Top Tigers #67: Gates Brown
By Blake VandeBunte • Jan 9th, 2009 • Category: Gates Brown, Top 100 Tigers- Rank: 67
- Name: William James Brown
- Position: Outfield/Pinch Hitter Extraordinaire
- Tigers Tenure: 1963-1975
- Awards: None
- Best Season: 1968. While Gates didn’t pile up his greatest totals in 1968 (he hit 15 homers in 1964), he put together one of the greatest seasons ever by a pinch hitter, helping lead the Tigers to the World Series. 1968 was the year Denny McLain won 31 games and Bob Gibson of the Cardinals had an ERA of 1.12. In fact, the average ERA in the AL was 3.01, in other words, 1968 was a great year to be a pitcher and a pretty bad year to be a hitter. The Tigers ran Ray Oyler out onto the field for 215 at bats and he responded by hitting .135. In the midst of this great pitching season, Gates Brown hit .370 (OPS+ 234). Brown made a few starts that season but really earned his keep as a pinch hitter, batting at an amazing .450 clip. Of all pinch hitters in the history of the game (minimum of 30 at bats) that average is still good for the eighth best mark of all time. Ask any Tigers fan who had the most clutch hits for the club in 1968 and I bet 99% of them say Gates Brown.
- Good Stuff: Brown was a pretty good hitter over the course of his career. He retired with an OPS+ of 110, which is a very good career. He provided some pop (the 15 homers in 1964) and could steal a base (11 in 1964) or run out a triple (9th in the AL in 1964) if he needed to. Brown’s real value though was as a pinch hitter or as sub off of the Tigers bench. Aside from 1964 and 1968, Brown put together another very good season in 1971. He hit .338 (OPS+ 164) and hit 11 homers in under 200 at bats.
- Bad Stuff: If Brown was so great at the plate, why was he never a regular player? Defense, he was so bad in the field that the Tigers very seldom played him out there, especially later in his career when the designated hitter rule was adopted in the American League. Also, given the streaky nature of being “clutch” Brown was susceptible to laying an egg every now and again. In 1967 he hit only .187 (OPS+ 68) and hit only two home runs.
- Place In Tigers History: I think it’s safe to say that Gates Brown is remembered mostly for his 1968 season. I am still blown away that a batter could hit .450 as a pinch hitter in the worst season for hitters over the past 60 years. Brown also spent his entire career in Detroit and was the teams hitting coach from 1978-1984.
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