Detroit Tigers: Top 10 Second Basemen in franchise history

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TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 9: Richard Urena #7 of the Toronto Blue Jays is forced out at second base in the first inning during MLB game action as Ian Kinsler #3 of the Detroit Tigers cannot turn the double play at Rogers Centre on September 9, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

The Detroit Tigers traded away Ian Kinsler after the 2017 season. Where does he rank all-time among Tiger second baseman?

The Detroit Tigers have had tremendous success at the second base position in their storied franchise history.

While known primarily as a light-hitting position, the Tigers have frequently gone against the grain, employing strong hitting players as the keystone instead.

However, the defense has rarely gone ignored at second base either.

Detroit second basemen have won seven gold gloves while wearing a Tigers uniform. Additionally, they have also won six Silver Slugger awards, one rookie of the year award, one ALCS MVP award, and one AL MVP award.

Picking ten-second basemen was somewhat of a challenge. It is a very top heavy group, with two at the top that are indisputable. Below that are four that are all very, very good. Then we round it out with a couple guys who hung around long enough to crack the top ten.

Still, this list is a great portrait of Detroit’s history at a position that has been a great strength historically.

I encourage all you Tiger history buffs to take a second and guess who you think this list will entail, and in what order.

Without further ado, here are the 10 greatest second baseman in Detroit Tiger’s history.

Note: Huge thanks to baseball-reference.com for all the statistics. We couldn’t do it without them!

Jerry Priddy

Detroit Tigers: 1950-1953

Jerry Priddy only spent four years in a Detroit uniform. However, he was a solid player offensively and very strong defensively, which is enough for him to crack the list.

Priddy made his debut in 1941 with the Yankees. He spent two partial seasons with them before going to Washington. He finished 16th in MVP voting in 1943, hitting .271 with a 111 OPS+.

Then, he missed the next two seasons due to military service. When he returned, he had two below average seasons with the Senators before getting shipped away to the Browns.

Across two seasons in St. Louis, Priddy slashed .293/.387/.428 with a 113 OPS+. He finished 15th and 22nd in MVP voting. The Browns shipped him to the Tigers in December of 1949 for Lou Kretlow and $100,000.

Priddy led the league in games played in both 1950 and 1951. He was particularly solid in 1950, hitting .277 with 13 home runs and six triples.

He finished 17th in MVP voting that season.

Priddy finished his career with two half seasons in Detroit before retiring in 1953 at the age of 33. While his offense was roughly league average (career 98 OPS+) defense is what gets Priddy on this list.

Priddy posted a strong 2.7 dWAR in his 1950 season, en route to a 4.4 bWAR overall. The former Yankee finished his time in Detroit with a .267 average and 448 hits. He posted a 95 OPS+. and a 6.7 bWAR.

Up next is a player known more for his versatility around the diamond.

Omar Infante

Detroit Tigers: 2002-2007, 2012-2013

Infante saw time all across the diamond during his two tenures in Detroit. Ultimately, he played 414 of his 676 games in a Tiger uniform at second base. That is enough to give him consideration on this list, where he will ultimately place ninth.

Infante made his big league debut with the Tigers in 2002. He remained with the team through 2007, primarily as a bench bat. He was at his best in 2004, hitting 16 home runs and stealing 13 bases while posting a .264 batting average and a 102 OPS+.

In November of 2007 Infante was traded straight up for veteran outfielder Jacque Jones. Jones hit .165 in 76 at-bats for the Tigers. Meanwhile, Infante got flipped by the Cubs to the Braves for prospects and flourished.

In three years in Atlanta, Infante hit .309 and accrued 6.0 bWAR. He made the All-Star team in 2010 and finished the year hitting .321.

Infante may have had his best seasons elsewhere, but he spent the majority of his career in Detroit and racked up a 7.1 bWAR across 8 seasons in the Motor City.

He was then traded again in the offseason with reliever Mike Dunn to the Marlins in exchange for Dan Uggla.

After a year and a half in Miami, Infante was dealt back to the Tigers in what became one of Dave Dombrowski’s best trades in the Motor City.

Infante came back to Detroit along with Anibal Sanchez for a trio of prospects: Rob Brantly, Brian Flynn, and Jacob Turner.

None of the three prospects panned out for the Marlins while Infante had a strong year and a half in Detroit. Sanchez won the ERA title in 2013 and finished fourth in Cy Young voting. His numbers tailed off in his last few years, but this trade was a big win for the Tigers overall.

After hitting .318 with 10 home runs and a 115 OPS+ in 2013, Infante signed a contract with the Kansas City Royals, ending his tenure in the Motor City.

