Top 10 Best Detroit Tigers Players of All Time

Greatest player ever. No one will ever surpass his career batting average.

Obviously. Do I even have to explain this one?

Mr. Tiger could do it at the plate and with the glove. He was one of only two lifetime Tigers to reach 3,000 hits (the other being Cobb). He was the youngest player ever to win a batting title, a Hall of Famer, and helped bring the Tigers the 1968 World Series title.

A true five-tool player and one of the youngest players ever to make it to the Majors, if I remember correctly.

Charlie Gehringer was the premier second baseman of the '30s and '40s. He, too, is a Hall of Famer and led the Tigers to World Series championships in 1935 and 1940. Like many players of his era, Charlie's statistics were cut short due to service during WWII.

Any man who put up with all the racist people and still was the best player of his era, not the least bit bitter, and became the face of all that is good has my vote! I'm a German American Tigers fan who loves all of God's children, especially the ones who forgive the fools who bring hate. God bless Hank.

Hank was known as the first Jewish athletic superstar. He played with Charlie Gehringer and helped win the '35 and '40 World Series. Hank is also a Hall of Famer and still holds the Tigers' single-season record for home runs with 58. His career was also cut short due to WWII.

OK, I know Hal Newhouser could definitely be on here, but Jack Morris deserves to be in the Hall. The winningest pitcher of the '80s, he pitched 14 of his 16 years with Detroit and won them the World Series in '84. Not to mention the fact that he was the ace on two other World Series-winning teams. He also pitched the second greatest game in World Series history next to Don Larsen's perfect game: a 10-inning 1-0 shutout for the Twinkies in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

Undoubtedly, Tram would be much higher on this list if his career hadn't been cut short by injury. Another of the '84 Tigers who is being slighted by Hall of Fame voters. Unfortunately for him, he played in MLB during the golden age of shortstops, overshadowed by the likes of Cal Ripken Jr. and Ozzie Smith. By the way, Tram still outshines Ozzie Smith in every offensive statistical category, and he could also flash the leather. Ozzie backflipped himself into the Hall of Fame.

What else can you say about a Hall of Fame catcher who helped lead the Tigers to the World Series Championship in '35? Oh, I know - he also managed that team!

Sam was one of the early 20th-century legends. Fellow ballplayer Fielder Jones once said, "None of them can hit quite as hard as Crawford. He stands up to the plate like a brick house, and he hits all the pitchers without playing favorites. When Sam's hitting, they all look alike."
- Its Joeysworld

If Ty Cobb wasn't a Tiger, Sam Crawford would be known as the greatest of the early Tiger ballplayers.

Great clutch hitter who wore pitchers down. Graceful, athletic infielder who made challenging plays look routine.

You got that right, and no year ever captured Denny at his best more than 1968.
31-6 record, 1968 American League Cy Young Award and MVP, 1.96 ERA, 280 strikeouts, 1968 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Denny even played in the All-Star Game, and yes, he played on that World Championship season in a city that needed a lift just one year after the Detroit riots.
- Its Joeysworld

Say what you want about him, but his record with Detroit was outstanding.

Why this guy is not higher on the list, I don't know. He might not have had the greatest career numbers, but every time he was in big World Series moments, he was spectacular!

Although he didn't stay long as a Tiger, 1976 will forever be remembered in Tigers lore. Fidrych won 19 games, was named American League Rookie of the Year, had an ERA of 2.34, pitched 24 complete games, and averaged 33,649 fans when he started for the Tigers. He was also the starting American League pitcher in that year's All-Star Game.
- Its Joeysworld

He was a fantastic center fielder.

He was a great all-around athlete.

Interesting parallels with Koufax. Five-year span - phenomenal, despite bad breaks (1947) and injury (1948).
Three years: 80 wins, composite ERA below 2.00.
Five years: 118 wins. Game 7, 1945, on two days' rest (like Koufax against Minnesota). Like Koufax, brought up too early, should have been learning to pitch in the minors. For a few years, he was the best pitcher of his time, even topping Feller. Two-time MVP and third-year runner-up to Ted Williams. No Cy Young then, but he'd have had at least three (maybe four with 21 wins in 1948).