Detroit Tigers Top 10 Shortstops in franchise history

Topper Rigney

Detroit Tigers: 1922-1925

Rigney, like Peralta, posted excellent numbers while on the Tigers. He’s lower on this list because he only spent three and a half seasons in the Motor City, playing in 490 games at shortstop.

Rigney made his big league debut in 1922 at age 25. He led the league in games played that year, and slashed a robust .300/.380/.369 with seven triples, two home runs, 63 RBI and 17 stolen bases.

He hit even better in 1923, slashing .315/.389/.419 with 74 RBI and 11 triples. Rigney had a knack for drawing walks, a skill he had perfected by 1924. That season he posted a .410 OBP thanks to 102 walks, which was second in the league behind someone named Babe Ruth.

Rigney was well on his way to becoming one of the true Tiger greats, posting strong offensive numbers and defensive numbers at the shortstop position. Then, in 1925, Rigney only played in 62 games. In 146 at-bats, he hit .247 and posted a lowly 77 OPS+. I’d guess an injury had a lot to do with his lack of playing time, but injury reports from 95 years ago are hard to come by.

Regardless, those 62 games were the last Rigney would play in Detroit. He was purchased by the Boston Red Sox in April of 1926, where he hit .270/.395/.377 and finished 21st in MVP voting. He was traded early in 1927 to the Washington Senators, and hit .273 in a partial season. That was Rigney’s final season in the big leagues, as he called it quits at age 30.

Rigney’s career was brief but very solid, as he posted a .388 OBP and a 104 OPS+ in 694 career games. He hit .296/.389/.393 with 44 stolen bases, a 105 OPS+ and a 10.9 bWAR as a Detroit Tiger, good enough to crack the top-ten list at number six.