–42L2
59June 7@ Giants5–7Schmidt (5–2)Maroth (1–11)—40,06016–43L3
60June 8@ Giants6–7Nathan (6–2)German (2–3)Worrell (16)41,17716–44L4
61June 10Dodgers1–3Shuey (3–1)Sparks (0–3)Gagné (22)13,41916–45L5
62June 11Dodgers1–3Brown (9–1)Bernero (1–8)Gagné (23)13,71616–46L6
63June 12Dodgers2–3Ishii (6–2)Bonderman (2–9)Gagné (24)13,64416–47L7
64June 13Rockies2–7Chacón (9–3)Cornejo (3–4)—19,21216–48L8
65June 14Rockies9–7Ledezma (2–2)Elarton (3–2)Spurling (3)19,26017–48W1
66June 15Rockies4–5Jennings (6–5)Knotts (2–5)Jimenez (16)19,32317–49L1
67June 17Indians4–7Sabathia (6–3)Bernero (1–9)Báez (15)13,90817–50L2
68June 18Indians1–4Davis (6–5)Bonderman (2–10)—16,27817–51L3
69June 19Indians3–10Anderson (4–6)Cornejo (3–5)—19,09817–52L4
70June 20@ Rockies7–5Maroth (2–11)Elarton (3–3)—29,60318–52W1
71June 21@ Rockies6–9Jennings (7–5)Sparks (0–4)—35,66018–53L1
72June 22@ Rockies3–5Neagle (1–1)Bernero (1–10)Jimenez (17)34,72318–54L2
73June 23@ Red Sox1–3Wakefield (6–3)Bonderman (2–11)Timlin (2)33,81418–55L3
74June 24@ Red Sox1–10Lowe (8–3)Cornejo (3–6)—33,84818–56L4
75June 25@ Red Sox2–11Burkett (6–3)Maroth (2–12)—33,58718–57L5
76June 26@ Red Sox4–6Martínez (5–2)Roney (0–2)Lyon (9)34,41518–58L6
77June 27D-backs3–8Randolph (2–0)Bernero (1–11)—27,68218–59L7
78June 28D-backs0–7Webb (4–2)Bonderman (2–12)—20,80418–60L8
79June 29D-backs3–5Oropesa (2–1)Spurling (0–1)Valverde (9)18,98918–61L9
80June 30Blue Jays6–2Maroth (3–12)Lidle (10–6)—13,35319–61W1 :
July: 9–17 (Home: 6–5; Away: 3–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
81July 1Blue Jays5–0Roney (1–2)Hendrickson (5–6)Walker (1)15,44820–61W2
82July 2Blue Jays2–8Halladay (12–2)Bernero (1–12)—16,05220–62L1
83July 3@ Royals2–3Affeldt (5–4)Bonderman (2–13)MacDougal (22)12,97820–63L2
84July 4@ Royals8–9Field (1–0)Cornejo (3–7)MacDougal (23)39,92020–64L3
85July 5@ Royals9–5Maroth (4–12)Voyles (0–2)Walker (2)19,03021–64W1
86July 6@ Royals3–5Lima (4–0)Roney (1–3)MacDougal (24)12,84421–65L1
87July 8White Sox2–1Spurling (1–1)Garland (6–7)Mears (1)13,64322–65W1
88July 9White Sox4–2Bonderman (3–13)Colón (6–8)Mears (2)12,86923–65W2
89July 10White Sox1–0Cornejo (4–7)Loaiza (11–5)Mears (3)18,20624–65W3
90July 11Red Sox3–5Burkett (7–4)Maroth (4–13)Kim (4)26,53824–66L1
91July 12Red Sox2–4Jones (3–4)Rodney (0–1)Kim (5)23,20624–67L2
92July 13Red Sox3–0Ledezma (3–2)Wakefield (6–4)Mears (4)23,82925–67W1
93July 17@ White Sox10–9Maroth (5–13)Colón (6–9)—17,06026–67W2
94July 18@ White Sox5–7Buehrle (8–10)Roney (1–4)Gordon (4)18,86826–68L1
95July 19@ White Sox2–6Garland (7–7)Cornejo (4–8)Marte (5)32,24526–69L2
96July 20@ White Sox1–10Loaiza (12–5)Ledezma (3–3)—20,63126–70L3
97July 21@ Red Sox5–14Burkett (8–4)Bonderman (3–14)Fossum (1)33,82326–71L4
98July 22@ Red Sox4–7Lowe (11–4)Maroth (5–14)—33,57026–72L5
99July 23@ Indians1–4Anderson (8–7)Roney (1–5)Báez (22)21,20226–73L6
100July 24@ Indians7–4Cornejo (5–8)Sabathia (8–6)Mears (5)20,85727–73W1
101July 25Royals3–8Hernández (5–3)Ledezma (3–4)—29,69727–74L1
102July 26Royals5–1Bonderman (4–14)Snyder (1–5)—24,66428–74W1
103July 27Royals1–5Lima (7–0)Maroth (5–15)—35,32628–75L1
104July 29@ Mariners5–11Meche (11–7)Roney (1–6)—30,73228–76L2
105July 30@ Mariners3–13Moyer (14–5)Cornejo (5–9)—35,80028–77L3
106July 31@ Mariners0–4Pineiro (13–5)Ledezma (3–5)—43,59628–78L4 :
August: 6–23 (Home: 3–13; Away: 3–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
107August 1@ Twins4–10Lohse (7–9)Bonderman (4–15)Baldwin (1)20,10128–79L5
108August 2@ Twins9–2Maroth (6–15)Reed (5–10)—29,27829–79W1
109August 3@ Twins2–7Santana (5–3)Roney (1–7)—27,61329–80L1
110August 5Athletics2–7Harden (3–0)Cornejo (5–10)—13,26329–81L2
111August 6Athletics3–9Hudson (10–4)Ledezma (3–6)—16,54529–82L3
