The 1959 Detroit Tigers season was the 59th season for the American League franchise in Detroit. Although the Tigers lost 15 of their first 17 games in —resulting in the May 2 firing of manager Bill Norman—they recovered under his successor, Jimmy Dykes, to finish in fourth place with a record of 76–78, eighteen games behind the AL Champion Chicago White Sox.
Offseason October 13, 1958: Maury Wills was sent to the Tigers by the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a conditional deal.Maury Wills at Baseball Reference November 20, 1958: Billy Martin and Al Cicotte were traded by the Tigers to the Cleveland Indians for Don Mossi, Ray Narleski, and Ossie Álvarez.Billy Martin at Baseball Reference December 1, 1958: Lou Skizas was drafted from the Tigers by the Chicago White Sox in the 1958 rule 5 draft.Lou Skizas at Baseball Reference Prior to 1959 season: Andy Kosco was signed as an amateur free agent by the Tigers.Andy Kosco at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions March 21, 1959: Future Hall of Famer Larry Doby, who integrated the American League in 1947 with the Cleveland Indians, is acquired by the Tigers from Cleveland for outfielder Tito Francona. On April 10, Opening Day, left-fielder Doby becomes the second Black player (after Ozzie Virgil Sr.) and first African-American to appear in a Detroit uniform. April 2, 1959: Maury Wills was returned by the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a conditional deal. May 13, 1959: Larry Doby's contract is sold to the Chicago White Sox. The 35-year-old Doby batted only .218 with no home runs in 55 at-bats with the Tigers and he will end his playing career in U.S. pro baseball later in 1959.Larry Doby at Baseball Reference] June 13, 1959: Bob Smith was selected off waivers by the Tigers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.Bob Smith at Baseball Reference
Roster 1959 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader = Indicates league 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 Lou Berberet 100 338 73 .216 13 44 1B 114 349 77 .221 9 39 2B Frank Bolling 127 459 122 .266 13 55 SS Rocky Bridges 116 381 102 .268 3 35 3B Eddie Yost 148 521 145 .278 21 60 LF Charlie Maxwell 145 518 130 .251 31 95 CF Al Kaline 136 511 167 .327 27 94 RF Harvey Kuenn 139 561 198 .353 9 71
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 Red Wilson 67 228 60 .263 4 35 Ted Lepcio 76 215 60 .279 7 24 Bobo Osborne 86 209 40 .191 3 21 Gus Zernial 60 132 30 .227 7 26 Neil Chrisley 65 106 14 .132 6 11 Johnny Groth 55 102 24 .235 1 10 Coot Veal 77 89 18 .202 1 15 Larry Doby 18 55 12 .218 0 4 Steve Demeter 11 18 2 .111 0 1 Ron Shoop 3 7 1 .143 0 1 Charley Lau 2 6 1 .167 0 0 8 2 1 .500 0 0
Pitching
Starting 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 40 249.2 17 13 3.89 201 Paul Foytack 39 240.1 14 14 4.64 110 34 228.0 17 9 3.36 125 Frank Lary 32 223.0 17 10 3.55 137 Billy Hoeft 2 9.0 1 1 5.00 2
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 42 104.1 4 12 5.78 71 Jerry Davie 11 36.2 2 2 4.17 20 Jim Proctor 2 2.2 0 1 16.88 0 2 2.0 0 1 9.00 1
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Tom Morgan 46 1 4 9 3.98 39 Dave Sisler 32 1 3 7 4.01 29 Pete Burnside 30 1 3 1 3.77 49 Barney Schultz 13 1 2 0 4.42 17 9 0 0 0 12.89 9 9 0 0 0 8.18 10 Jim Stump 5 0 0 0 2.38 6 3 0 0 0 3.38 3
Farm system
References
External links
1959 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference