Detroit Tigers: Top 10 Second Basemen in franchise history

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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.

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