Recap of 1983 Tigers Season

Detroit had a very successful season, battling the Baltimore Orioles for the American League Eastern Division title, down to the very last day.

In the end, the Tigers fell one game short, but certainly was the toughest test for Baltimore, as the next closest team was New York, six games behind in third place.

Detroit’s pitching was the key to their second place finish. Every pitcher on the staff had a winning record, save for Glenn Abbott, and he was .500, at 13-13.

Jack Morris was a true ace, finishing 24-8, with a 2.60 ERA. He fanned 225 batters and walked only 69.

Dan Petry was a solid #2 man, ending up 19-9. His ERA was 3.29 with 136 strikeouts against 85 walks.

Milt Wilcox(14-12) and Glenn Abbott(13-13), the third and fourth pitchers in the rotation, didn’t have near the winning pct of Morris and Petry, however, both their ERA’s were under 3.50. Abbott especially, exhibited good control, walking just 37 in over 233 innings.

In the bullpen, Juan Berenguer and Aurelio Lopez each had 9-7 records, but Lopez had a team leading, 1.91 ERA. Dave Rozema was 10-8, with an ERA of 2.85, along with 107 strikeouts.

On the offensive side, Lou Whitaker was named team MVP. Whitaker set four Stratball records this year. Most plate appearances(722); most at bats(648); most hits(218); and most doubles(44).

Whitaker lost the team batting title by a hundreth of a percentage point to Alan Trammell, .32945 to .32873.

Trammell, who paced the team the first half of the season, finished with 16 HR’s, 73 RBI’s, 92 RS and 41 doubles.

Whitaker, took over the reins in the second half, finishing with 19 HR’s, 73 RBI’s, 93 RS and 44 doubles.

Chet Lemon paced the team in home runs with 25 and runs batted in with 77. Glenn Wilson had a 22 game hitting streak during the year.

Here are the team leaders in various categories:

PA-Whitaker-722(Stratball record)

AB-Whitaker-648(Stratball record)

H-Whitaker-213(Stratball record)

AVE-Trammell-.32945

R-Whitaker-93

BI-Lemon-77

2B-Whitaker-44(Stratball record)

3B-Wilson-10

HR-Lemon-25

K-Gibson-112

BB-Trammell-70

SF-Lemon-9

E-Wilson-21

HBP-Lemon-24(Stratball record)

PITCHING WINS- Morris-24(Stratball record)

ERA-Lopez-1.91

STRIKEOUTS-Morris-225

CG-Morris-15

SHUTOUTS-Morris, Abbott-tied with 5