Detroit Tigers: Five best Tigers who weren’t All-Stars

The Detroit Tigers have had many excellent All-Stars in franchise history. However, there are a handful of Tigers’ greats who never made the midsummer classic.

The All-Star game is coming up, and Detroit Tigers outfielder Nicholas Castellanos was left off the roster once again. A crowded American League outfield is the culprit, and as much as Castellanos deserves recognition, he simply doesn’t quite hold up to the talented players who made the roster over him. That will likely change as time goes on, and eventually Castellanos will hear his name called for the All-Star game. It could even happen this season, if injuries prevent anyone else from suiting up.

However, if somehow Castellanos continues to produce like he has been, but never finds himself in an All-Star game, he wouldn’t be alone. Below is a list of the five greatest Detroit Tigers players (according to bWAR) who never made an All-Star team.

It’s worth noting that players who played before 1933, when the first All-Star game was held, were not included. Obviously guys like Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford would have made All-Star games, had they occurred.

Jim Northrup, OF (21.4 bWAR)

Northrup spent a solid decade with the Tigers from 1964-1974. He twice earned votes for MVP, even finishing 13th in 1968.

1969 was Northrup’s best season. He blasted 25 home runs and had 66 RBI with a .295/.358/.508 slash line and a 136 OPS+.

Still, Northrup didn’t get a chance to play in the All-Star game in 1969. His first half was a solid .274/.343/.469 with 13 home runs, 15 doubles and four triples.

However, the 1969 American League All-Star team boasted a starting outfield trio of Frank Howard, Reggie Jackson and Frank Robinson. The backup outfielders were Paul Blair, Roy White, Tony Oliva, Mike Hegan, Carlos May, Reggie Smith and Carl Yastrzemski. That’s a pretty solid crew.

Hegan is one of he least notable names, but he was the lone representative for the expansion Seattle Pilots. With Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan all representing the Motor City, Northrup was a casualty of the All-Star games rule that one player from each team must be named an All-Star.

Northrup’s Legacy

Northrup is around the top 20 -25 in nearly every Tigers offensive category, and will be remembered a fan favorite who hit two home runs in the 1968 World Series. It’s hard to say he was ‘snubbed’ from any All-Star appearances however, as he played in an era with elite outfielders, particularly in the American League.

Bobby Higginson, OF (23.1 bWAR)

Higginson played 11 big league seasons, all with the Tigers. He was with them for some of the worst seasons in franchise history, likely a factor as to why he was never named an All-Star. He debuted in 1995, hitting 14 home runs with a .224 average.

1996 was an All-Star caliber year for Higgy, who hit .320 with 26 home runs and 81 RBI. His first half was excellent, as he posted a .305 average with 14 home runs. The AL took six outfielders that season: Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle, Brady Anderson, Greg Vaughn, Jay Buhner and Joe Carter. This was the height of the steroid era, and a .320|14|42 line in the first half just wasn’t good enough.

1997 and 2000 were Higgy’s two other All-Star caliber seasons, but once again the AL outfield was stacked, and Higgy’s numbers just didn’t quite stack up. It didn’t help that the Tigers finished below .500 in each of those seasons.

The rule that each team must be represented at the ASG should have worked in Higginson’s favor, since he was arguably the best player on many Tigers teams. However, 1997 belonged to left-hander Justin Thompson, and 2000 belonged to reliever Todd Jones.

2000 might be Higginson’s best argument for being snubbed. He was hitting .285 with 17 home runs at the All-Star break, but was passed over by Carl Everett and Matt Lawton, among others.

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Higgy’s Legacy

Higginson was one of Detroit’s best players during the late-1990’s and early-2000’s, and retired just before the team returned to the World Series in 2006.

Hopefully Castellanos, who is Detroit’s best player during a rebuild, will avoid the same fate.

Billy Rogell, SS (24.9 bWAR)

Rogell checked in as Detroit’s fifth best shortstop of all-time, yet despite playing most of his career in the All-Star game era, Rogell never made it to the midsummer classic.

Rogell played for the Tigers from 1930-1932, before the All-Star game existed. However, his best seasons came after the game was instilled, and he still never made it.

Rogell led the league in games played in 1933 and 1934. He was a walk machine, a skill that has been wildly under-appreciated for most of baseball history. That is a likely factor in Rogell’s lack of inclusion in any All-Star games. Additionally, a lot of Rogell’s value (at least according to bWAR) comes from his defensive prowess, something else that doesn’t often get players into the All-Star game.

And finally, the All-Star game had much smaller rosters back then. In both 1933 and 1934, the only shortstop to make the AL roster was Joe Cronin. Rogell was hitting .322 at the break in 1933, and .310 in 1934.

Rogell was a quality big leaguer for the Tigers for about a decade. It’s not too surprising he didn’t make an All-Star team. Had rosters been the size they are nowadays, it’s likely he would have been a reserve on one of those first two teams.

Tony Phillips, UTL (25.3 bWAR)

Tony Phillips played in 18 major league seasons and racked up a 50.9 career bWAR, yet he never made an All-Star game and only placed in MVP voting once, finishing 16th in 1993. That’s because, similar to Rogell, Phillips was a high-OBP machine pre-Moneyball era, before it was a widely recognized skill.

Phillips spent five of those seasons in the Motor City, from 1990-1994. He  hit .281 with a .395 OBP and added 61 home runs and 70 stolen bases during that time.

Phillips was likely passed over because of his constant moving – not just teams, but positions as well. He played primarily second base, but spent a ton of time in left field and at shortstop in his career.

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1993 was Phillips’ best season in Detroit, and arguably of his career. He was slashing a scorching .313/.450/.404 with four home runs and eight stolen bases at the All-Star break. However, Roberto Alomar and Carlos Baerga were selected as second basemen, with Cecil Fielder and Travis Fryman making the team from the Tigers.

While his career numbers are excellent, outside of his high walk totals his performance was good, but not All-Star worthy. Phillips’ nice WAR totals are more a product of his long career than any particular dominance, which makes it less surprising that he wasn’t selected as an All-Star.