FanPost

25 For 25: Detroit Tigers 1945-1969

With everything that is going on that has extended out this offseason, I thought I would bring out a new set of 25 For 25 teams. This group is for the years 1945 through 1969 - the end of the war & return of the stars from service, the introduction of integrated baseball, the dominance of the New York teams generally and the Yankees specifically in the 50's, franchise shifts & expansion, and the second "Dead Ball" era. Prior to doing this research, so many of these players I was unfamiliar with, my knowledge largely limited to the Cardinals, the superstars, and what I had read from Bill James & others.

This team will follow the rules that I've laid out before: one player per season, all 25 years of the era; each player can only be selected once per franchise, not in multiple eras (can't pick Greg Maddux for ATL for 1994 & 1995); two players each at most positions (C, 1B, 2B,3B, SS), six outfielders (position based on most games played that year, outfield games combined), five starters (at least half of pitching appearances as GS that year), four relievers; using fWAR, bWAR, Win-Loss % w/avg team (basically Wins Above Average as a rate stat, referred to on B-R as waaWL%), and B-R WPA (note that earlier years are missing up to 30% of data and all seasons are missing at least a little bit, but it should be fairly representative). I will not be working up versions for any of the expansion franchises, as they will only have 8 or 9 seasons (or just one) to choose from.

Sometimes you have to make a choice between two phenomenal players in the same year, sometimes you get stuck with a nobody, sometimes a notable, long-time player gets left off, sometimes you're swimming with options, sometimes it looks like the discount bin at Blockbuster. That's part of the fun for me, making the puzzle pieces fit in the best way available. Please look over my list, tell me what you think, and challenge me on my selections - I look forward to hearing from you. (Link to all of my 25 For 25 posts)

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1945 - Hal Newhouser SP - 40 G/36 GS/313.1 IP, 8.9* fWAR/12.2* bWAR, .720 waaWL%, +3.40 bWPA, 25-9 W-L, 2/2 SvOpp, 1.81 ERA/2.45 FIP, Most Valuable Player *(including batting)

1946 - Eddie Lake SS - 155 G/703 PA, 3.1 fWAR/2.7 bWAR, .505 waaWL%, .254/.369/.339, 108 R/103 BB, +1.00 bWPA

1947 - Roy Cullenbine 1B - 142 G/607 PA, 4.4 fWAR/4.4 bWAR, .518 waaWL%, .224/.401/.422, 24 HR, 137 BB, +1.40 bWPA, 29th-MVP

1948 - Pat Mullin OF - 138 G/575 PA, 3.6 fWAR/3.6 bWAR, .514 waaWL%, .288/.385/.504, 11 3B/23 HR, 91 R, +1.30 bWPA, All-Star, 33rd-MVP

1949 - Virgil Trucks SP - 41 G/32 GS/275 IP, 5.3 fWAR/6.9 bWAR, .617 waaWL%, +6.20 bWPA, 19-11 W-L, 4/5 SvOpp, 2.81 ERA/3.55 FIP, All-Star, 22nd-MVP

1950 - Jerry Priddy 2B - 157 G/729 PA, 4.7 fWAR/4.4 bWAR, .515 waaWL%, .277/.376/.401, 104 R/95 BB, +0.30 bWPA, 20 Rtot, 17th-MVP

1951 - Vic Wertz OF - 138 G/582 PA, 4.4 fWAR/4.4 bWAR, .519 waaWL%, .285/.383/.511, 27 HR, 94 RBI, +1.10 bWPA, All-Star

1952 - Hal White RP - 41 G/63.1 IP, 0.0 fWAR/0.9 bWAR, .511 waaWL%, -0.40 bWPA, 1-8 W-L, 5/6 SvOpp, 1 Hold, 3.69 ERA/3.88 FIP

1953 - Ray Boone 3B - 101 G/443 PA, 4.5 fWAR/4.6 bWAR, .532 waaWL%, .312/.395/.556, 22 HR, 93 RBI, +4.80 bWPA, 8th-MVP

1954 - Harvey Kuenn SS - 155 G/696 PA, 3.5 fWAR/3.3 bWAR, .508 waaWL%, .306/.335/.390, 201 H, 0.00 bWPA, All-Star, 8th-MVP

1955 - Al Kaline OF - 152 G/681 PA, 7.3 fWAR/8.3 bWAR, .540 waaWL%, .340/.421/.546, 27 HR, 121 R/102 RBI/200 H, +4.40 bWPA, 10 Rtot, All-Star, 2nd-MVP

