1996 Detroit Tigers
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
East Division (since 1969)
Location
Tiger Stadium (since 1912)
Detroit, Michigan (since 1901)
Other information
Owner(s)	Mike Ilitch
Manager(s)	Buddy Bell
Local television	WKBD (George Kell, Al Kaline) PASS (Ernie Harwell, Fred McLeod)
Local radio	WJR (Frank Beckmann, Lary Sorensen)
< Previous season     Next season  >

The 1996 Detroit Tigers had a record of 53-109 for the third worst winning percentage (.327) in team history. With a number of capable batters (Cecil Fielder, Tony Clark, Bobby Higginson, Alan Trammell, Rubén Sierra, and Damion Easley), the team scored a respectable 783 runs. However, the 1996 Tigers lacked pitching and allowed their opponents to score 1,103 runs. No team in American League history and only one in major league history (the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies) has given up more runs. No pitcher on the team had more than 7 wins. The Tigers made more unwanted history when they were swept 12-0 by the Cleveland Indians in the regular season series, losing all twelve games played while being outscored, 79-28.

Regular season[edit]

Opening Day roster[edit]

• Chad Curtis CF
• Bobby Higginson RF

• Travis Fryman 3B
• Cecil Fielder 1B

• Melvin Nieves LF

• Eddie Williams DH

• Mark Lewis 2B
• John Flaherty C
• Alan Trammell SS
• Felipe Lira SP

Season standings[edit]

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	92	70	0.568	—	49–31	43–39
Baltimore Orioles	88	74	0.543	4	43–38	45–36
Boston Red Sox	85	77	0.525	7	47–34	38–43
Toronto Blue Jays	74	88	0.457	18	35–46	39–42
Detroit Tigers	53	109	0.327	39	27–54	26–55

Record vs. opponents[edit]

1996 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–6	6–6	4–8	5–7	11–2	9–3	9–3	7–5	3–10	9–4	7–5	3–10–1	8–5
Boston	6–7	—	8–4	6–6	1–11	12–1	3–9	7–5	6–6	7–6	8–5	7–6	6–6	8–5
California	6–6	4–8	—	6–6	4–9	6–6	4–8	7–5	4–8	7–6	6–7	5–8	4–9	7–5
Chicago	8–4	6–6	6–6	—	5–8	10–3	7–6	6–7	6–7	6–7	5–7	5–7	8–4	7–5
Cleveland	7–5	11–1	9–4	8–5	—	12–0	7–6	7–6	10–3	3–9	6–6	8–4	4–8	7–5
Detroit	2–11	1–12	6–6	3–10	0–12	—	6–6	4–8	6–6	5–8	4–8	6–6	4–9	6–7
Kansas City	3–9	9–3	8–4	6–7	6–7	6–6	—	4–9	6–7	4–8	5–7	7–5	6–6	5–8
Milwaukee	3–9	5–7	5–7	7–6	6–7	8–4	9–4	—	9–4	6–6	7–5	4–9	6–7	5–7
Minnesota	5–7	6–6	8–4	7–6	3–10	6–6	7–6	4–9	—	5–7	6–7	6–6	7–5	8–5
New York	10–3	6–7	6–7	7–6	9–3	8–5	8–4	6–6	7–5	—	9–3	3–9	5–7	8–5
Oakland	4–9	5–8	7–6	7–5	6–6	8–4	7–5	5–7	7–6	3–9	—	8–5	7–6	4–8
Seattle	5–7	6–7	8–5	7–5	4–8	6–6	5–7	9–4	6–6	9–3	5–8	—	10–3	5–7
Texas	10–3–1	6–6	9–4	4–8	8–4	9–4	6–6	7–6	5–7	7–5	6–7	3–10	—	10–2
Toronto	5–8	5–8	5–7	5–7	5–7	7–6	8–5	7–5	5–8	5–8	8–4	7–5	2–10	—

Notable transactions[edit]

• March 22, 1996: Melvin Nieves was traded by the San Diego Padres with Raul Casanova and Richie Lewis to the Detroit Tigers for Sean Bergman, Todd Steverson, and Cade Gaspar (minors).^[1]
• March 31, 1996: Curtis Pride was signed as a Free Agent with the Detroit Tigers.^[2]
• April 27, 1996: Joe Boever was selected off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Detroit Tigers.^[3]
• July 31, 1996: Cecil Fielder was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the New York Yankees for Rubén Sierra and Matt Drews (minors).^[4]
• July 31, 1996: Chad Curtis was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers for John Cummings and Joey Eischen.^[5]
• August 6, 1996: Todd Van Poppel was selected off waivers by the Detroit Tigers from the Oakland Athletics.