However, Infante was released from his contract with Kansas City after a miserable 2016 season. He caught on with the Tigers Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens, and played the entire 2017 season there. He hit .282 with 31 doubles for the Mud Hens, but never got a call to the show.

Infante may have had his best seasons elsewhere, but he spent the majority of his career in Detroit and racked up a 7.1 bWAR across 8 seasons in the Motor City.

Up next is a player with very similar numbers to Infante, but from a much different era of baseball:

DETROIT- SEPTEMBER 27: A general view of Tiger Stadium prior to the final baseball game played at the 87 year old Tiger Stadium as the Detroit Tigets host the Kansas City Royals on September 27, 1999 in Detroit, Michigan. There was 6,873 games played at the corner of Michigan and Trumbul streets. The Tigers won the game 8-2. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Gettyimages) /

Eddie Mayo

Detroit Tigers: 1944-1948

Eddie Mayo only spent 4.5 seasons in the Motor City, but like Priddy he was good offensively and defensively. In an era where second baseman were almost always glove-first, Mayo flashed an above average bat.

Mayo made his debut in 1936 with the New York Giants. He hit .199 that season before getting shipped off to the Boston Bees. Mayo only saw 186 at-bats in the next two seasons, hitting .226.

Then, similar to Priddy, he put his major league career on hold to go serve in the military. He returned in 1943 with the Philadelphia Athletics. He played third base for the A’s and hit .219.

In an era where second baseman were almost always glove-first, Mayo flashed an above average bat.

The Tigers acquired Mayo after the season, switched him to second base and saw his career take off. He only hit .249 in 1944 but led the league in sacrifice hits.

Mayo’s 1945 season was good enough for a second-place finish in MVP voting. He finished behind teammate Hal Newhouser and ahead of Hall of Famers Lou Boudreau and Hank Greenberg.

Mayo slashed .285/.347/.404 with 10 home runs, seven stolen bases, and a 112 wRC+. His 4.6 bWAR was 8th in the league.

For his Tiger career, Mayo hit .265 with an 86 OPS+ and a 7.2 bWAR. His numbers are freakishly similar to Infante’s numbers in Detroit (.266 with an 87 OPS+ and a 7.1 bWAR) but Mayo was a significantly better defensive second baseman and played more of his games there.

Up next we find a Gold Glove Award winner, who also had some sneaky pop with the bat.

13 Jul 1998: General view of the stands at Tiger Stadium during a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Michigan. The Royals defeated the Tigers 6-4. Getty Images. /

Frank Bolling

Detroit Tigers: 1954-1960

Frank Bolling won the first of seven Gold Glove Awards won by Detroit second baseman in team history.

Known more for his fielding, Bolling was no slouch with the stick either. He spent six seasons in Detroit, slashing .261/.326/.388 with 64 home runs, 312 RBI, and a 91 OPS+.

He made his debut in 1954, hitting .236 with six home runs and a 76 OPS+. He then missed the 1955 season due to military obligations.

He returned in 1956, hitting .281 with a 107 OPS+ and finishing 27th in MVP voting.

Bolling set a career high in 1957 with 15 home runs. He had his best season the following year in 1958 when he hit .269 with 14 home runs, 75 RBI, six stolen bases and a league-leading nine sacrifice flies. He finished 16th in MVP voting and won the Gold Glove Award.

Known more for his fielding, Bolling was no slouch with the stick either.

He faded toward the end of his Tiger career, hitting .259 with an 87 OPS+ across his next two seasons.

Bolling was eventually traded in December of 1960 to the Milwaukee Braves in exchange for four prospects. Bolling would go on to make two consecutive All-Star teams in Milwaukee.

The Tigers, however, were able to get three useful major leaguers in the deal.

Bolling completed his Detroit career with an 11.2 bWAR. He hit double-digit home runs in three consecutive seasons, at the time only the second Detroit second baseman to do so.

He finds himself in the third-tier of Tiger second baseman, along with Mayo and Infante.

Up next, we begin looking at tier-two second basemen in Detroit history.

KANSAS CITY, MO – SEPTEMBER 27: A baseball sits on the field before the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 27, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images) /

Damion Easley

Detroit Tigers: 1996-2002

This list seems to divide itself into three parts. We just got through part one. Part two includes four second baseman who were all very solid members of Detroit’s history. Up first is Damion Easley.

Easley spent seven of his 17 big league seasons in Detroit. He might wish he had spent his whole career in Detroit however, as he was most productive while on the Tigers.

In fact, 17.7 of his 20.4 career bWAR came in a Tigers uniform.

From 1997-1999, Easley was one of the best second baseman in all of baseball.

Easley came over to Detroit in a late-July trade with the Angels in 1996 for reliever Greg Gohr. Gohr threw 24 ill-fated innings for the Halos before leaving baseball for good.

