Team 82: The 1941 Tigers
By Blake VandeBunte • Nov 30th, 2009 • Category: Al Benton, Bobo Newsom, Charlie Gehringer, Dick Wakefield, Rudy York, Sal Magile, Tommy Bridges, Top 109 Teams- Year: 1941
- Record: 75-79
- Win %: .487
- Win % Change: -97
- Run Differential: -57
- Pythagorean Record: 71-83
- AL Finish: 4th of 8
- Manager: Del Baker
- Best Transaction: Signed Dick Wakefield as a free agent. Wakefield signed with the Tigers in June of 1941 and was an All-Star in 1943 as a rookie. In that 1943 season, Wakefield was the American League leader in games, at-bats, hits and doubles. At the time of this signing, Wakefield was the top prospect in all of baseball and the fans of Detroit were happy to have him. Sadly, the war and injuries combined with a lousy attitude eventually led to Wakefield leaving the Tigers at the age of only 28.
- Worst Transaction: Losing Sal Magile. Magile was lost in the Rule 5 immediately following the 1941 season. It would take Magile a while to stick in the bigs as he didn’t play his first full season until 1950 when he went 18-4 and led the National League in ERA. The following year Magile went 23-6 with an ERA below 3.00. The Tigers could have used a guy like that in the 1950s.
- Upper: The Tigers offense struggled in 1941 so it was often up to the pitching staff to win ball games. Al Benton was the Tigers top reliever this season and was one of the top pitchers in baseball. The 30-year-old Benton went 15-6 and started 14 games while relieving in 24 games. Benton’s 2.97 ERA translated into an ERA+ of 152, this was especially impressive since baseball was in the midst of an offensive boom. Benton led the club in both wins and saves, something you don’t see happen all that often.
- Downer: The 1940 Tigers were the American League champs, so the 1941 club qualified as a huge disappointment. Bobo Newsome and Tommy Bridges, the top pitchers in the rotation, were both in their mid-thirties while Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer was 28 years old. Some of the Tigers main pieces were getting old and the organization just didn’t have enough quality young players to stop in and fill the void.
- Summary: While the Tigers didn’t spend a day in first place in 1941, they hung in there through the month of May. Heading into June, the Tigers were 23-20 and hanging int here with the American League leaders. However, in June and July, the club went 13 games below .500 and were never able to get back into the thick of things. Rudy York led the offense with 27 home runs and 111 RBI. Tommy Bridges, while aging, was arguably the best in the starting rotation even though he went only 9-12. The Tigers weren’t much better over the next two seasons, but they did finally get some decent young talent.
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Typo - Gerhinger age should be listed as 38 in Downer section.
Good catch. My bad.