Roster[edit]

1996 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 49 Scott Aldred 33 Mike Christopher 34 John Cummings 43 Joey Eischen 52 John Farrell 34 Greg Gohr 57 Greg Keagle 43,51 Richie Lewis 32 José Lima 40 Felipe Lira 15 Brian Maxcy 43 Jeff McCurry 37 Trever Miller 38 Brian Moehler 27 Mike Myers 48 C. J. Nitkowski 28 Omar Olivares 37 Gregg Olson 49 A. J. Sager 38 Bob Scanlan 46 Clint Sodowsky 22 Justin Thompson 42 Tom Urbani 59 Todd Van Poppel 42,52 Randy Veres 21 Mike Walker 26 Brian Williams		Catchers  7 Brad Ausmus 33 Raul Casanova 12 John Flaherty  8 Mark Parent Infielders 15 Andújar Cedeño 17 Tony Clark 41 Fausto Cruz  9 Damion Easley 45 Cecil Fielder 24 Travis Fryman 35 Chris Gomez  8 Phil Hiatt  7 Tim Hyers 14 Mark Lewis 12 Phil Nevin  3 Alan Trammel 20 Eddie Williams		Outfielders 39,12 Kimera Bartee 29 Danny Bautista  9 Chad Curtis  4 Bobby Higginson 30 Melvin Nieves 42 Shannon Penn 36 Curtis Pride 21 Rubén Sierra 15 Duane Singleton		Manager 25 Buddy Bell Coaches 10 Glenn Ezell 55 Terry Francona (third base) 31 Larry Herndon 18 Fred Kendall 54 Jon Matlack 16 Ron Oester

Player stats[edit]

Batting[edit]

Starters by position[edit]

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	Brad Ausmus	75	226	56	.248	4	22
1B	Tony Clark	100	376	94	.250	27	72
2B	Mark Lewis	145	545	147	.270	11	55
3B	Travis Fryman	157	616	165	.268	22	100
SS	Andújar Cedeño	52	179	35	.196	7	20
LF	Bobby Higginson	130	440	141	.320	26	81
CF	Kimera Bartee	120	217	55	.253	1	14
RF	Melvin Nieves	110	431	106	.246	24	60
DH	Eddie Williams	77	215	43	.200	6	26

Other batters[edit]

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
Chad Curtis	104	400	105	.263	10	37
Cecil Fielder	107	391	97	.248	26	80
Curtis Pride	95	267	80	.300	10	31
Alan Trammell	66	193	45	.233	1	16
Rubén Sierra	46	158	35	.222	1	20
John Flaherty	47	152	38	.250	4	23
Chris Gomez	48	128	31	.242	1	16
Phil Nevin	38	120	35	.292	8	19
Mark Parent	38	104	25	.240	7	17
Damion Easley	21	67	23	.343	2	10

Pitching[edit]

Starting pitchers[edit]

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Felipe Lira	32	194.7	6	14	5.22	113
Omar Olivares	25	160	7	11	4.89	81
Greg Gohr	17	91.7	4	8	7.17	60
Justin Thompson	11	59	1	6	4.58	44
Todd Van Poppel	9	36.3	2	4	11.39	16
Scott Aldred	11	43.3	0	4	9.35	36
C. J. Nitkowski	11	45.7	2	3	8.08	36

Other pitchers[edit]

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Brian Williams	40	121	3	10	6.77	72
Greg Keagle	26	87.7	3	6	7.39	70
A. J. Sager	22	79	4	5	5.01	52

Relief pitchers[edit]

