1959 Detroit Tigers season

1959 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Briggs Stadium (since 1912)
Detroit, Michigan (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Fred Knorr, John Fetzer
General manager(s)	Rick Ferrell, Bill DeWitt
Manager(s)	Bill Norman, Jimmy Dykes
Local television	WJBK
Local radio	WKMH (Van Patrick, George Kell)
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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 1959—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.^[1]
• 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.^[2]
• December 1, 1958: Lou Skizas was drafted from the Tigers by the Chicago White Sox in the 1958 rule 5 draft.^[3]
• Prior to 1959 season: Andy Kosco was signed as an amateur free agent by the Tigers.^[4]

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
Chicago White Sox	94	60	.610	--
Cleveland Indians	89	65	.578	5
New York Yankees	79	75	.513	15
Detroit Tigers	76	78	.494	18
Boston Red Sox	75	79	.487	19
Baltimore Orioles	74	80	.481	20
Kansas City Athletics	66	88	.429	28
Washington Senators	63	91	.409	31

Record vs. opponents

1959 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	8–14	11–11–1	10–12	13–9	8–14	12–10	12–10
Boston	14–8	—	8–14	8–14	11–11	11–11	13–9	10–12
Chicago	11–11–1	14–8	—	15–7	13–9	12–10	13–9–1	16–6
Cleveland	12–10	14–8	7–15	—	14–8	15–7	11–11	16–6
Detroit	9–13	11–11	9–13	8–14	—	15–7	14–8	10–12
Kansas City	14–8	11–11	10–12	7–15	7–15	—	5–17	12–10
New York	10–12	9–13	9–13–1	11–11	8–14	17–5	—	15–7
Washington	10–12	12–10	6–16	6–16	12–10	10–12	7–15	—

Notable transactions

• April 2, 1959: Maury Wills was returned by the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a conditional deal.^[1]
• June 13, 1959: Bob Smith was selected off waivers by the Tigers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.^[5]

Roster

1959 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 30 Hank Aguirre 20 Bob Bruce 14 Jim Bunning 19 Pete Burnside 27 Jerry Davie 21 Paul Foytack 44 Billy Hoeft 17 Frank Lary 18 Tom Morgan 15 Don Mossi 16 Ray Narleski 37 Jim Proctor 20 Barney Schultz 30 Dave Sisler 26 Bob Smith 26 Jim Stump 26 George Susce		Catchers 11 Lou Berberet 12 Charley Lau 25 Ron Shoop 10 Red Wilson Infielders  2 Frank Bolling  8 Rocky Bridges 26 Steve Demeter  5 Gail Harris 22 Ted Lepcio 32 Bobo Osborne 23 Coot Veal  1 Eddie Yost  9 Gus Zernial		Outfielders 24 Neil Chrisley 25 Larry Doby  3 Johnny Groth  6 Al Kaline  7 Harvey Kuenn  4 Charlie Maxwell Other batters 36 Ossie Álvarez		Manager 28 Jimmy Dykes 29 Bill Norman Coaches 31 Tommy Henrich 34 Billy Hitchcock 33 Willis Hudlin

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
1B	Harris, GailGail Harris	114	349	77	.221	9	39

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
Álvarez, OssieOssie Álvarez	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
Bunning, JimJim Bunning	40	249.2	17	13	3.89	201
Mossi, DonDon Mossi	34	228	17	9	3.36	125

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
Narleski, RayRay Narleski	42	104.1	4	12	5.78	71
Bruce, BobBob Bruce	2	2	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
Susce, GeorgeGeorge Susce	9	0	0	0	12.89	9
Smith, BobBob Smith	9	0	0	0	8.18	10
Aguirre, HankHank Aguirre	3	0	0	0	3.38	3

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Charleston Senators	American Association	Bill Adair
AA	Birmingham Barons	Southern Association	Skeeter Newsome
A	Knoxville Smokies	Sally League	Johnny Pesky
B	Durham Bulls	Carolina League	Frank Skaff
D	Montgomery Rebels	Alabama–Florida League	Frank Carswell
D	Decatur Commodores	Midwest League	Stubby Overmire
D	Erie Sailors	New York–Penn League	Al Lakeman and Pat Mullin

Notes

1. Maury Wills at Baseball Reference
2. Billy Martin at Baseball Reference
3. Lou Skizas at Baseball Reference
4. Andy Kosco at Baseball Reference
5. Bob Smith 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.
• 1959 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference