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Detroit Tigers all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

Here's what the Detroit Tigers starting lineup would look like based on the highest WAR at each position.

ByMatthew Scheidel|
St. Louis Cardinals v Detroit Tigers
St. Louis Cardinals v Detroit Tigers | Dave Reginek/GettyImages
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9. Sam Crawford, LF, 60.1 fWAR

Crawford is probably the most surprising pick on the list. There are many other more well-known outfielders in Tigers history, but Crawford had some of the highest WAR of them all.

He debuted in 1899 with Cincinnati, then played for the Tigers from 1903-17. He and Ty Cobb created quite the outfield back in the day. His name is also etched on the wall in left-center field at Comerica Park.

He was just incredibly consistent. He hit over .300 11 times, including .378 in 1911. He finished as the MVP runner-up in 1914 to Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia Athletics.

One interesting thing about him is that he led the league in triples six times, including four years where he hit over 20 triples. That's twenty (20), triples. I know it was a different time, but man, that's a lot of three-baggers.

Sam Crawford may not be the first name people think about when talking about the greatest Tigers outfielders ever simply because of the era he played in, but the numbers don't lie. He was one of the best players of his time.

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