The 1979 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 79th season and the 68th season at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers finished in fifth place in the American League East with a record of 85–76, 18 games behind the Orioles. They outscored their opponents 770 to 738. The Tigers drew 1,630,929 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1979, ranking 7th of the 14 teams in the American League. This season is most notable for both the Tigers' involvement in the infamous Disco Demolition Night, of which they were the visiting team to the Chicago White Sox and declared winners by forfeit, as well as for their mid-season hiring of Sparky Anderson as manager. Anderson would manage the Tigers through the end of the 1995 season, winning the 1984 World Series along with two American League Eastern Division titles in 1984 and 1987.
Offseason March 20, 1979: Steve Dillard was traded by the Tigers to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. The Cubs completed the deal by sending Ed Putman to the Tigers on March 24.Ed Putman at Baseball-Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions May 25, 1979: The Tigers traded a player to be named later to the Cincinnati Reds for Champ Summers. The Tigers completed the deal by sending Sheldon Burnside to the Reds on October 25.Champ Summers at Baseball-Reference June 5, 1979: University of Michigan football quarterback Rick Leach was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round (13th pick) of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft.Rick Leach at Baseball-Reference July 20, 1979: Rusty Staub was traded by the Tigers to the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later and cash. The Expos completed the deal by sending Randy Schafer (minors) to the Tigers on December 3.Rusty Staub at Baseball-Reference
Roster 1979 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats
= Indicates team leader Batting
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 C 143 493 136 .276 19 65 1B 145 492 121 .246 20 79 2B 127 423 121 .286 3 42 3B 106 343 87 .254 5 36 SS 142 460 127 .276 6 50 LF 134 490 156 .318 26 105 RF 129 440 93 .211 14 56 CF 148 600 180 .300 9 57 DH 68 246 58 .236 9 40
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 90 246 77 .313 20 51 87 231 61 .264 15 46 95 213 63 .296 4 26 60 190 50 .263 4 21 75 146 40 .274 1 13 42 99 22 .222 0 8 Al Greene 29 59 8 .136 3 6 21 39 9 .231 2 4 12 38 9 .237 1 4 Dave Stegman 12 31 6 .194 3 5 Dave Machemer 19 26 5 .192 0 2 18 22 5 .227 0 6 10 19 5 .263 0 2 Dan Gonzales 7 18 4 .222 0 2 Milt May 6 11 3 .273 0 3
Pitching
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 27 197.2 17 7 3.28 113 33 196.1 12 10 4.35 109 15 98.0 6 5 3.95 43 16 97.1 4 4 3.51 33 10 46.0 3 3 3.91 22 4 14.2 0 3 10.43 5
Other pitchers Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 35 158.0 10 7 3.30 59 27 121.2 6 4 4.59 83 21 84.0 1 7 6.64 54 Kip Young 13 43.2 2 2 6.39 22 13 39.0 3 3 6.92 31
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 61 10 5 21 49 2.41 106 43 4 7 9 30 5.22 46 37 3 5 3 19 4.33 48 10 1 1 0 2 6.33 13 10 1 2 0 8 4.82 8 6 1 1 0 3 8.25 7
Awards and honors Steve Kemp, Tiger of the Year Award, from Detroit baseball writers
All-Stars Steve Kemp, reserve
League top ten finishes Steve Kemp #4 in AL in OPS (.939) #8 in AL in batting average (.318)
Ron LeFlore #2 in MLB in stolen bases (78) #3 in AL in singles (139) #4 in AL in times caught stealing (14) #5 in AL in triples (10) #7 in AL in runs scored (110)
Aurelio López #3 in AL in saves (21) #5 in AL in games finished (49)
Jack Morris #4 in AL in Adjusted ERA+ (133) #5 in AL in ERA (3.28) #5 in AL in wins (17) #5 in AL win percentage (.708) #4 in AL in hits allowed per 9 innings (8.15)
Bruce Robbins 3rd youngest player in the AL
Alan Trammell #4 in AL in times caught stealing (14)
Milt Wilcox #2 in MLB in hit batsmen (11)
Players ranking among top 100 all time at position The following members of the 1979 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
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville
Notes
References
External links
1979 Detroit Tigers Regular Season Statistics at Baseball Reference