1977 Detroit Tigers season

The 1977 Detroit Tigers finished in fourth place in the American League East with a record of 74–88, 26 games behind the New York Yankees. They were outscored by their opponents 751 to 714. The Tigers drew 1,359,856 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1977, ranking 7th of the 14 teams in the American League.

1977 Detroit Tigers
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkTiger Stadium
CityDetroit, Michigan
OwnersJohn Fetzer
General managersJim Campbell
ManagersRalph Houk
TelevisionWWJ-TV
(George Kell, Larry Osterman, Joe Pellegrino, Al Kaline)
RadioWJR
(Ernie Harwell, Paul Carey)
Seasons

Offseason
  • February 23, 1977: Tito Fuentes was signed as a free agent by the Tigers.[1]

Regular season

With 212 hits, 100 runs scored, and a .325 batting average, center fielder Ron LeFlore was the team's most valuable player, and the recipient of the "Tiger of the Year" award. First baseman Jason Thompson led the team with 31 home runs and 105 RBIs, and second baseman Tito Fuentes was the team's only other .300 hitter, with a .309 batting average and 190 hits. Designated hitter Rusty Staub also had a .278 batting average, 173 hits, 22 home runs, and 101 RBIs. Rookie Steve Kemp (the first pick in the 1976 amateur draft) hit .257 with 18 home runs and 88 RBIs.

The rookie sensation of 1976, Mark Fidrych pitched in 1977 (2.89 ERA), but tendinitis limited "The Bird" to 11 games. The pitching star of 1977 for Detroit was rookie Dave Rozema who went 15–7 with a 3.09 ERA and finished eighth in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

1977 also saw the debut of Steve Kemp (debut April 7, 1977), Dave Rozema (debut April 11, 1977), Jack Morris (debut July 26, 1977), Lance Parrish (debut September 5, 1977), Alan Trammell (debut September 9, 1977), and Lou Whitaker (debut September 9, 1977).

Season standings
AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 10062 0.617 — 55–26 45–36
Baltimore Orioles 9764 0.602 2½ 54–27 43–37
Boston Red Sox 9764 0.602 2½ 51–29 46–35
Detroit Tigers 7488 0.457 26 39–42 35–46
Cleveland Indians 7190 0.441 28½ 37–44 34–46
Milwaukee Brewers 6795 0.414 33 37–44 30–51
Toronto Blue Jays 54107 0.335 45½ 25–55 29–52

Record vs. opponents
1977 American League record

Sources:
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore —6–85–65–511–412–34–711–46–48–78–27–34–610–5
Boston 8–6—7–33–78–79–65–59–64–68–78–310–16–412–3
California 6–53–7—8–76–44–66–95–57–84–75–109–65–106–4
Chicago 5–57–37–8—6–44–68–76–510–53–710–510–56–98–3
Cleveland 4–117–84–64–6—8–73–711–42–93–127–37–32–99–5
Detroit 3–126–96–46–47–8—3–810–55–56–95–55–62–810–5
Kansas City 7–45–59–67–87–38–3—8–210–55–59–611–48–78–2
Milwaukee 4–116–95–55–64–115–102–8—3–88–75–57–35–58–7
Minnesota 4–66–48–75–109–25–55–108–3—2–88–67–88–79–1
New York 7–87–87–47–312–39–65–57–88–2—9–26–47–39–6
Oakland 2–83–810–55–103–75–56–95–56–82–9—7–82–137–3
Seattle 3–71–106–95–103–76–54–113–78–74–68–7—9–64–6
Texas 6–44–610–59–69–28–27–85–57–83–713–26–9—7–4
Toronto 5–103–124–63–85–95–102–87–81–96–93–76–44–7—

Notable transactions

Roster
1977 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Game log

Regular season
1977 regular season game log: 74–88 (Home: 39–42; Away: 35–46)
April: 8–12 (Home: 2–5; Away: 6–7)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
1April 7Royals
2April 9Royals
3April 10Royals
8April 15@ Royals
9April 16@ Royals
10April 17@ Royals
11April 18@ Red Sox
12April 19@ Red Sox
13April 20@ Red Sox
14April 21@ Red Sox
—April 22OriolesPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 7)
—April 23OriolesPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: September 8)
15April 24
(1)		Orioles
16April 24
(2)		Orioles
17April 26White Sox
18April 27White Sox
19April 29@ Twins
20April 30@ Twins
May: 10–14 (Home: 4–9; Away: 6–5)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
21May 1@ Twins
22May 3Rangers
—May 4RangersPostponed (Rain) (Makeup date: August 5)
26May 10Twins
27May 11Twins
33May 17@ Rangers
34May 18@ Rangers
35May 20@ White Sox
36May 21@ White Sox
37May 22@ White Sox
June: 16–12 (Home: 11–4; Away: 5–8)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
63June 20YankeesW 2–1Fidrych (4–2)Gullett (6–3)—2:3347,23628–35W1
64June 21YankeesW 5–2Crawford (1–1)Guidry (5–3)—2:0718,27229–35W2
65June 22YankeesL 11–12Lyle (3–2)Foucault (3–4)Clay (1)2:4418,12929–36L1
70June 27Red Sox
71June 28Red Sox
72June 29Red Sox
July: 12–17 (Home: 6–4; Away: 6–13)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
73July 1@ YankeesW 5–1Rozema (7–3)Torrez (8–7)—2:0722,87635–38W5
74July 2@ YankeesL 4–6Lyle (6–2)Hiller (4–9)—2:1420,82535–39L1
75July 3
(1)		@ YankeesL 0–2Guidry (6–4)Arroyo (5–6)—2:15—35–40L2
76July 3
(2)		@ YankeesW 10–6Foucault (4–4)Tidrow (6–3)—2:4742,54936–40W1
77July 4@ Orioles
78July 4
(1)		@ Orioles
79July 5
(2)		@ Orioles
80July 6@ Orioles
81July 8White Sox
82July 9White Sox
83July 10White Sox
86July 13@ Royals
87July 14@ Royals
48th All-Star Game in Bronx, New York
92July 21Royals
93July 22Royals
94July 23Royals
97July 26@ White Sox
98July 27@ White Sox
99July 29@ Rangers
100July 30@ Rangers
101July 31@ Rangers
August: 17–12 (Home: 9–9; Away: 8–3)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
102August 3@ Twins
103August 4@ Twins
104August 5
(1)		Rangers
105August 5
(2)		Rangers
106August 6Rangers
107August 6Rangers
112August 12Twins
113August 13Twins
114August 14Twins
117August 17YankeesL 5–7Figueroa (12–8)Arroyo (6–13)Lyle (17)2:4226,71854–63L2
118August 18YankeesL 4–5Hunter (8–7)Crawford (4–5)Lyle (18)2:3127,56454–64L3
September: 10–20 (Home: 7–11; Away: 3–9)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
135September 5
(1)		Orioles
136September 5
(2)		Orioles
137September 6Orioles
138September 7
(1)		Orioles
139September 7
(2)		Orioles
140September 8Orioles
141September 9
(1)		@ Red Sox
142September 9
(2)		@ Red Sox
143September 10@ Red Sox
144September 11@ Red Sox
148September 16YankeesL 4–5Gullett (12–4)Arroyo (7–17)—2:2718,01669–79L1
149September 17YankeesL 4–9Tidrow (11–4)Crawford (7–7)—2:3017,65669–80L2
150September 18YankeesL 5–6Guidry (15–6)Sykes (5–6)Lyle (24)2:1112,67269–81L3
153September 22Red Sox
154September 23Red Sox
155September 24Red Sox
156September 25Red Sox
157September 27@ Orioles
158September 28@ Orioles
159September 29@ Orioles
160September 30@ YankeesW 5–2Hiller (8–14)Guidry (16–7)—2:3128,20073–87W1
October: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Away: 1–1)
#DateTime (ET)OpponentScoreWinLossSaveTime of GameAttendanceRecordBox/
Streak
161October 1@ YankeesW 10–7Taylor (1–0)McCall (0–1)—2:4750,05474–87W2
162October 2@ YankeesL 7–8Thomas (3–6)Foucault (7–7)—2:3518,77874–88L1
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Tigers team member

Player stats

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
CMilt May11539799.2491246
1BJason Thompson158585158.27031105
2BTito Fuentes151615190.309551
3BAurelio Rodríguez9630667.2191032
SSTom Veryzer12535069.197228
CFRon LeFlore154652212.3251657
LFSteve Kemp151552142.2571888
RFBen Oglivie132450118.2622161
DHRusty Staub158623173.27822101

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
Phil Mankowski9428679.276327
Mickey Stanley7522251.230823
John Wockenfuss5316445.274925
Tim Corcoran5510329.282315
Chuck Scrivener61726.08302
Mark Wagner22487.14613
Lance Parrish12469.19637
Alan Trammell19438.18600
Lou Whitaker11328.25002
Bruce Kimm14252.08001
Bob Adams15246.25022
Willie Horton141.25000
Bob Molinaro441.25000
Luis Alvarado210.00000