112August 7Athletics3–2Bonderman (5–15)Zito (8–10)Patterson (1)19,66430–82W1
113August 8Twins3–4Santana (6–3)Maroth (6–16)Guardado (26)23,74030–83L1
114August 9Twins4–8Rincón (3–4)Mears (0–1)—19,19930–84L2
115August 10Twins3–4Rogers (9–6)Cornejo (5–11)Guardado (27)19,97530–85L3
116August 11@ Rangers3–9Benoit (7–5)Sparks (0–5)—27,67430–86L4
117August 12@ Rangers7–4Bonderman (6–15)Dominguez (0–1)Patterson (2)17,52431–86W1
118August 13@ Rangers3–7Dickey (7–5)Maroth (6–17)Cordero (9)17,49131–87L1
119August 14@ Rangers3–6Thomson (10–10)Roney (1–8)Cordero (10)17,01931–88L2
120August 15@ Angels1–3Lackey (8–11)Cornejo (5–12)Percival (26)43,17431–89L3
121August 16@ Angels7–11Glover (2–0)Ledezma (3–7)—42,33731–90L4
122August 17@ Angels6–11Ortiz (14–10)Bonderman (6–16)—40,74531–91L5
123August 18Rangers2–4Mahay (2–0)Sparks (0–6)Dickey (1)11,69831–92L6
124August 19Rangers4–5Thomson (11–10)Maroth (6–18)Shouse (1)13,50131–93L7
125August 20Rangers0–6Dickey (8–5)Cornejo (5–13)—13,78831–94L8
126August 21Angels7–10Sele (7–9)Roney (1–9)—12,23631–95L9
127August 22Angels5–6Ortiz (15–10)Bonderman (6–17)Percival (27)21,95531–96L10
128August 23Angels8–14Donnelly (2–2)Spurling (1–2)—26,46331–97L11
129August 24Angels10–9Walker (3–2)Percival (0–4)—17,38232–97W1
130August 26@ Indians5–4Cornejo (6–13)Traber (6–7)Walker (3)16,97233–97W2
131August 27@ Indians7–9Cressend (2–0)Spurling (1–3)Riske (4)16,45733–98L1
132August 28@ Indians3–8Lee (3–1)Bonderman (6–18)—16,28233–99L2
133August 29White Sox8–4Robertson (1–0)Buehrle (11–13)—15,82834–99W1
134August 30White Sox2–5Garland (10–10)Maroth (6–19)—15,78634–100L1
135August 31White Sox1–6Loaiza (18–6)Cornejo (6–14)—15,87334–101L2 :
September: 9–18 (Home: 7–8; Away: 2–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecordStreak
136September 1Indians4–7Santiago (1–1)Walker (3–3)Riske (5)10,98634–102L3
137September 2Indians8–6Schmack (1–0)Durbin (0–1)Rodney (1)9,31835–102W1
138September 3Indians6–5Walker (4–3)Santiago (1–2)—10,23436–102W2
139September 4Indians2–1Knotts (3–5)Westbrook (6–9)Patterson (3)11,37137–102W3
140September 5@ Blue Jays6–8Sturtze (7–6)Maroth (6–20)López (9)14,45537–103L1
141September 6@ Blue Jays0–1Halladay (19–6)Rodney (0–2)—18,26137–104L2
142September 7@ Blue Jays0–8Towers (5–1)Mears (0–2)—16,61737–105L3
143September 9@ Yankees2–4White (4–0)Rodney (0–3)Rivera (34)31,82637–106L4
144September 10@ Yankees5–15Pettitte (18–8)Knotts (3–6)—34,00037–107L5
145September 11@ Yankees2–5Clemens (14–9)Cornejo (6–15)Rivera (35)31,91537–108L6
146September 12Royals3–0Maroth (7–20)Abbott (1–1)Rodney (2)18,04238–108W1
147September 13Royals0–7Wright (1–1)Mears (0–3)—15,96638–109L1
148September 14Royals2–7Gobble (4–4)Robertson (0–2)—13,57938–110L2
149September 15Royals4–10Anderson (12–11)Knotts (3–7)—9,34238–111L3
150September 16Blue Jays6–9Kershner (2–3)Cornejo (6–16)—9,80138–112L4
151September 17Blue Jays0–6Halladay (21–6)Loux (0–1)—11,24038–113L5
152September 18Blue Jays6–10Towers (7–1)Maroth (7–21)—9,95138–114L6
153September 19@ Twins2–6Milton (1–0)Bonderman (6–19)—30,01338–115L7
154September 20@ Twins3–7Santana (12–3)Robertson (1–2)—26,90338–116L8
155September 21@ Twins4–6Radke (14–10)Cornejo (6–17)Guardado (39)33,39638–117L9
156September 22@ Royals6–12Affeldt (7–6)Knotts (3–8)—10,57438–118L10
157September 23@ Royals15–6Maroth (8–21)Lima (8–2)—11,18039–118W1
158September 24@ Royals4–3Loux (1–1)Gobble (4–5)Rodney (3)10,75840–118W2
159September 25Twins5–4Mears (1–3)Thomas (0–1)—9,29641–118W3
160September 26Twins4–5Guardado (3–5)Germán (2–4)Hawkins (2)16,51841–119L1
161September 27Twins9–8Rodney (1–3)Orosco (2–2)—14,27742–119W1
162September 28Twins9–4Maroth (9–21)Johnson (0–1)—18,95943–119W2 :

