The 1984 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 84th season and the 73rd season at Tiger Stadium; the Tigers won the 1984 World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres in five games. The season was their 84th since they entered the American League in 1901.
It was the franchise's best season in terms of overall wins (104) and their best win percentage (.642) in a 162-game season. The Tigers led the American League East wire-to-wire, opening the season 9–0 and eventually topping out at after 40 games, with a 17–0 road record.
The team won its first Division title since 1972, their first American League championship since 1968 (ninth overall), and the franchise's fourth (and most recent) World Series.
Detroit relief pitcher Willie Hernández won the Cy Young Award and was chosen as the American League Most Valuable Player.
Players
Catcher: Parrish Catcher Lance Parrish, known as the "Big Wheel", led the team in home runs (33) and RBIs (98) -- and strikeouts (120) as well. Parrish was the starting catcher for the American League All Star team and won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards in 1984. He hit 2 home runs and had 5 RBIs in postseason play.
Infield: Bergman, Whitaker, Trammell and Johnson
Dave Bergman was acquired from the Giants (via the Phillies) in March 1984 and became the Tigers' principal first baseman, playing 114 games at the position. He hit .273 in the regular season, but failed to get a hit in 5 games of the 1984 World Series. On June 4, 1984, Bergman had an 11th inning at-bat at home in a big game against second-place Toronto, who at that point trailed the Tigers by only five games. The at-bat lasted 13 pitches (7 minutes), with Bergman fouling off seven straight pitches from Roy Lee Jackson before hitting a walk-off, three-run home run. Sparky Anderson called it the greatest at-bat he had ever seen.
Second baseman Lou Whitaker, known as "Sweet Lou", had his best year in 1983, hitting .320 with 40 doubles and 206 hits. Though his batting numbers were much lower in 1984 (.289 average, 25 doubles and 161 hits), he was selected as the starting second baseman for the American League All Star team and won the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards in 1984.
Shortstop Alan Trammell had a big year in 1984. His .314 batting average was 5th best in the American League and 25 points higher than any other Tiger. He was selected for the American League All Star team and won his 4th Gold Glove award at shortstop. Trammell was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 1984 World Series after batting .450, driving in 6 runs and hitting 2 home runs.
Third base was a weak spot in the Detroit lineup, with light-hitting Tom Brookens entering as the starter from 1980 to 1983. In 1984, manager Sparky Anderson searched for the right third baseman, as five different players appeared in 19 or more games at the position that season: 108 by Howard Johnson, 68 by Brookens, 33 by Marty Castillo, 20 by Bárbaro Garbey, and 19 by Darrell Evans.
Howard Johnson, nicknamed "HoJo", was the starting third baseman on Opening Day and through most of the 1984 season. Johnson had a disappointing year, batting .248 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs. In the 1984 World Series, Sparky Anderson gave the third base job to Marty Castillo, and HoJo had only 1 pinch-hit at bat. Johnson was traded to the Mets less than 2 months after the World Series, and went on to have some big years in New York (36 HRs, 101 RBIs in 1989).
Outfield: Gibson, Lemon and Herndon
The image of Kirk Gibson with his arms raised above his head after hitting a 3-run home run in the 1984 World Series has become the iconic symbol of the Tigers' 1984 season. The blast came off Goose Gossage, the best reliever in the National League, in the 8th inning of the 5th and final game. It put the Tigers ahead, 8–4, and sealed the championship. During the regular season, the Detroit area native played right field and led the team with a .516 slugging percentage. He also contributed 27 home runs, 91 RBIs and 29 stolen bases, and was #6 in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Chet Lemon was the starting center fielder in the 1984 All Star game and a major contributor to the Tigers' success in 1984. One of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, Lemon had 427 putouts in 1984 with a .995 fielding percentage; his 3.09 Range factor rating was far above the league average of 2.17. Lemon also contributed to the team's offensive output with a .287 batting average, 20 home runs, 34 doubles, 76 RBIs, and a.495 slugging percentage.
Larry Herndon played 117 games in left field for the 1984 Tigers and hit .280. In the World Series, he had a .333 batting average and hit a home run. His 2-run homer in Game 1 was the difference in a 3–2 Tigers win. He also caught the final out of the World Series, a fly ball off the bat of Tony Gwynn.
Pitching: Morris, Petry, Wilcox, Hernandez, Rozema, and Lopez
Jack Morris was the leader of the Tigers pitching staff. He threw a no-hitter in April and was 10–1 before the end of May. He was selected for the 1984 All Star team, but finished the season 9–10 from June through September. He was 19–11 in the regular season with a 3.60 ERA. He won all three of his post-season starts, tossing two complete games and allowing only five earned runs in 25 innings (1.80 ERA).
The team's #2 starter, Dan Petry, finished the year 18–8 with the 3rd best winning percentage (.692) in the American League. His 3.24 ERA in the regular season was the lowest among the Tiger starters.
The team's #3 starter, Milt Wilcox, was 17–8 with a 4.00 ERA. Wilcox was 2–0 in the post-season, giving up only 1 run in 14 innings. He combined with the bullpen to shut out the Royals, 1–0, in the third and final game of the ALCS.
