Team 103: The 1989 Tigers

Ken Levine/Getty Images

Year: 1989

Record: 59-103

Win Percentage: .364

Win Percentage Change: -.179

Run Differential: -199

Pythagorean Record: 61-101

AL Finish: 14th of 14

Manager: Sparky Anderson

Best Transaction: The re-signing of Dave Bergman

Seriously. No slight disrespect intended here for Bergman, but if re-signing a guy like Bergman is your best transaction, then you are in serious trouble. The Tigers didn’t make a meaningful trade, free agent signing, or draft pick in 1989.

Bergman played for the Tigers from 1984 to 1992, so keeping him on board was probably a popular move for the fans. That’s the best I can come up with.

Worst Transaction: The draft

This is before the Randy Smith era, so the blame here falls on Bill Lajoie. Lajoie spent the Tigers' first-round pick, No. 21, on Greg Gohr. Sadly, Gohr and John Doherty left the biggest mark on the franchise of anyone drafted in 1989.

It’s no wonder the Tigers struggled in the seasons following this—they just didn’t have much young talent.

Upper: Lou Whitaker

The Tigers' second baseman (one of the best of all time) had one of his better offensive years in the midst of the misery that was the 1989 season.

Whitaker slugged a career-high 28 homers, which was good for seventh in the American League and amazing for a second baseman. This was before guys like Chase Utley were slugging 30 homers a year from that position. Whitaker was truly ahead of his time.

What exactly is the difference between Whitaker and Ryne Sandberg, who is in the Hall of Fame?

Downer: Pitching—again

Pitching has been a problem in Detroit for the bulk of my lifetime. In 1989, no team in the AL gave up more runs than the Tigers, and no team saved fewer games or threw fewer shutouts.

Only one Tigers starter (Frank Tanana) had an ERA-plus better than 88, and the bullpen was in constant flux. Willie Hernandez was a mess, while offseason addition Charles Hudson failed miserably. The upside to the bullpen bombing was that Mike Henneman was able to step into the closer role and pitch very well.

Summary

Part of the reason this season was so disappointing is that the Tigers were only two years removed from the ALCS. This is like the 2008 Tigers, but even worse in a lot of ways. This club still had Alan Trammell and Whitaker and should have had a better supporting cast around them to win a few ball games.

Keep in mind that Sparky Anderson was still managing the club. This was Sparky’s worst team in Detroit.

This club was actually decent at home (38-43) but went 21-60 (!!!) on the road. That’s almost unbelievable.

Things turned around 1990 thanks to Cecil Fielder. The pitching still sucked, though.

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