1943 Detroit Tigers season

The 1943 Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 78–76, 20 games behind the New York Yankees.

1943 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Briggs Stadium (since 1912) Detroit (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Walter Briggs, Sr.
General manager(s)	Jack Zeller
Manager(s)	Steve O'Neill
Local radio	WXYZ (Harry Heilmann)
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Offseason

• November 2, 1942: Johnny Welaj was drafted from the Tigers by the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1942 rule 5 draft.[1]

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	98	56	0.636	—	54–23	44–33
Washington Senators	84	69	0.549	13½	44–32	40–37
Cleveland Indians	82	71	0.536	15½	44–33	38–38
Chicago White Sox	82	72	0.532	16	40–36	42–36
Detroit Tigers	78	76	0.506	20	45–32	33–44
St. Louis Browns	72	80	0.474	25	44–33	28–47
Boston Red Sox	68	84	0.447	29	39–36	29–48
Philadelphia Athletics	49	105	0.318	49	27–51	22–54

Record vs. opponents

1943 American League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	NYY	PHI	STL	WSH
Boston	—	8–14	12–10	11–11–1	5–17–1	11–11	11–9–1	10–12
Chicago	14–8	—	7–15	9–13	10–12	18–4–1	10–12	14–8
Cleveland	10–12	15–7	—	15–7	9–13	16–6	9–13	8–13
Detroit	11–11–1	13–9	7–15	—	10–12	13–9	11–11	13–9
New York	17–5–1	12–10	13–9	12–10	—	16–6	17–5	11–11
Philadelphia	11–11	4–18–1	6–16	9–13	6–16	—	8–14	5–17
St. Louis	9–11–1	12–10	13–9	11–11	5–17	14–8	—	8–14
Washington	12–10	8–14	13–8	9–13	11–11	17–5	14–8	—

Roster

1943 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 10 Tommy Bridges -- Rufe Gentry 15 Johnny Gorsica 18 Roy Henshaw 16 Hal Newhouser 14 Prince Oana 14 Joe Orrell 19 Stubby Overmire 11 Dizzy Trout 22 Virgil Trucks 25 Hal White		Catchers 23 Dixie Parsons  9 Paul Richards 30 Al Unser Infielders  3 Jimmy Bloodworth  6 Pinky Higgins  7 Joe Hoover 24 Joe Wood  4 Rudy York		Outfielders  8 Doc Cramer 26 Ned Harris 21 Charlie Metro -- Jimmy Outlaw  5 Rip Radcliff 20 Don Ross  2 Dick Wakefield Other batters 27 John McHale		Manager 32 Steve O'Neill Coaches 31 Al Vincent

Player stats

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	Paul Richards	100	313	69	.220	5	33
1B	Rudy York	155	571	155	.271	34	118
2B	Jimmy Bloodworth	129	474	114	.241	6	52
SS	Joe Hoover	144	575	140	.243	4	38
3B	Pinky Higgins	138	523	145	.277	10	84
OF	Doc Cramer	140	606	182	.300	1	43
OF	Dick Wakefield	155	633	200	.316	7	79
OF	Ned Harris	114	354	90	.254	6	32

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
Don Ross	89	247	66	.267	0	18
Joe Wood	60	164	53	.323	1	17
Rip Radcliff	70	115	30	.261	0	10
Dixie Parsons	40	106	15	.142	0	4
Al Unser	38	101	25	.248	0	4
Jimmy Outlaw	20	67	18	.269	1	6
Charlie Metro	44	40	8	.200	0	2
John McHale	4	3	0	.000	0	0

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
Dizzy Trout	44	246.2	20	12	2.48	111
Virgil Trucks	33	202.2	16	10	2.84	118
Hal Newhouser	37	195.2	8	17	3.04	144
Tommy Bridges	25	191.2	12	7	2.39	124
Hal White	32	177.2	7	12	3.39	58
Rufe Gentry	4	29.1	1	3	3.68	8

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
Stubby Overmire	29	147	7	6	3.18	48

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
Johnny Gorsica	35	4	5	5	3.36	45
Roy Henshaw	26	0	2	2	3.79	33
Prince Oana	10	3	2	0	4.50	15
Joe Orrell	10	0	0	1	3.72	2

Awards and honors

League leaders

• Rudy York, Major league home run champion, (34)
• Rudy York, American League RBI champion, (118)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Buffalo Bisons	International League	Greg Mulleavy
B	Hagerstown Owls	Interstate League	Eddie Phillips and Bobby Maier

Notes

1. Johnny Welaj 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.
• 1943 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference