Detroit Tigers: Franchise Four Candidates

Apr 13, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher

(35) greets teammates during pre-game introductions before playing the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Major League Baseball is running a very fun fan vote in an effort to determine all 30 teams’ Mount Rushmore of players. In other words, who are the greatest four players in each franchises’ history.

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Motor City Bengals wanted to join in on the fun and make our own arguments for each Tigers candidate.

The fan vote on MLB.com has eight candidates for the Tigers Mount Rushmore and is also accepting write-in votes. Therefore, fans who can’t find their favorite player on the ballot can still vote for him. Voting ends on May 8.

Just virtue of the fact the Detroit Tigers have been around for over 120 years, the franchise is not short on historic players. Then, throw in the fact the Tigers have won four World Series titles and 11 American League pennants, it gets very difficult to narrow it down to Detroit’s top four players ever.

But without further ado, let’s take a look at the eight Tigers candidates for the franchise’s Mount Rushmore.

courtesy of vallejomuseum.blogspot.com

Ty Cobb (1905-1928)

Cobb is such an instrumental part in baseball’s history that he probably would be a finalist in baseball’s all-time Mount Rushmore.

In his 24-year career, Cobb had 4,189 hits, 2,244 runs, 1,933 RBI, 295 triples and 897 stolen bases. To this day, Cobb is still second all-time in hits, second in runs scored, second in triples, fourth in stolen bases and eighth in RBI.

Nicknamed “The Georgia Peach”, he won the league batting title a record 11 times and hit over .400 in a season twice. Meanwhile, his career batting average of .366 is still the best of all-time.

In 1909, Cobb won the Triple Crown, hitting .377 with a whopping nine home runs and 107 RBI.  He also led the league with 76 stolen bases that season. Cobb is the only player in history to win the Triple Crown and lead the league in stolen bases the same season.

But that wasn’t even his best year.

That was 1911 when Cobb hit .420 with eight home runs, 127 RBI, 147 runs, 83 stolen bases and won his only AL MVP award.

The only negative in Cobb’s candidacy for the Detroit Tigers’ Mount Rushmore is the fact he never won a World Series. Cobb won three AL Pennants in 1907, 1908 and 1909, but lost all three World Series.

Courtesy of Horsehide Trivia

Sam Crawford (1899-1917)

Ironically, Crawford is the only player to ever hit more triples than Cobb. Crawford led the league in triples six times and hit a career-high 26 triples in 1914.

Crawford finished second in the MVP voting that season as he also hit .314 with 56 extra-base hits, 104 RBI and 74 runs in addition to the 26 triples.

His 309 career triples will likely stand the test of time, and Crawford also finished just shy of the 3,000 hit club with 2,961.

And like Cobb, Crawford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Courtesy of Michpics.

Charlie Gehringer (1924-1942)

Only Cobb and Al Kaline took more at-bats in a Tigers uniform than Gehringer. He was also a member of the Tigers first World Series championship team in 1935.

In that World Series, he hit .375 with three doubles and four RBI.

Two years later, Gehringer won his only batting title, hitting .371 with 55 extra-base hits and 96 RBI on his way to the MVP award. Gehringer’s .320 lifetime average is still eighth all-time in franchise history. He is also second in hits, third in runs score, and fourth in RBI in Tigers history.

Like Cobb and Crawford, Gehringer is in the Hall of Fame, but unlike the first two candidates on this list, Gehringer played his entire career in Detroit.

Courtesy of hankgreenberg.net

Hank Greenberg (1930-1941, 1945-1947)

The original “Hammerin’ Hank” only played 13 years, 12 of which with the Tigers, but still managed to put up some incredible career numbers.

Greenberg finished his career batting .313 with 331 home runs, 1,274 RBI, 1,046 runs scored and an astonishing .605 slugging percentage. If not for missing three years of his prime due to World War II, Greenberg could have made a run at some serious records.

Even still, Greenberg won two MVP awards, the first coming in 1935 when he hit .328 with a league-leading 37 home runs and 168 RBI. The second came in 1940 as he hit .340 with, again, a league-leading 41 home runs and 150 RBI.

