1953 Detroit Tigers season

1953 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Briggs Stadium (since 1912)
Detroit, Michigan (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Walter Briggs, Jr.
General manager(s)	Charlie Gehringer
Manager(s)	Fred Hutchinson
Local television	WWJ
Local radio	WJBK/WXYZ (Van Patrick, Dizzy Trout)
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The 1953 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished sixth in the American League with a record of 60–94, 40½ games behind the New York Yankees.

Offseason

• October 27, 1952: Neil Berry, Cliff Mapes and $25,000 were traded by the Tigers to the St. Louis Browns for Jake Crawford.^[1]
• December 4, 1952: Johnny Groth, Virgil Trucks and Hal White were traded by the Tigers to the St. Louis Browns for Jay Porter, Owen Friend and Bob Nieman.^[2]
• Prior to 1953 season: Bob Shaw was signed as an amateur free agent by the Tigers.^[3]

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	99	52	.656	--
Cleveland Indians	92	62	.604	8.5
Chicago White Sox	89	65	.578	11.5
Boston Red Sox	84	69	.549	16
Washington Senators	76	76	.500	23.5
Detroit Tigers	60	94	.325	40.5
Philadelphia Athletics	59	95	.383	41.5
St. Louis Browns	54	100	.351	46.5

Record vs. opponents

1953 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	6–16	13–9	13–9	10–11	15–7	17–5	10–12
Chicago	16–6	—	11–11–1	14–8–1	9–13	10–12	17–5	12–10
Cleveland	9–13	11–11–1	—	14–8	11–11	19–3	17–5	11–11
Detroit	9–13	8–14–1	8–14	—	6–16	11–11–3	7–15	11–11
New York	11–10	13–9	11–11	16–6	—	17–5	17–5	14–6
Philadelphia	7–15	12–10	3–19	11–11–3	5–17	—	13–9	8–14
St. Louis	5–17	5–17	5–17	15–7	5–17	9–13	—	10–12
Washington	12–10	10–12	11–11	11–11	6–14	14–8	12–10	—

Notable transactions

• June 15, 1953: Art Houtteman, Owen Friend, Bill Wight, and Joe Ginsberg were traded by the Tigers to the Cleveland Indians for Ray Boone, Al Aber, Steve Gromek, and Dick Weik.^[4]
• July 27, 1953: Hal Newhouser was released by the Tigers.^[5]

Roster

1953 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers  2 Al Aber 16,35 Ralph Branca 27 Hal Erickson 21 Paul Foytack 31 Ned Garver 34 Ted Gray 18 Steve Gromek 35,39 Earl Harrist 20 Ray Herbert 44 Billy Hoeft 21 Art Houtteman 29 Fred Hutchinson 35 Milt Jordan 14 Dave Madison 37 Dick Marlowe 28 Bob Miller 16 Hal Newhouser 19 Ray Scarborough 21 Dick Weik 18 Bill Wight		Catchers 10 Matt Batts 32 Johnny Bucha  2 Joe Ginsberg  9 Bob Swift Infielders 38 John Baumgartner  2 Reno Bertoia  8 Ray Boone  3 Walt Dropo  8 Owen Friend  1 Fred Hatfield 17 Billy Hitchcock 26 Harvey Kuenn  7 Johnny Pesky  4 Jerry Priddy		Outfielders 22 Frank Carswell 24 Jim Delsing 6,25 Al Kaline 30 Don Lund  6 Pat Mullin  5 Bob Nieman 12 Steve Souchock 19 Russ Sullivan Other batters 15 George Freese		Manager 29 Fred Hutchinson Coaches 36 Rick Ferrell 33 Ted Lyons  9 Bob Swift

Player stats

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
OF	Nieman, BobBob Nieman	142	508	143	.281	15	69

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
Friend, OwenOwen Friend	31	96	17	.177	3	10
Kaline, AlAl Kaline	30	28	7	.250	1	2

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

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
Aber, AlAl Aber	17	66.2	4	3	4.46	34

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

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Buffalo Bisons	International League	Jack Tighe
AA	Little Rock Travelers	Southern Association	Paul Campbell
A	Montgomery Grays	Sally League	Charlie Metro
B	Durham Bulls	Carolina League	Marv Owen
C	Bakersfield Indians	California League	Ray Perry
C	Jackson Senators	Cotton States League	Marland Doolittle
D	Jamestown Falcons	PONY League	Dan Carnevale
D	Wausau Timberjacks	Wisconsin State League	Wayne Blackburn

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jamestown

Notes

1. Neil Berry at Baseball Reference
2. Jay Porter at Baseball Reference
3. Bob Shaw at Baseball-Reference
4. Ray Boone at Baseball Reference
5. Hal Newhouser at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1953 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference