Team 83: The 1960 Tigers
By Blake VandeBunte • Nov 25th, 2009 • Category: Al Kaline, Charlie Maxwell, Eddie Yost, Frank Lary, Jim Bunning, Norm Cash, Top 109 Teams- Year: 1960
- Record: 71-83
- Win %: .461
- Win % Change: -33
- Run Differential: -11
- Pythagorean Record: 76-78
- AL Finish: 6th of 8
- Manager: Jimmie Dykes, Billy Hitchcock and Joe Gordon
- Best Transaction: Traded Steve Demeter to the Indians for Norm Cash. Demeter never did a thing in the big leagues, I mean nothing. Cash on the other hand was a staple in Detroit for 15 seasons. Cash hit 18 homers in 1960 and ended up hitting 373 homers for the Tigers, making him one of the most prolific power hitters in franchise history. Cash’s 1961 season remains one of the greatest seasons ever for a Tiger.
- Worst Transaction: Nothing really to speak of. Most of the moves made in 1960 either worked out or were a complete draw.
- Upper: Jim Bunning and Rocky Colavito each put up pretty good individual seasons. Colavito led the team with 35 homers and drove in 87 runs. Meanwhile, Bunning was the staff ace despite having a pedestrian win-loss record of 11-14. Bunning posted an ERA of 2.79 (ERA+ 143) and struck out 201 batters, one of the best totals in the American League. Sadly, neither player lasted in Detroit for all that long. Colavito lasted for only four years in Detroit and Bunning was shipped out of town for Don Demeter in a terribly lopsided trade against the Tigers.
- Downer: This was arguably Al Kaline’s worst season with the Tigers. This is being a bit critical, but I think it’s worth making note of. Kaline retired with an OPS+ of 134 and his total in 1960 was only 108, just a bit above league average. The Hall of Famer Kaline hit only 15 homers and his batting average of .278 was one of the worst marks of his career. The Tigers offense struggled as a whole in 1960 so I’m not trying to pin this thing on Kaline, it just was not a great year for the offense.
- Summary: The years before 1960 were unimpressive. The Tigers hovered right around the .500 mark before seeing the bottom fall out a bit in 1960. Norm Cash was a pleasant surprise at 1st base and had one of the best OPS+ numbers in the league. Eddie Yost and Charlie Maxwell each had decent seasons at the plate in 1960 to help the offense finish in last place in team batting average. Bunning and Frank Lary were the only Tigers starting pitchers to stay healthy for the entire season as injuries and inconsistencies plagued the pitching staff. Lary led the team with 15 wins and Hank Aguirre had a pretty stellar season out of the bullpen. Things would turn around in 1961 as the Tigers won 101 games in one of the best seasons in club history.
Blake VandeBunte is a posting fiend.
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It was in early to mid May that Kaline was benched with a .216 average. After a few days off he came back and batted over .300 the rest of the year to come up to the .278 mark.
For the years in his prime, it was a rather pedestrian year for him. and as we see countless times, the Gold Glove award is given to a player with good offensive numbers. Kaline did not win it that year. The only year he didn’t from 1957 when the award began through 1967 his last year winning it. The following year, Kaline would play over 150 games in 1961, the last time he did, led the league in doubles and finished with a .324 average to finish second to Cash,( and won the comeback player of the year award ), as he did to former team mate Harvey Kuenn in 1959, and again in 1963 to yaz.
The trade for Cash was a coup.
One other note of interest-surpise was Jimmie Dykes who took over as Tigers’ manager in 1959 from bill norman after a 2 and 15 start, and in 1960 mid season, the Tigers and indians traded managers. Joe Gordon finished out the season as manager for the Tigers. The one game wait while the managers switched teams was the reason Billy Hitchcock managed that year. Never happened before or since.
This was Ernie’s first year announcing for the Tigers!