1956 - Frank Lary SP - 41 G/38 GS/294 IP, 5.6* fWAR/6.7* bWAR, .598 waaWL%, +3.00 bWPA, 21-13 W-L, 1/1 SvOpp, 3.15 ERA/3.44 FIP, 17th-MVP *(including batting)

1957 - Charlie Maxwell OF - 138 G/580 PA, 4.9 fWAR/5.2 bWAR, .525 waaWL%, .276/.377/.482, 24 HR, +3.80 bWPA, 14 Rtot, All-Star, 18th-MVP

1958 - Frank Bolling 2B - 154 G/681 PA, 3.5 fWAR/3.6 bWAR, .511 waaWL%, .269/.328/.392, 91 R, +2.50 bWPA, 12 Rtot, Gold Glove, 16th-MVP

1959 - Eddie Yost 3B - 148 G/675 PA, 6.2 fWAR/5.4 bWAR, .525 waaWL%, .278/.435/.436, 21 HR, 115 R/135 BB, +4.00 bWPA

1960 - Hank Aguirre RP - 37 G/6 GS/94.2 IP, 2.1 fWAR/2.9 bWAR, .548 waaWL%, +1.40 bWPA, 5-3 W-L, 10/12 SvOpp, 2.85 ERA/2.84 FIP, 2.67 K/BB

1961 - Norm Cash 1B - 159 G/673 PA, 10.2 fWAR/9.2 bWAR, .547 waaWL%, .361/.487/.662, 41 HR, 119 R/132 RBI/193 H/124 BB, +7.70 bWPA, All-Star x2, 4th-MVP

1962 - Rocky Colavito OF - 161 G/707 PA, 6.0 fWAR/5.7 bWAR, .524 waaWL%, .273/.371/.514, 37 HR, 90 R/112 RBI/96 BB, +4.40 bWPA, 18 Rtot, All-Star x2, 16th-MVP

1963 - Gus Triandos C - 106 G/369 PA, 1.7 fWAR/0.9 bWAR, .500 waaWL%, .239/.315/.407, +0.70 bWPA

1964 - Fred Gladding RP - 42 G/67.1 IP, 0.5 fWAR/1.0 bWAR, .512 waaWL%, +2.60 bWPA, 7-4 W-L, 7/9 SvOpp, 1 Hold, 3.07 ERA/3.50 FIP

1965 - Orlando Pena RP - 30 G/57.1 IP, 0.8* fWAR/1.5* bWAR, .526 waaWL%, +0.60 bWPA, 4-6 W-L, 4/6 SvOpp, 1 Hold, 2.51 ERA/2.83 FIP, 8.6 K/9, 2.75 K/BB *(including batting)

1966 - Earl Wilson SP - 23 GS/163.1 IP, 4.4* fWAR/5.8* bWAR, .636 waaWL%, +2.60* bWPA, 13-6 W-L, 2.59 ERA/2.97 FIP, 3.50 K/BB *(including batting)

1967 - Bill Freehan C - 155 G/618 PA, 5.8 fWAR/6.1 fWAR, .528 waaWL%, .282/.389/.447, 20 HR, +2.90 bWPA, All-Star, Gold Glove, 3rd-MVP

1968 - Jim Northrup OF - 154 G/643 PA, 5.3 fWAR/5.9 bWAR, .526 waaWL%, .264/.324/.447, 21 HR, 90 RBI, +3.90 bWPA, 18 Rtot, 13th-MVP

1969 - Denny McLain SP - 42 G/41 GS/325 IP, 7.0 fWAR/8.1 bWAR, .624 waaWL%, +7.20 bWPA, 24-9 W-L, 2.80 ERA/3.05 FIP, 1.9 BB/9, 2.70 K/BB, All-Star, Cy Young Award, 6th-MVP

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C - Gus Triandos 1963, Bill Freehan 1967

1B - Roy Cullenbine 1947, Norm Cash 1961

2B - Jerry Priddy 1950, Frank Bolling 1958

3B - Ray Boone 1953, Eddie Yost 1959

SS - Eddie Lake 1946, Harvey Kuenn 1954

OF - Pat Mullin 1948, Vic Wertz 1951, Al Kaline 1955, Charlie Maxwell 1957, Rocky Colavito 1962, Jim Northrup 1968

SP - Hal Newhouser 1945, Virgil Trucks 1949, Frank Lary 1956, Earl Wilson 1966, Denny McLain 1969

RP - Hal White 1952, Hank Aguirre 1960, Fred Gladding 1964, Orlando Pena 1965

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.