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Gregg Olson	43	3	0	8	5.02	29
Mike Myers	83	1	5	6	5.01	69
Richie Lewis	72	4	6	2	4.18	78
José Lima	39	5	6	3	5.70	59

League leaders and award winners[edit]

• Kimera Bartee: #5 in AL times caught stealing (10)
• Chad Curtis: #5 in AL times caught stealing (10)
• Cecil Fielder: MLB leader in salary ($9,237,500)
• Travis Fryman: AL leader in fielding percentage at third base (.979)
• Travis Fryman: #3 in AL in sacrifice filies (10)
• Travis Fryman: #4 in AL in outs (483)
• Richie Lewis: #2 in AL in wild pitches (14)
• Felipe Lira: #4 in AL in shutouts (2)
• Mike Myers: AL leader in games (83)
• Melvin Nieves: #2 in AL in strikeouts (158)

Worst seasons in Detroit Tigers history[edit]

Worst Seasons in Detroit Tigers History Rank Year Wins Losses Win % 1 2003 43 119 .265 2 1952 50 104 .325 3 1996 53 109 .327 4 2002 55 106 .342 5 1975 57 102 .358

Farm system[edit]

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Tom Runnells
AA	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	Bill Plummer and Larry Parrish
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Tim Torricelli
A	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	Dave Anderson
A	Fayetteville Generals	South Atlantic League	Dwight Lowry
Short-Season A	Jamestown Jammers	New York–Penn League	Bruce Fields
Rookie	GCL Tigers	Gulf Coast League	Kevin Bradshaw

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jacksonville

Visalia affiliation shared with Arizona Diamondbacks^[6]

See also[edit]

• List of worst MLB season records
• 1996 in baseball

References[edit]

1. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/n/nieveme01.shtml
2. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/pridecu01.shtml
3. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/boevejo01.shtml
4. ^ Cecil Fielder Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
5. ^ http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/curtich01.shtml
6. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997

External links[edit]

• Baseball-Reference.com 1996 Tigers

1996 MLB season by team AL East Baltimore Boston Detroit New York Toronto AL Central Chicago Cleveland Kansas City Milwaukee Minnesota AL West California Oakland Seattle Texas NL East Atlanta Florida Montréal New York Philadelphia NL Central Chicago Cincinnati Houston Pittsburgh St. Louis NL West Colorado Los Angeles San Diego San Francisco 1996 All-Star Game 1996 World Series

Detroit Tigers Based in Detroit, Michigan Franchise History Seasons Records No-hitters Award winners and league leaders Players Managers Owners and executives Opening Day starting pitchers Ballparks Boulevard Park Bennett Park Tiger Stadium Comerica Park Spring Training: Whittington Park Plant Field Bosse Field Henley Field Joker Marchant Stadium Culture Paws "Detroit Rock City" "The Bird" Magnum, P.I. Tiger Town For Love of the Game "The Singing Hot Dog Man" Lore 1910 Chalmers Award Disco Demolition Night 2009 AL Central tie-breaker 28-out perfect game Important figures Hall of Fame members Sparky Anderson Ty Cobb Mickey Cochrane Sam Crawford Charlie Gehringer Hank Greenberg Harry Heilmann Hughie Jennings Al Kaline George Kell Heinie Manush Hal Newhouser Frick Award recipient Ernie Harwell Minors Player overview AAA: Toledo Mud Hens AA: Erie SeaWolves A: Lakeland Flying Tigers West Michigan Whitecaps Connecticut Tigers Rookie: Gulf Coast League Tigers DSL Tigers Key personnel Owner: Mike Ilitch General Manager: Al Avila Manager: Brad Ausmus World Series championships (4) 1935 1945 1968 1984 League pennants (11) American League: 1907 1908 1909 1934 1935 1940 1945 1968 1984 2006 2012 Division titles (7) East: 1972 1984 1987 Central: 2011 2012 2013 2014 Wild card berths (1) 2006 Broadcasters TV: Fox Sports Detroit Mario Impemba Rod Allen Kirk Gibson Jack Morris Radio: Detroit Tigers Radio Network WXYT WXYT-FM Dan Dickerson Jim Price History: List of Detroit Tigers broadcasters   Seasons (116) 1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016