Easley, however, flourished in the Motor City.

From 1997-1999, Easley was one of the best second baseman in all of baseball. He posted three consecutive 20 home run seasons while stealing 10 or more bases.

In 1997 he hit .264 with 22 home runs, 28 stolen bases, and a 117 OPS+. It remains the only 20-20 season by a Tigers second baseman in team history.

Easley made the All-Star team in 1998 and was awarded the Silver Slugger award. He hit .271 with 27 home runs, 100 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.

1999 saw Easley hit 20 home runs for the third straight year. He added 11 steals and hit .266.

Easley saw his production dip across the next three seasons before Detroit released him ahead of the 2003 season. He hopped around four different teams before officially retiring in 2008.

Easley finished his Tigers career with 104 home runs, 81 stolen bases, 174 doubles and a 17.7 bWAR. He ranks in the top-50 in Detroit history in each of those categories.

Easley was one of the best hitting second baseman in Detroit history. He was no slouch with the glove either and finds himself at the tail end of a great group of Detroit second baseman.

Our next player continues the trend of modern, power hitting second basemen:

Ian Kinsler

Detroit Tigers: 2013-2017

The modern era has been good for the Tigers. Virtually every starting second baseman since Easley is on this list, with very few exceptions.

Ian Kinsler carried the load from 2013 until 2017 and finds himself among the top five Tiger second basemen of all time.

The Tigers acquired Kinsler from the Texas Rangers in what was one of the biggest blockbuster trades in team history. The Tigers traded fan favorite first baseman Prince Fielder and his gargantuan contract in exchange for Kinsler.

For a team going through a lot of turnover and seeing a lot of familiar faces struggle or disappear, Kinsler was a nice safety net.

Kinsler spent four seasons in the Motor City before being traded away in the rebuilding offseason of 2017. However, he accomplished enough in four seasons to merit a top-five selection amongst the Tigers all-time second baseman.

Kinsler hit .275 with 78 home runs, 300 RBI, and 53 stolen bases as a Tiger. He posted a 107 OPS+ and had a 19.9 bWAR. Although he only made one All-Star game while in Detroit, he did win the Gold Glove Award in 2016. He also led the league in plate appearances and at-bats in 2014.

Kinsler’s WAR totals in his four years in Detroit: 5.7, 6.0, 6.1, and 2.1.

Kinsler was a consistent, steadying presence on the Tigers. For a team going through a lot of turnover and seeing a lot of familiar faces struggle or disappear, Kinsler was a nice safety net. He struggled in his final year in Detroit, but he could always be counted on to play solid defense and put up double-digit home runs and steals.

Kinsler very nearly was ranked the fourth best second baseman in team history, but he narrowly lost out to our next player:

Placido Polanco

Detroit Tigers: 2005-2009

Best known for his jubilant race around the bases during Magglio Ordonez‘s walk-off home run in 2006, Placido Polanco’s five year run in Detroit places him fourth on our list.

The Tigers initially acquired Polanco in a 2005 mid-season trade with the Phillies. They shipped away embattled closer Ugueth Urbina and journeyman Ramon Martinez in exchange for Polanco.

The trade worked out masterfully for the Tigers.

Polanco hit .338 with six home runs and four steals down the stretch, posting a nice 128 OPS+. He was the everyday second baseman for the next four seasons, slashing .307/.351/.411 with a 99 OPS+ in that time frame. Although he never posted many home runs or steals, he averaged 172 hits per season and rarely struck out.

Polanco finished his Tigers career with a .311/.355/.418 slash line, 806 hits, two Gold Glove Awards and a 19.1 WAR.

His 2006 season wasn’t anything special until the playoffs rolled around.

Polanco hit .412 (7-for-17) with two RBI in the ALDS against the Yankees. The Tigers swept in four.

The ALCS was even better for Polanco, as he hit .526 (9-for-17) and scored two runs, including the infamous game-winning run in Game four to send the Tigers to the World Series. Polanco was awarded the ALCS MVP award.

Unfortunately, Polanco’s luck ran out in the World Series. He hit a miserable 0-for-17 as the Tigers got beat in five games by the Cardinals.

His 2007 season was one for the ages, as Polanco hit .341 with 200 hits, nine home runs, seven stolen bases, and a 128 OPS+. He made the All-Star game and won both the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger Awards while finishing 17th in MVP voting.

He won another Gold Glove Award with the Tigers in 2009 before departing after the season via free agency.

Polanco finished his Tigers career with a .311/.355/.418 slash line, 806 hits, two Gold Glove Awards and a 19.1 WAR. He was one of the best defensive second basemen of all-time and certainly ranks as one of the best in Tiger history.

