1975 Detroit Tigers season

The 1975 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 75th season and the 64th season at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers compiled a record of 57–102, which was — at the time — the second worst season in franchise history (it now ranks as the sixth). They finished in last place in the American League East, 37½ games behind the Boston Red Sox. Their team batting average of .249 and team ERA of 4.27 were the second worst in the American League. They were outscored by their opponents 786 to 570. The season included a 19-game losing streak, lasting from July 29 through Aug. 15.

Offseason

• November 18, 1974: Ed Brinkman was traded by the Tigers to the St. Louis Cardinals, and Bob Strampe and Dick Sharon were traded by the Tigers to the San Diego Padres as part of a three-team trade. The Padres sent Nate Colbert to the Tigers, and a player to be named later to the Cardinals. The Cardinals sent Alan Foster, Rich Folkers, and Sonny Siebert to the Padres. The Padres completed the deal by sending Danny Breeden to the Cardinals on December 12.
• December 4, 1974: Woodie Fryman was traded by the Tigers to the Montreal Expos for Tom Walker and Terry Humphrey.
• January 9, 1975: Tom Brookens was drafted by the Tigers in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft.
• February 1, 1975: Gene Michael was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.
• March 29, 1975: Reggie Sanders was traded by the Tigers to the Atlanta Braves for Jack Pierce.

Regular season

Worst Seasons in Detroit Tigers History Rank Year Wins Losses Win % 1 2003 43 119 .265 2 2019 47 114 .292 3 1952 50 104 .325 4 1996 53 109 .327 5 2002 55 106 .342 6 1975 57 102 .358

Notable transactions

• June 15, 1975: Nate Colbert was purchased from the Tigers by the Montreal Expos.

Roster

1975 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 36 Fernando Arroyo 21 Ray Bare 28 Ike Brookens 15 Joe Coleman 48 Ed Glynn 49 Steve Grilli 18 John Hiller 30 Lerrin LaGrow 19 Dave Lemanczyk 29 Mickey Lolich 37 Tom Makowski 39 Gene Pentz 34 Bob Reynolds 31 Vern Ruhle 32 Tom Walker		Catchers 11 Bill Freehan 47 Terry Humphrey 10 Gene Lamont 45 John Wockenfuss Infielders  9 Nate Colbert  2 John Knox 40 Jerry Manuel 16 Gene Michael 27 Jack Pierce  4 Aurelio Rodríguez  9 Chuck Scrivener  3 Gary Sutherland  7 Tom Veryzer		Outfielders 43 Billy Baldwin 42 Art James  8 Ron LeFlore 25 Dan Meyer 34 Bob Molinaro 22 Ben Oglivie 44 Leon Roberts 24 Mickey Stanley Other batters 26 Gates Brown 23 Willie Horton		Manager 35 Ralph Houk Coaches 52 Steve Hamilton (Pitching) 50 Jim Hegan (Bullpen) 51 Joe Schultz (Third Base) 53 Dick Tracewski (First Base)

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		120	427	105	.246	14	47
1B		53	170	40	.235	8	22
2B		129	503	130	.258	6	39
3B		151	507	124	.245	13	60
SS		128	404	102	.252	5	48
LF		100	332	95	.286	9	36
CF		136	550	142	.258	8	37
RF		129	447	115	.257	10	38
DH		159	615	169	.275	25	92

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	122	470	111	.236	8	47
	52	164	42	.256	3	19
	45	156	23	.147	4	18
	56	145	31	.214	3	13
	35	118	27	.229	4	13
	30	95	21	.221	4	8
	43	86	23	.267	0	2
	18	41	10	.244	0	1
	11	40	9	.225	0	1
	47	35	6	.171	1	3
	6	19	5	.263	0	1
	6	18	1	.056	0	0
	4	16	4	.250	0	0
	4	8	3	.375	0	1

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	32	240.2	12	18	3.78	139
	31	201.0	10	18	5.55	125
	32	190.0	11	12	4.03	67
	32	164.1	7	14	4.38	75
	29	150.2	8	13	4.48	71

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	36	115.1	3	8	4.45	60
	26	109.0	2	7	4.46	67
	3	14.2	0	2	4.30	8

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	GF	ERA	SO
	36	2	3	14	34	2.17	87
	21	0	2	3	14	4.67	26
	14	2	1	0	6	4.56	25
	13	0	4	0	11	3.20	21
	3	0	0	0	2	5.23	8
	3	0	0	0	2	4.82	3
	3	0	0	0	3	1.35	5

Awards and honors

1975 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Bill Freehan, reserve

League top ten finishers

Joe Coleman

• AL leader in wild pitches (15)
• #2 in MLB in losses (18)
• #2 in MLB in earned runs allowed (124)
• #4 in AL in hit batsmen(9)

Ron LeFlore

• #2 in AL in strikeouts (139)
• #2 in MLB in times caught stealing (20)

Mickey Lolich

• #2 in MLB in losses (18)
• #6 in MLB in complete games (19)

Dan Meyer

• AL leader in at bats per strikeout (18.8)

Willie Horton

• #3 in AL in game played (159)
• #4 in AL in at bats (615)

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1975 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:

• Bill Freehan: 12th best catcher of all time
• Aurelio Rodríguez: 91st best third baseman of all time
• Ron LeFlore: 80th best center fielder of all time
• Ben Oglivie: 64th best left fielder of all time
• Willie Horton: 55th best left fielder of all time (played DH for 1975 Tigers)
• Mickey Lolich: 72nd best pitcher of all time

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Evansville Triplets	American Association	Fred Hatfield
AA	Montgomery Rebels	Southern League	Les Moss
A	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	Stubby Overmire
A	Clinton Pilots	Midwest League	Jim Leyland
Rookie	Bristol Tigers	Appalachian League	Joe Lewis

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville, Montgomery

References

• 1975 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Statistics at Baseball Reference