Team 78: The 1921 Tigers
By Blake VandeBunte • Dec 4th, 2009 • Category: Bobby Veach, Dutch Leonard, Harry Heilmann, Hooks Dauss, Lu Blue, Top 109 Teams, Ty Cobb- Year: 1921
- Record: 71-82
- Win %: .464
- Win % Change: 68
- Run Differential: 31
- Pythagorean Record: 79-74
- AL Finish: 6th of 8
- Manager: Ty Cobb
- Best Transaction: Signed Heinie Manush as a free agent. Manush was a steal as a free agent, but he didn’t last for long in Detroit. The eventual Hall of Famer until he was 25 years old and was then sent out of town. In that short period of time Manush won a batting title and hit a robust .321 as a Tiger with an OPS+ of 120. The Tigers decision to trade Manush was probably one of the worst moves in franchise history.
- Worst Transaction: Not much to speak of here really. The team decided to wave Donie Bush, one of the longest tenured Tigers. Bush spent 14 years in Detroit and collected over 1,700 hits. By the time he was let go by the Tigers, though, his time was pretty much up.
- Upper: Maybe the greatest outfield in team (league?) history. This team was STACKED in the outfield, it’s a wonder they didn’t win more games. The outfield featured Bobby Veach, Ty Cobb and Harry Heilmann. Here’s the rundown on each player: Heilmann hit .394 which led the league. He also led the league in hits and the Tigers in home runs. Cobb, while aging, hit .389 with 12 homers and 16 steals. Veach hit only .338 with over 40 doubles. Cobb fell three hits shy of 200, while the other two players both had well over 200 hits. The threesome combined for 123 doubles, 43 triples, and each player topped 100 runs and 100 RBI. Unreal. Check out their stats some time, it’s sick.
- Downer: Ace struggles. The Tigers top two starting pitchers were Hooks Dauss and Dutch Leonard. Each of these players had pretty good careers, but neither pitcher really brought it in 1921. We know this team was loaded on offense, so most of the failures fell on the pitching staff. Dauss and Leonard went a combined 21-28 and were roughly league average in most other facets of their games. The Tigers needed these guys to step up and it just didn’t happen.
- Summary: This team was a bit of a disappointment. They clearly had talent and it just didn’t come together. Some of the probably had to do with the fact that Cobb was managing at this point and let’s face it, that guy didn’t get along with anyone. The club hovered right around the .500 mark in each month, usually falling a bit short. Despite all of their issues, the Tigers finished 3rd in the AL in attendance, fueled mostly by their excellent offense. They got a decent performance at first base from Lu Blue and the pitching staff didn’t have much to offer in terms of stellar performances. The Tigers would win a few more games over the next few years, but never sniffed the playoffs while Cobb was in charge.
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The other outfield partner that Cobb and Veach played with was none other than Sam Crawford.