1966 Detroit Tigers season
Encyclopedia
The Detroit Tigers
season was the 66th consecutive season for the Detroit
franchise in the American League
. The Tigers, who had finished fourth in the ten-team AL in 1965
with an 89-73 record, won one fewer game in 1966, going 88-74, but moved up to third in the league, ten full games behind the eventual world champion
Baltimore Orioles
.
world champion Tiger club, and the addition of starting pitcher
Earl Wilson, a future 20-game winner. But it was marred by the in-season illnesses, ultimately fatal, that struck manager
Chuck Dressen
and his immediate successor, interim pilot Bob Swift
. Dressen, 67, suffered a heart attack
on May 16 (his second heart attack in two years), with Detroit 16-10, three games behind the Cleveland Indians
. He was admitted to a Detroit hospital and third-base coach
Swift, 51, took the reins as acting manager, as he had done in 1965. Under Swift, the Tigers won 32 of their next 57 games. But during the July 11–13 All-Star break
, with Detroit in second place, eight games behind Baltimore, Swift was hospitalized for rapid weight loss and what was suspected to be food poisoning. However, tests revealed that he was suffering from lung cancer
and he was forced to step aside. Dressen died August 10, and Swift succumbed October 17.
Another Tiger coach, Frank Skaff
, finished the season as acting manager, with the team playing only one game above the .500 mark for him, at 40-39. The Tigers eventually hired Mayo Smith
as their new manager for 1967
, and Smith would lead them to within one game of the 1967 pennant and the 1968 world title.
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
season was the 66th consecutive season for the Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
franchise in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
. The Tigers, who had finished fourth in the ten-team AL in 1965
1965 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
with an 89-73 record, won one fewer game in 1966, going 88-74, but moved up to third in the league, ten full games behind the eventual world champion
1966 World Series
The 1966 World Series matched the Baltimore Orioles against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Orioles sweeping the Series in four games to capture their first championship in franchise history...
Baltimore Orioles
1966 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing first in the American League with a record of 97 wins and 63 losses, nine games ahead of the runner-up Minnesota Twins. It was their first AL pennant since 1944, when the club was known as the St. Louis Browns. The Orioles swept the NL...
.
Regular season
1966 was a season that saw the maturation of the core of the 19681968 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers won the 1968 World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3. The 1968 baseball season, known as the "Year of the Pitcher," was the Tigers' 68th since they entered the American League in 1901, their eighth pennant, and third World Series championship...
world champion Tiger club, and the addition of starting pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
Earl Wilson, a future 20-game winner. But it was marred by the in-season illnesses, ultimately fatal, that struck manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Chuck Dressen
Chuck Dressen
Charles Walter Dressen , known as both "Chuck" and "Charlie," was an American third baseman, manager and coach in professional baseball during a career that lasted almost fifty years, and was best known as the manager of the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers of 1951–1953...
and his immediate successor, interim pilot Bob Swift
Bob Swift
Robert Virgil Swift was an American catcher, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball.Swift is pictured in one of the most famous photographs in American sporting history. He was the catcher for the Detroit Tigers on August 19, 1951, when St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck sent midget...
. Dressen, 67, suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on May 16 (his second heart attack in two years), with Detroit 16-10, three games behind the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. He was admitted to a Detroit hospital and third-base coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
Swift, 51, took the reins as acting manager, as he had done in 1965. Under Swift, the Tigers won 32 of their next 57 games. But during the July 11–13 All-Star break
1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 37th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 12, 1966 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri...
, with Detroit in second place, eight games behind Baltimore, Swift was hospitalized for rapid weight loss and what was suspected to be food poisoning. However, tests revealed that he was suffering from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
and he was forced to step aside. Dressen died August 10, and Swift succumbed October 17.
Another Tiger coach, Frank Skaff
Frank Skaff
Francis Michael Skaff was an infielder, coach, manager and scout in American Major League Baseball. Skaff's half-season as acting manager of the Detroit Tigers is one of the most unusual, and tragic, happenstances in baseball annals.Skaff began 1966 as a Detroit coach...
, finished the season as acting manager, with the team playing only one game above the .500 mark for him, at 40-39. The Tigers eventually hired Mayo Smith
Mayo Smith
Edward Mayo Smith was an American player, manager, and scout in Major League Baseball.Smith was born in New London, Missouri, but grew up in Florida. A left-handed batter who threw right-handed, Smith was a career minor league outfielder who spent many seasons in the International League with the...
as their new manager for 1967
1967 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished tied for second in the American League with the Minnesota Twins with 91 wins and 71 losses, one game behind the AL pennant-winning Boston Red Sox.- Notable transactions :...
, and Smith would lead them to within one game of the 1967 pennant and the 1968 world title.
Notable transactions
- April 11, 1966: Mike Marshall was purchased by the Tigers from the Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
. - June 7, 1966: Les CainLes CainLeslie "Les" Cain is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers . He batted and threw left-handed. In a four-season career, Cain posted a 23-19 record with 303 strikeouts and a 3.98 ERA in 373.0 innings...
was drafted by the Tigers in the 4th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft1966 Major League Baseball Draft-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1966 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :A January free agent amateur draft was added for the first time in 1966. Ninety-five prospects were selected in the regular phase and 102 in the secondary phase of the...
. - June 14, 1966: Don DemeterDon DemeterDonald Lee "Don" Demeter is a former outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians...
and a player to be named later were traded by the Tigers to the Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
for Joe ChristopherJoe ChristopherJoseph O'Neal Christopher is a former outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from through . Listed at 5' 10", 175 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed....
and Earl Wilson. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Julio NavarroJulio NavarroJulio Navarro Ventura is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Los Angeles Angels , Detroit Tigers , and Atlanta Braves ....
to the Red Sox at June 21. - July 2, 1966: Tim HosleyTim HosleyTimothy Kenneth Hosley is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played parts of nine seasons in the majors between and . He played for the and World Series champion Oakland Athletics, though he was never on a postseason roster....
was signed by the Tigers as an amateur free agent.
Roster
| 1966 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders |
Outfielders | Manager Coaches |
||||||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LF | 146 | 526 | 138 | .262 | 27 | 100 | |
| RF | 123 | 419 | 111 | .265 | 16 | 58 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98 | 230 | 58 | .252 | 2 | 27 | |
| 32 | 99 | 21 | .212 | 5 | 12 | |
| 2 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 | |
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 264.1 | 20 | 14 | 3.92 | 192 | |
| 40 | 203.2 | 14 | 14 | 4.77 | 173 | |
| 23 | 163.1 | 13 | 6 | 2.59 | 133 | |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 103.2 | 3 | 9 | 3.82 | 50 | |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 3.08 | 79 | |
| 51 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3.28 | 57 | |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.30 | 6 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ∞ | 0 |