### Detailed records

American League :
| Opponent | Home | Away | Total | Pct. | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
| AL East |||||||
| Baltimore Orioles | 0–3 | 3–0 | 3–3 | .500 | 31 | 33 |
| Boston Red Sox | 1–2 | 0–6 | 1–8 | .111 | 25 | 60 |
| New York Yankees | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–5 | .167 | 22 | 42 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | .333 | 23 | 20 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 2–4 | 0–3 | 2–7 | .222 | 31 | 52 |
| | 5–13 | 4–14 | 9–27 | .250 | 132 | 207 |
| AL Central |||||||
| Chicago White Sox | 5–4 | 3–7 | 8–11 | .421 | 55 | 93 |
| Cleveland Indians | 4–6 | 3–6 | 7–12 | .368 | 77 | 109 |
| Detroit Tigers | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kansas City Royals | 3–7 | 2–7 | 5–14 | .263 | 81 | 111 |
| Minnesota Twins | 3–7 | 1–8 | 4–15 | .211 | 69 | 105 |
| | 15–24 | 9–28 | 24–52 | .316 | 282 | 428 |
| AL West |||||||
| Anaheim Angels | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–6 | .143 | 44 | 64 |
| Oakland Athletics | 2–4 | 1–2 | 3–6 | .333 | 22 | 42 |
| Seattle Mariners | 0–3 | 1–5 | 1–8 | .111 | 25 | 60 |
| Texas Rangers | 0–3 | 1–3 | 1–6 | .143 | 22 | 41 |
| | 3–13 | 3–13 | 6–26 | .188 | 113 | 207 |
National League :
| Opponent | Home | Away | Total | Pct. | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | .000 | 6 | 20 |
| Colorado Rockies | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | .333 | 31 | 38 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | .000 | 4 | 9 |
| San Diego Padres | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | .667 | 9 | 10 |
| San Francisco Giants | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | .000 | 14 | 19 |
| | 1–8 | 3–6 | 4–14 | .222 | 64 | 96 |

