Detroit Tigers: All Saint Patrick’s Day team

Although the majority of them chose to go by Pat, the Tigers have had nine players named Patrick play for their franchise. None of them have been named a Saint (as far as I know) but just their namesake represents the holiday spirit.

Pat Mullin

Mullin spent his entire 10-year career in the Motor City, hitting .271 with 87 home runs and a 115 OPS+. Mullin missed four years due to the war, but was a two-time All-Star upon his return. His 23 home runs in 1948 led the team by a considerable margin.

Pat McLaughlin

McLaughlin spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues, making small cups of coffee with Detroit in 1937 and 1945, with one appearance in 1940 with the Philadelphia Athletics. All told, McLaughlin posted a 6.88 ERA in 35.1 big league innings.

Pat McGehee

McGehee started one game on the mound for the Tigers in 1912. He gave up one hit and one walk and did not record a single out. However, his career ERA is zero thanks to Joe Lake, who came on and tossed the remaining eight innings.

Pat McCoy

Some die hard fans might remember McCoy, who threw 14 innings for the Detroit Tigers back in 2014. He posted a 3.86 ERA and a 103 ERA+, but an unsightly 2.43 WHIP and 11/13 K/BB ratio. He toiled around the minor leagues the last few seasons and spent 2017 on the independent circuit, starting 11 games for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

Pat Dobson

Pat Dobson began his solid big league career with the Tigers, pitching for them from 1967-1969. He was used primarily as a reliever, racking up 16 saves with a 3.06 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 279.1 innings. He went on to be a part of a dominant Baltimore rotation, becoming one of four Baltimore starters in 1971 to win 20 games. Dobson was an All-Star in 1972 and won 122 games with a 3.54 ERA in his big league career.

Pat Ahearne

Ahearne threw 10 disastrous innings for the 1995 Detroit Tigers, giving up 20 hits and 13 earned runs. Although he never made it back to the big leagues, Ahearne threw all the way into 2013, where as a 43-year-old he tossed 29 innings of 7.14 ball with the Bridgeport Blue Fish of the Independent league.

Pat Underwood

The second overall pick of the 1976 draft by the Tigers, Pat Underwood never lived up to expectations. He threw 343.2 innings across four seasons for the Tigers, posting a 4.43 ERA and a 95 ERA+. He was out of professional baseball by age 27. The Tigers made up for their gaffe in the 1976 draft by selecting Hall of Famers Alan Trammell and Jack Morris in the second and fifth rounds, respectively. They also snagged right-hander Dan Petry in the fourth and shortstop Ozzie Smith in the seventh, who did not sign.

Pat Sheridan

Michigan native Pat Sheridan spent the first three of his 10 big league seasons with the Kansas City Royals. He signed as a free agent with the Tigers in 1986 and hit .251 with 26 home runs and 39 stolen bases over his four years with the ballclub.

Bob Patrick

Bob Patrick played in nine games with the Tigers, five in 1941 and four in 1942. He went 4-for-15 with a double and a home run in his brief MLB career. However, his one home run was a doozy: In the bottom of the ninth with two outs and a 1-1 game, Patrick took two-time All-Star Eddie Smith deep for a walk-off home run.

Next: Five Tigers prospects who will debut in 2018

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all our readers!