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Detroit Tigers: 1990’s All-Decade Team

By Andy Patton

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 25: Alan Trammell #3 of the Detroit Tigers fields the ball during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum on June 25, 1996 in Oakland, California. The Tigers defeated the A's 10-8. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 25: Alan Trammell #3 of the Detroit Tigers fields the ball during the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum on June 25, 1996 in Oakland, California. The Tigers defeated the A's 10-8. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /
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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)
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) /

Catcher – Mickey Tettleton

1990’s Stats: .249/.387/.480 135 OPS+ 14.8 bWAR

Mickey Tettleton, like Phillips, was a poster boy for the Moneyball-era long before Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s had adopted the mantra. A career .241 hitter, Tettleton got on base at a .369 clip thanks to 949 career walks which ranks him 143rd all-time.

Tettleton came to the Tigers in a January 1991 trade for relief pitcher Jeff Robinson.

His time with the Tigers, which spanned from 1991-1994, was some of the best of his career. Tettleton posted a  .387 on-base percentage, which was due almost exclusively to his ability to draw a walk. Tettleton led the league with 122 walks in 1992. He had over 100 in 1991 and 1993, and even posted 97 in a strike-shortened 1994 season.

Tettleton could do some damage when he swung the bat as well, which is why he slides in as the All-1990 teams’ number three hitter. Across his four seasons in the Motor City, Tettleton averaged 28 home runs and 83 RBI per season. He won the Silver slugger Award in both 1991 and 1992, and was an All-Star in 1994.

He became a free agent after the 1994 season and signed with the Texas Rangers, where he played until 1997 when at age 36 he decided to call it a career.

Tettleton’s lack of defensive prowess and relatively short career (he didn’t become a big league regular until age 28) kept him from reaching the upper echelon of catchers. Still, he goes down as one of Detroit’s best catchers ever, and checks in as the 34th greatest catcher of all-time according to JAWS.

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