Though Morris was the ace, the Tigers' MVP was Willie Hernández. The Tigers traded John Wockenfuss and Glenn Wilson to the Phillies in March for Hernández and Dave Bergman. Hernández appeared in a team record 80 games for the 1984 Tigers and was virtually untouchable. He allowed 96 hits and only 6 home runs while throwing an incredible innings out of the bullpen, and finished the season with a stellar 1.92 ERA. His Adjusted ERA+ of 204 is one of the highest in Detroit Tigers history. With 32 saves and 68 games finished, Hernandez won the Cy Young Award and was voted the American League's Most Valuable Player. His 32 saves came in 33 opportunities, his only blown save coming in late September after the Tigers had already secured the AL East Division title. Hernandez saved three post-season games, including the series-clinching games in both the ALCS and World Series.
The popular Aurelio López, known as "Señor Smoke", also had a strong season as the Tigers #2 relief pitcher. Lopez finished the season with 41 games finished, a record of 10–1 and a 2.94 ERA. He also saved 14 games while pitching innings. Lopez earned a win in Game 2 of the ALCS, tossing three scoreless innings as the Tigers won in 11 innings. Almost lost in the World Series Game 5 hitting heroics of Kirk Gibson was Lopez earning the win with innings of scoreless relief, in which he didn't allow a baserunner.
Designated Hitter: Darrell Evans
Darrell Evans was the Tigers' big free agent signing before the 1984 season. Though he had big years in 1985 (40 HRs, 94 RBIs) and 1987 (34 HRs, 99 RBIs), Evans struggled in his first year in the American League, batting .232 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs. In the 1984 World Series, Evans went 1-for-15 for an .067 batting average.
Role players: Garbey, Jones, Kuntz and Castillo
The 1984 Tigers had several non-starters who made big contributions to the team's success.
As a rookie in 1984, Bárbaro Garbey played in 110 games, including appearances at first base, second base, third base, DH, and each of the outfield positions. Garbey hit .287 and had more RBIs (52) than several starters, including Howard Johnson, Larry Herndon and Dave Bergman.
Ruppert Jones was signed as a free agent one week into the season on April 10, 1984. He played in 79 games, mostly as a backup in left field. Jones contributed 12 home runs and 49 RBIs in only 215 at-bats. His .516 slugging percentage was tied with Kirk Gibson for the team lead.
Slick-fielding outfielder Rusty Kuntz played in 84 games, primarily as a late-inning defensive replacement, and hit .286 in 140 at-bats—easily the best offensive season of his major league career. Kuntz's sacrifice fly in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the 1984 World Series broke a 4–4 tie and turned out to be the game-winning and Series-clinching RBI.
Possibly the most popular of the role players was Marty Castillo. In 1984, Castillo appeared in 70 games as a third baseman and backup catcher, and came through in the clutch at several key moments, including: scoring 3 runs to secure a win on August 26; hitting a home run to beat the Yankees on September 23; collecting the game-winning, pennant clinching RBI in Game 3 of the ALCS, a 1–0 victory; catching the ball at third base for the final out of the ALCS; hitting .333 with a .455 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage in the World Series; hitting a two-run home run in Game 3 of the World Series; and scoring in Game 5 when Kirk Gibson hit his 3-run home run off Goose Gossage.
Manager: Sparky Anderson Detroit manager Sparky Anderson is fifth on the all-time list for manager career wins in Major League Baseball, and in 1984 he became the first manager to win the World Series while leading clubs in both leagues. He previously managed the Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, but the Reds inexplicably fired him after a second-place finish in the 1978 season. Sparky kept a journal during the 1984 season, which was published under the title "Bless You Boys: Diary of the Detroit Tigers' 1984 Season". On the day the Tigers clinched the pennant, Sparky wrote in his journal: "I have to be honest. I've waited for this day since they fired me in Cincinnati. I think they made a big mistake when they did that. Now no one will ever question me again."
Offseason October 21, 1983: Sal Butera was released by the Tigers. November 21, 1983: Wayne Krenchicki was purchased from the Tigers by the Cincinnati Reds.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1984 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Season summary
The Tigers began the year with an unprecedented start of 35–5. For the rest of the season, the team went 69–53 (a .564 winning percentage, which is the pace of a 91 win season). There was a stretch in late July and August where the team lost 12 out of 18. The Tigers finished with a 104–58 record, 15 games ahead of the second place Toronto Blue Jays. They outscored their opponents 829–643.
The 1984 Tigers' 104 wins is a franchise record and their .642 winning percentage ranks as the 4th best in team history, as follows:
Best Seasons in Detroit Tigers History Rank Year Wins Losses Win % Finish 1 1934 101 53 .656 Lost 1934 World Series to Cardinals 2 1915 100 54 .649 2nd in AL behind Red Sox 3 1909 98 54 .645 Lost 1909 World Series to Pirates 4 1984 104 58 .642 Won 1984 World Series over Padres 5 1968 103 59 .636 Won 1968 World Series over Cardinals
Season highlights December 17, 1983: Darrell Evans is signed as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers. March 24: Willie Hernández is traded by the Phillies to the Tigers with Dave Bergman for John Wockenfuss and Glenn Wilson. March 24, 1984: Former University of Michigan Wolverines football star Rick Leach is released by the Tigers. April 3: The Tigers beat the Twins, 8–1, on Opening Day in Minneapolis. Jack Morris pitches 7 innings with Aurelio López and Willie Hernández each pitching a scoreless inning in relief. Darrell Evans hits a home run and has 3 RBIs.