Those seasons don’t even include his near record-breaking years in 1937 and 1938. In 1937, Greenberg finished with 184 RBI, which was seven shy of Hack Wilson‘s record for most in a season. The following year, Greenberg took a serious run at Babe Ruth‘s home run record, finishing just shy with 58 bombs.

He also helped the Detroit Tigers win four AL Pennants and two World Series Championships in 1935 and 1945.

Courtesy of MLB.com

Al Kaline (1953-1974)

With the nickname “Mr. Tiger”, how does he not make the Detroit Tigers Mount Rushmore?

He played 22 seasons all with Detroit and played more games in a Tigers uniform, 2,834, than anyone else. Kaline also finished in the top three in several offensive categories in club history.

Kaline recorded 3,007 hits, second to Cobb in Tigers history and had 1,582 RBI, also second to Cobb. Furthermore, Kaline was second behind “The George Peach” in extra base hits, 972, and total bases, 4,852. Kaline scored 1,622 runs as well, which is behind only Cobb and Gehringer in Tigers history.

“Mr. Tiger”, however, is still Detroit’s home run king as he smacked 399 homers in his 22-year career. His best season came in 1955 when he hit 27 bombs with 102 RBI and won the batting title, hitting .340. Kaline was second in MVP voting that season. He also won a team record 10 gold gloves in the outfield.

Kaline was a member of the 1968 World Series team that beat the St. Louis Cardinals in an epic seven-game series that October. He hit .379 with two home runs and eight RBI to lead the Tigers offense.

Courtesy of @TigersGifs on Twitter

Alan Trammell (1977-1996)

Unlike the five names before him, Trammell is not in Baseball’s Hall of Fame, but he did make six All-Star Games and won the hearts of Detroit in 1984.

Trammell is probably the greatest shortstop in team history as he hit .285 with 652 extra-base hits, 1,231 runs and 1,003 RBI in his 20-year career. He also shined defensively, winning four gold gloves.

But Trammell will always be remembered for his heroics in 1984 as he led the Tigers to their first World Series title in 18 years. He hit .364 with a triple, home run and three RBI in the ALCS against the Royals and then batted .450 with two home runs, a double and six RBI in the World Series against the Padres.

He is one of only two players in Tigers history to win the World Series MVP and because it remains the last time the Tigers won the World Series, he could have an advantage in the voting process over some of the older players, who voters never saw play.

Oct 3, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) pitches in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles in game two of the 2014 ALDS playoff baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Verlander (2005-Present)

The Tigers are definitely a team more well-known for its hitting as Justin Verlander is the only pitcher on the MLB.com ballot.

Verlander has somewhat fallen on hard times as of late, but he is still a deserving candidate for the Detroit Tigers Mount Rushmore because he has been one of the best pitchers of his era.

He is 152-89 in his 10-year career and led the league in wins twice, 2009 and 2011. His 2011 season is the best season an American League pitcher has had in the last 25 years. Verlander won the pitcher Triple Crown, leading the league with 24 victories, a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikeouts. He also led the league in innings pitched, 251.0, which is a feat Verlander has accomplished three times.

In 2011, Verlander also became the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1986 to win the MVP award.

But with so many great Tigers, Verlander might need to add to his one Cy Young Award or lead Detroit to a World Series title in order to cement himself on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore.

Verlander came close twice, pitching on the AL Pennant winning Tigers in 2006 and 2012, but those teams lost in the Fall Classic.

Apr 10, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter

(41) during the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Write-Ins

As great as those players are, there are some many other Tigers players that could be mentioned among the best in franchise history.

Where does Hall of Famer Harry Heilmann fit in? What about rookie of the year winner Lou Whitaker? How about great pitchers such as Mickey Lolich, Jake Morris or Denny McLain? Or even newer Tigers like Magglio Ordonez or Victor Martinez? Do they deserve consideration?

What do you think? Are there players missing on the MLB.com ballot? Which players would you vote for? Let us know in the comments section below!

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