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Dave Rozema28218.11573.0992
Fernando Arroyo38209.18184.1760
Dave Roberts22129.14105.1546
Mark Fidrych1181.0642.8942
Vern Ruhle1466.1355.7027
Jack Morris745.2113.7428
Ray Bare514.10212.564

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
Bob Sykes32132.2574.4158
Jim Crawford37126.0784.7991
Milt Wilcox20106.1623.6482
Ed Glynn827.1215.2713

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV GF ERA SO
Steve Foucault447713343.1558
John Hiller458147273.56115
Steve Grilli30120134.8349
Bruce Taylor19102123.3819

Awards and honors

Award winners

Ron LeFlore

  • Tiger of the Year Award from the Detroit baseball writers
  • Finished 20th in AL MVP voting

Dave Rozema

  • Finished 8th in the AL Cy Young Award voting

Jason Thompson

  • Finished 21st in AL MVP voting

All-Stars

Jason Thompson, reserve

League top ten finishers

Fernando Arroyo

  • #4 in AL in losses (18)

Mark Fidrych

  • AL All Star Team, pitcher

Tito Fuentes

  • AL leader in innings played at second base (1327)
  • AL leader in putouts at second base (379)
  • AL leader in double plays at second base (115)
  • AL leader in errors at second base (26)
  • AL leader in complete games at second base (144)
  • #2 in AL in singles (156)
  • #8 in AL in hits (190)
  • #8 in AL in triples (10)
  • #9 in AL in sacrifice hits (13)

Steve Kemp

  • AL leader in games in left field (148)
  • AL leader in complete games in left field (146)
  • AL leader in innings played in left field (1316)

Ron LeFlore

  • AL leader in assists by a center fielder (12)
  • #2 in AL in hits (212)
  • #2 in AL in singles (156)
  • #2 in AL in at bats (652)
  • #2 in AL in singles (156)
  • #2 in AL in times caught stealing (19)
  • #4 in AL in plate appearances (698)
  • #4 in AL in strikeouts (121) (tied with Tito Fuentes)
  • #5 in AL in batting average (.325)
  • #5 in AL in stolen bases (39)
  • #5 in AL in total bases (310)
  • #6 in AL in Power/Speed Number (22.7)
  • #8 in AL in triples (10)
  • #8 in AL in times on base (253)
  • #9 in AL in runs scored (100)
  • #9 in AL in outs (475)
  • #10 in AL in runs created (110)

Dave Rozema

  • AL leader in bases on balls per 9 innings pitched (1.40)
  • #5 in AL in Adjusted ERA+ (138)
  • #6 in AL in strikeout to walk ratio (2.71)
  • #7 in AL in ERA (3.09)
  • #8 in AL in complete games (16)
  • #9 in AL in win percentage (.682)

Rusty Staub

  • #1 in AL in times grounded into double plays (27)
  • #2 in AL in outs (490)
  • #3 in AL in sacrifice flies (10)
  • #5 in AL in plate appearances (695)
  • #7 in AL in at bats per strikeout (13.3)
  • #8 in AL in doubles (34)

Jason Thompson

  • #6 in AL in home runs (31)
  • #6 in AL in sacrifice flies (9)
  • #8 in AL in RBIs (105)

Alan Trammell

  • Youngest player in the AL (19)

Players ranking among top 100 all time at position

The following members of the 1977 Detroit Tigers are among the Top 100 of all time at their position, as ranked by The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract in 2001:

  • Lance Parrish: 19th best catcher of all time (played 12 games as a rookie)
  • Lou Whitaker: 13th best second baseman of all time (played 11 games as a rookie)
  • Alan Trammell: 9th best shortstop of all time (played 19 games as a rookie)
  • Aurelio Rodríguez: 91st best third baseman of all time
  • Ron LeFlore: 80th best center fielder of all time
  • Ben Oglivie: 64th best left fielder of all time
  • Willie Horton: 55th best left fielder of all time (played one game for 1977 Tigers)

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Evansville Triplets American Association Les Moss
AA Montgomery Rebels Southern League Eddie Brinkman
A Lakeland Tigers Florida State League Jim Leyland
Rookie Bristol Tigers Appalachian League Joe Lewis

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montgomery, Lakeland, Bristol

References
  1. Tito Fuentes page at Baseball Reference
  2. Willie Horton page at Baseball Reference
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