## Player stats
### Batting

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 |
| Dmitri Young | 155 | 562 | 167 | .297 | 29 | 85 |
| Bobby Higginson | 130 | 469 | 110 | .235 | 14 | 52 |
| Carlos Peña | 131 | 452 | 112 | .248 | 18 | 50 |
| Ramón Santiago | 141 | 444 | 100 | .225 | 2 | 29 |
| Craig Monroe | 128 | 425 | 102 | .240 | 23 | 70 |
| Alex Sánchez | 101 | 394 | 114 | .289 | 1 | 22 |
| Shane Halter | 114 | 360 | 78 | .217 | 12 | 30 |
| Warren Morris | 97 | 346 | 94 | .272 | 6 | 37 |
| Brandon Inge | 104 | 330 | 67 | .203 | 8 | 30 |
| Eric Munson | 99 | 313 | 75 | .240 | 18 | 50 |
| Kevin Witt | 93 | 270 | 71 | .263 | 10 | 26 |
| Omar Infante | 69 | 221 | 49 | .222 | 0 | 8 |
| Andrés Torres | 59 | 168 | 37 | .220 | 1 | 9 |
| Matt Walbeck | 59 | 138 | 24 | .174 | 1 | 6 |
| Gene Kingsale | 39 | 120 | 25 | .208 | 1 | 8 |
| Ben Petrick | 43 | 120 | 27 | .225 | 4 | 12 |
| Dean Palmer | 26 | 86 | 12 | .140 | 0 | 6 |
| A. J. Hinch | 27 | 74 | 15 | .203 | 3 | 11 |
| Danny Klassen | 22 | 73 | 18 | .247 | 1 | 7 |
| Craig Paquette | 11 | 33 | 5 | .152 | 0 | 0 |
| Hiram Bocachica | 6 | 22 | 1 | .045 | 0 | 0 |
| Cody Ross | 6 | 19 | 4 | .211 | 1 | 5 |
| Ernie Young | 5 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 0 | 0 |
| Pitcher Totals | 162 | 16 | 3 | .188 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5466 | 1312 | .240 | 153 | 553 |
Note: Individual pitchers' batting statistics not included

### Starting and 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 |
| Nate Cornejo | 32 | 194.2 | 6 | 17 | 4.67 | 46 |
| Mike Maroth | 33 | 193.1 | 9 | 21 | 5.73 | 87 |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 33 | 162.0 | 6 | 19 | 5.56 | 108 |
| Adam Bernero | 18 | 100.2 | 1 | 12 | 6.08 | 54 |
| Matt Roney | 45 | 100.2 | 1 | 9 | 5.45 | 47 |
| Gary Knotts | 20 | 95.1 | 3 | 8 | 6.04 | 51 |
| Wil Ledezma | 34 | 84.0 | 3 | 7 | 5.79 | 49 |
| Nate Robertson | 8 | 44.2 | 1 | 2 | 5.44 | 33 |
| Shane Loux | 11 | 30.1 | 1 | 1 | 7.12 | 8 |

### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W= Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF= Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | GF | ERA | SO |
| Jamie Walker | 78 | 65.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 3.32 | 45 |
| Chris Spurling | 66 | 77.0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 4.68 | 38 |
| Franklyn Germán | 45 | 44.2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 6.04 | 41 |
| Steve Sparks | 42 | 89.2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 24 | 4.72 | 49 |
| Chris Mears | 29 | 41.1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 5.44 | 21 |
| Fernando Rodney | 27 | 29.2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 6.07 | 33 |
| Matt Anderson | 23 | 23.1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 5.40 | 13 |
| Eric Eckenstahler | 20 | 15.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2.87 | 12 |
| Danny Patterson | 19 | 17.2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 4.08 | 19 |
| Steve Avery | 19 | 16.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5.63 | 6 |
| Brian Schmack | 11 | 13.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.46 | 4 |
| Team Pitching Totals | 162 | 1438.2 | 43 | 119 | 27 | 159 | 5.30 | 764 |

## League leaders and awards

* Jeremy Bonderman: #2 in MLB in losses (19)
* Jeremy Bonderman: #2 in AL in wild pitches (12)
* Jeremy Bonderman: second youngest player in AL (20)
* Nate Cornejo: #5 in AL in hits allowed (236)
* Nate Cornejo: #3 in MLB in losses (17)
* Brandon Inge: AL leader in baserunners caught stealing (40)
* Brandon Inge: AL leader in double plays by a catcher (11)
* Mike Maroth: AL leader in home runs allowed (34)
* Mike Maroth: MLB leader in losses (21)
* Mike Maroth: MLB leader in earned runs allowed (123)
* Mike Maroth: AL leader in baserunners caught stealing (11)
* Mike Maroth: AL leader in baserunners picked off (7)
* Carlos Peña: AL leader in errors by a first baseman (13)
* Alex Sánchez: #2 in AL in stolen bases (44)
* Alex Sánchez: MLB leader in times caught stealing (18)
* Ramón Santiago: MLB leader in sacrifice hits (18)
* Jamie Walker: #2 in AL in games by a pitcher (78)
* Dmitri Young: Tiger of the Year Award
* Dmitri Young: #5 in AL in strikeouts (130)
* Dmitri Young: #4 in AL in intentional walks (16)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Toledo Mud Hens | International League | Larry Parrish |
| AA | Erie SeaWolves | Eastern League | Kevin Bradshaw |
| A | Lakeland Tigers | Florida State League | Gary Green |
| A | West Michigan Whitecaps | Midwest League | Phil Regan |
| A-Short Season | Oneonta Tigers | New York–Penn League | Randy Ready |
| Rookie | GCL Tigers | Gulf Coast League | Howard Bushong |