Next up is a slugging second baseman, in an era when that was not the norm.

Dick McAuliffe

Detroit Tigers: 1960-1973

Dick McAuliffe was a power hitting second basemen when power hitting second basemen weren’t a thing.

He hit 20+ home runs in three different seasons and finished his career with 197 round-trippers, 192 of them in a Detroit uniform. His 142 home runs in the 1960’s is first among second basemen. Second place is Bill Mazeroski, with 93.

McAuliffe played 14 seasons in a Detroit uniform. His name is littered all across the team’s record books. A few examples:

Plate Appearances: 6,828 (11th)
Runs: 856 (13th)
Triples: 70 (8th)
Home Runs: 192 (12th – only behind Whitaker among 2B)
Walks: 842 (8th)
WAR: 37.5 (14th)

The left-handed hitting McAuliffe was a key component of the Tigers 1968 World Series winning team. That season he led the league in runs scored with 95. He also hit 16 home runs, 24 doubles, 10 triples, stole eight bases and posted a 126 OPS+. He finished seventh in MVP voting but strangely did not make the All-Star game, despite having made it the three previous seasons.

McAuliffe did play a lot of shortstop early in his career but settled in as the full-time second baseman in 1967. For his career, he started 903 games at second base, compared to 600 starts at shortstop.

Next up is one of the Tigers longest-tenured players, and a player who has been in the news recently thanks to his teammate’s accomplishments.

Lou Whitaker

Detroit Tigers: 1977-1995

Lou Whitaker has been in the news recently, thanks to the induction of two of his teammates into the Baseball Hall of Fame. While Alan Trammell and Jack Morris were more than deserving of their enshrinement, it left many people wondering: What about Lou?

Lou Whitaker’s Hall of Fame case is extremely impressive. The fact that he only received 2.9% of the vote back in 2001 is a travesty, and one that we can all hope is reversed by the Modern Era committee two years from now.

Looking at Whitaker’s accomplishments, there is no doubt he is one of the five greatest Detroit Tiger hitters of all-time.

Whitaker played his entire career in a Tiger uniform. He had 2,369 hits, 244 home runs, 1,084 RBI, 143 steals and a 117 OPS+. He made five All-Star games, won four Silver Slugger Awards, three Gold Glove Awards and the 1978 AL Rookie of the Year Award.

His career WAR of 74.9 is staggeringly high, ranking 49th all-time among position players.

The only hitters above him who are not in the Hall of Fame are:

Babe Dahlen
Pete Rose (ineligible)
Chipper Jones (Eligible 2018)
Adrian Beltre (active)
Albert Pujols (active)
Alex Rodriguez (Eligible 2021)
Barry Bonds (steroid allegations have kept him out)

That’s it. Every other hitter in front of him is a Hall of Famer. It is safe to assume that Chipper Jones, Adrian Beltre, and Albert Pujols will all sail into the Hall of fame. Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds are in a different category thanks to PED use.

Among second baseman, Whitaker ranks seventh in career WAR. The other six are all Hall of Famers.

We could go on and on but the point is this: Lou Whitaker deserves the Hall of Fame and deserves to have his number one retired by the Tigers.

Next up is one of the first Detroit Tiger players to ever make the Hall of Fame:

Charlie Gehringer

Detroit Tigers: 1924-1942

It is crazy to think that Lou Whitaker is indisputably one of the 10 greatest second basemen of all-time, yet he is very clearly the second best in Tigers history.

The distinction for number one belongs to “the Mechanical Man” Charlie Gehringer.

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Gehringer played for the Tigers for 19 seasons and stuffed the stat sheet. He ranks in the teams top five in nearly every offensive category, and many defensive categories as well.

Gehringer finished his storied career with 2,839 hits, 1,775 runs, 574 doubles, 184 home runs, 1,427 RBI, 181 steals and a .320/.404/.480 slash line.

The All-Star game did not exist until Gehringer was 30, yet he still made six of them. He was the 1937 AL MVP and finished in the top ten six other times.

He led the league in runs twice, hits twice, doubles twice, triples once, steals once and won the 1937 batting title with a .371 average.

His 80.6 career WAR ranks 37th all time and third in Tigers history, behind Ty Cobb and Al Kaline.

Although it took a while, Gehringer was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949. He is one of three Hall of Famers to have spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. Al Kaline and recently inducted Alan Trammell are the others.

Gehringer is one of the greatest players of his generation and will forever be known as one of the greatest Detroit Tigers in franchise history.

Next: Jack Morris, Alan Trammell inducted into the Hall of Fame

So there you have it. The 10 greatest second basemen in Detroit Tiger history, ranked. What are your thoughts? Do you have a different list in mind? Did I leave anyone off that you would have included? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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