# 1951 Detroit Tigers season

The 1951 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 73–81, 25 games behind the New York Yankees.

## Offseason

* January 20, 1951: Marv Grissom and George Vico were traded by the Tigers to the Seattle Rainiers for Wayne McLeland.

## Regular season

On August 19, the Tigers played a doubleheader in St. Louis against the Browns. In the second game, after the Tigers had batted in the top of the first inning, the Browns sent midget Eddie Gaedel up to pinch-hit for leadoff batter Frank Saucier. Gaedel, at a height of 3'7", is to date the shortest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. Umpire Ed Hurley challenged the decision to allow Gaedel to participate in an at-bat. Browns manager Zack Taylor produced a copy of Gaedel's contract. Tigers pitcher Bob Cain walked him. Jim Delsing pinch ran for Gaedel, but failed to score. The Tigers won the game, 6–2.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 98 | 56 | .636 | — | 56‍–‍22 | 42‍–‍34 |
| Cleveland Indians | 93 | 61 | .604 | 5 | 53‍–‍24 | 40‍–‍37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 87 | 67 | .565 | 11 | 50‍–‍25 | 37‍–‍42 |
| Chicago White Sox | 81 | 73 | .526 | 17 | 39‍–‍38 | 42‍–‍35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 73 | 81 | .474 | 25 | 36‍–‍41 | 37‍–‍40 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 70 | 84 | .455 | 28 | 38‍–‍41 | 32‍–‍43 |
| Washington Senators | 62 | 92 | .403 | 36 | 32‍–‍44 | 30‍–‍48 |
| St. Louis Browns | 52 | 102 | .338 | 46 | 24‍–‍53 | 28‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

1951 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH |
| Boston | — | 11–11 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 11–11 | 15–7 | 15–7 | 15–7 |
| Chicago | 11–11 | — | 12–10–1 | 12–10 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 14–8 |
| Cleveland | 14–8 | 10–12–1 | — | 17–5 | 7–15 | 16–6 | 16–6 | 13–9 |
| Detroit | 10–12 | 10–12 | 5–17 | — | 10–12 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9 |
| New York | 11–11 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 12–10 | — | 13–9 | 17–5 | 16–6 |
| Philadelphia | 7–15 | 13–9 | 6–16 | 9–13 | 9–13 | — | 14–8 | 12–10 |
| St. Louis | 7–15 | 7–15 | 6–16 | 10–12 | 5–17 | 8–14 | — | 9–13 |
| Washington | 7–15 | 8–14 | 9–13 | 9–13 | 6–16 | 10–12 | 13–9 | — |

### All-Star Game

The 1951 All-Star Game was originally awarded to the Philadelphia Phillies. The City of Detroit was celebrating the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1701 and requested to host the year's All-Star Game. Although the National League was scheduled to host the game in '51, the game was moved to Detroit's Briggs Stadium to coincide with the city's celebration. The Phillies instead hosted the 1952 All-Star Game at Shibe Park.

### 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 | Joe Ginsberg | 102 | 304 | 79 | .260 | 8 | 37 |
| 1B | Dick Kryhoski | 119 | 421 | 121 | .287 | 12 | 57 |
| 2B | Jerry Priddy | 154 | 584 | 152 | .260 | 8 | 57 |
| SS | Johnny Lipon | 129 | 487 | 129 | .265 | 0 | 38 |
| 3B | George Kell | 147 | 598 | 191 | .319 | 2 | 59 |
| OF | Hoot Evers | 116 | 393 | 88 | .224 | 11 | 46 |
| OF | Vic Wertz | 138 | 501 | 143 | .285 | 27 | 94 |
| OF | Johnny Groth | 118 | 428 | 128 | .299 | 3 | 49 |

#### 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 |
| Pat Mullin | 110 | 295 | 83 | .281 | 12 | 51 |
| Don Kolloway | 78 | 212 | 54 | .255 | 1 | 17 |
| Bud Souchock | 91 | 188 | 46 | .245 | 11 | 28 |
| Neil Berry | 67 | 157 | 36 | .229 | 0 | 9 |
| Bob Swift | 44 | 104 | 20 | .192 | 0 | 5 |
| Aaron Robinson | 36 | 82 | 17 | .207 | 0 | 9 |
| Charlie Keller | 54 | 62 | 16 | .258 | 3 | 21 |
| Frank House | 18 | 41 | 9 | .220 | 1 | 4 |
| Russ Sullivan | 7 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 1 | 1 |
| Al Federoff | 2 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Doc Daugherty | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |
| Ted Gray | 34 | 197.1 | 7 | 14 | 4.06 | 131 |
| Fred Hutchinson | 31 | 188.1 | 10 | 10 | 3.68 | 53 |
| Hal Newhouser | 15 | 96.1 | 6 | 6 | 3.92 | 37 |
| Saul Rogovin | 5 | 24.0 | 1 | 1 | 5.25 | 5 |

#### 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 |
| Dizzy Trout | 42 | 191.2 | 9 | 14 | 4.04 | 89 |
| Virgil Trucks | 37 | 153.2 | 13 | 8 | 4.33 | 89 |
| Bob Cain | 35 | 149.1 | 11 | 10 | 4.70 | 58 |
| Marlin Stuart | 29 | 124.0 | 4 | 6 | 3.77 | 46 |
| Wayne McLeland | 6 | 11.0 | 0 | 1 | 8.18 | 0 |
| Dick Marlowe | 2 | 1.2 | 0 | 1 | 32.40 | 1 |

#### 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 |
| Hal White | 38 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4.74 | 23 |
| Gene Bearden | 37 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4.33 | 38 |
| Hank Borowy | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6.95 | 16 |
| Earl Johnson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.35 | 2 |
| Ray Herbert | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.42 | 9 |
| Paul Calvert | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Toledo Mud Hens | American Association | Jack Tighe |
| AA | Little Rock Travelers | Southern Association | Gene Desautels |
| A | Williamsport Tigers | Eastern League | Schoolboy Rowe |
| B | Durham Bulls | Carolina League | Ace Parker |
| B | Davenport Tigers | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Marv Olson |
| D | Richmond Tigers | Ohio–Indiana League | Ralph DiLullo |
| D | Jamestown Falcons | PONY League | Tony Lupien |
| D | Wausau Lumberjacks | Wisconsin State League | Bob Benish |