Team 93: The 1913 Tigers

• Year: 1913
• Record: 66-87
• Win %: .431
• Win % Change: -20
• Run Differential: -92
• Pythagorean Record: 67-86
• AL Finish: 6th of 8
• Manager: Hughie Jennings
• Best Transaction: Drafted Harry Heilmann.  Heilmann was a real steal in the Rule Five draft.  Heilmann had run out of time with Portland of the Northwestern League so the Tigers gave the guy shot.  Heilmann responded with a Hall of Fame career that began in Detroit in 1914.   Heilmann won four batting titles while with Detroit, each season hitting higher than .390 including a .403 mark in 1923.  The Tigers gave up nothing to get him and he it’s hard to find a better Rule Five pick than him.
• Worst Transaction: Letting Carl Mays walk.  Mays had a minor league deal with the Tigers and that deal ran out in the winter following the 1913 season.  Mays was still only 21 years old and had not yet appeared in the majors.  However, Mays would go on to win 207 big league games and post a winning percentage of .622.  Mays is considered by many to be the best pitcher not in the Hall of Fame.  Mays as a notorious jerk and his frosty attitude may have rubbed Hall voters the wrong way.  He is also the pitcher that threw that ball that killed Ray Chapman in a game against Cleveland.
• Upper:  The Tigers outfield of Bobby Veach, Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb.  I dare you to find a better outfield trio than these three guys.  Go ahead and look.  They posted OPS+ marks of 106, 152 and 194 respectively.  Crawford and Cobb are both Hall of Fame players.  It’s amazing this team was as bad as they were.  Cobb led the league in batting average and on-base percentage while Crawford led the league in triples and total bases.  Veach had a bit of a down year by his standards, but was still very good.
• Downer:  The Tigers pitching staff was a mess.  They posted a team ERA of 3.38 which looks really good for 2009.  However, in 1913, that 3.38 mark was good for worst in the American League.  Most of the starting rotation boasted near-.500 records, it was in the bullpen where the staff really fell apart.  Carl Zamloch was 1-6 as was veteran George Mullin.  Hooks Dauss served as the staff ace with a 2.48 ERA.
• Summary:  This was another disappointing season in Detroit after the Tigers won only 69 games in 1912.  This was a real shame since the teams featured Cobb, Veach, and Crawford at or near their peaks.  When you have talent like that, you need to take advantage and the Tigers brass failed in that respect.  Baseball was a different game back then, but I have to imagine it was still frustrating for the fan base.  The Tigers got out of the gate slow, going 5-11 in April and never really recovered.  Things began to turn around in the second half as the Tigers played about .500 ball down the stretch, including a winning record in the month of August.