1998 Detroit Tigers season
| 1998 Detroit Tigers | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:DetroitTigersD.jpg | ||
| Division | Central Division | |
| Ballpark | Tiger Stadium | |
| City | Detroit, Michigan | |
| Owners | Mike Ilitch | |
| Managers | Buddy Bell, Larry Parrish | |
| Television | WKBD (Ernie Harwell, Al Kaline) FSN Detroit (Kirk Gibson, Josh Lewin) | |
| Radio | WJR (Frank Beckmann, Lary Sorensen, Jim Price) | |
| ||
The 1998 Detroit Tigers finished in fifth place in their first season in the American League Central Division with a record of 65-97 (.401), 24 games behind the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers were outscored by their opponents 863 to 722. The Tigers drew 1,409,391 fans to Tiger Stadium in 1998, ranking 11th of the 14 teams in the American League.
The Tigers missed the playoffs for the 11th straight season, tying a record set between 1973–83. It was also the team's fifth consecutive losing season. Both streaks would last until 2006.
Offseason
- November 11, 1997: Melvin Nieves was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Cincinnati Reds for Paul Bako and Donne Wall.[1]
- November 18, 1997: Travis Fryman was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Gabe Alvarez, Joe Randa, and Matt Drews (minors).[2]
- December 16, 1997: Billy Ripken was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.[3]
- December 22, 1997: Joe Oliver was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.[4]
- March 25, 1998: Doug Bochtler was purchased by the Detroit Tigers from the Oakland Athletics.[5]
Regular season
Season standings
| AL Central | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 73 | 0.549 | — | 46–35 | 43–38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 80 | 82 | 0.494 | 9 | 44–37 | 36–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 72 | 89 | 0.447 | 16½ | 29–51 | 43–38 |
| Minnesota Twins | 70 | 92 | 0.432 | 19 | 35–46 | 35–46 |
| Detroit Tigers | 65 | 97 | 0.401 | 24 | 32–49 | 33–48 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Anaheim | — | 5–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 10–6 |
| Baltimore | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–9 | 5–6 | 10–1 | 5–6 | 7–3 | 3–9 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
| Boston | 5–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–6 | 8–3 | 5–5 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 5–7 | 9–2 | 7–4 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–7 |
| Chicago | 6–5 | 9–2 | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 4–6–1 | 7–9 |
| Cleveland | 7–4 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 9–2 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 10–6 |
| Detroit | 3–8 | 1–10 | 5–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 3–8 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 7–9 |
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 0–10 | 7–4 | 4–6 | 8–3 | 3–8 | 6–5 | 9–7 |
| Minnesota | 5–6 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–7 | 4–7 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
| New York | 5–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 10–0 | 7–4 | — | 8–3 | 8–3 | 11–1 | 8–3 | 6–6 | 13–3 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 3–8 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 3–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 8–8 |
| Seattle | 3–9 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 2–9 | 8–3 | 6–4 | 9–2 | 3–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
| Tampa Bay | 5–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 6–5 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 1–11 | 6–5 | 5–6 | — | 4–7 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
| Texas | 7–5 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–4 | — | 7–4 | 8–8 |
| Toronto | 7–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–4–1 | 4–7 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 4–7 | — | 9–7 |
Transactions
- July 16, 1998: Joe Oliver was released by the Detroit Tigers.[4]
- July 20, 1998: Billy Ripken was released by the Detroit Tigers.[3]
Roster
Player stats
Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Bako | 96 | 305 | 83 | .272 | 3 | 30 |
| Tony Clark | 157 | 602 | 175 | .291 | 34 | 103 |
| Damion Easley | 153 | 594 | 161 | .271 | 27 | 100 |
| Joe Randa | 138 | 560 | 117 | .254 | 9 | 50 |
| Deivi Cruz | 135 | 518 | 118 | .260 | 5 | 45 |
| Luis Gonzalez | 154 | 547 | 146 | .267 | 23 | 71 |
| Brian L. Hunter | 142 | 595 | 151 | .254 | 4 | 36 |
| Bobby Higginson | 157 | 612 | 174 | .284 | 25 | 85 |
| Gerónimo Berroa | 52 | 126 | 30 | .238 | 1 | 10 |
| Frank Catalanotto | 89 | 213 | 60 | .282 | 6 | 25 |
| Gabe Alvarez | 58 | 286 | 46 | .231 | 5 | 29 |
| Juan Encarnación | 40 | 164 | 54 | .329 | 7 | 21 |
| Joe Oliver | 50 | 155 | 35 | .226 | 4 | 22 |
| Bip Roberts | 34 | 113 | 28 | .248 | 0 | 9 |
| Kimera Bartee | 57 | 98 | 19 | .194 | 3 | 15 |
| Billy Ripken | 27 | 74 | 20 | .270 | 0 | 5 |
| Andy Tomberlin | 32 | 69 | 15 | .217 | 2 | 12 |
| Joe Siddall | 29 | 65 | 12 | .185 | 1 | 6 |
| Trey Beamon | 28 | 42 | 11 | .262 | 0 | 2 |
| Raul Casanova | 16 | 42 | 6 | .143 | 1 | 3 |
| Jeff Manto | 16 | 30 | 8 | .267 | 1 | 3 |
| Gabe Kapler | 7 | 25 | 5 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Wood | 10 | 23 | 8 | .348 | 1 | 1 |
| Robert Fick | 7 | 22 | 8 | .364 | 3 | 7 |
| Pete Incaviglia | 7 | 14 | 1 | .071 | 0 | 0 |
Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Thompson | 34 | 222.0 | 11 | 15 | 4.05 | 149 |
| Seth Greisinger | 33 | 221.1 | 14 | 13 | 3.90 | 123 |
| Brian Moehler | 21 | 130.0 | 6 | 9 | 5.12 | 66 |
| Frank Castillo | 27 | 116.0 | 3 | 9 | 6.83 | 81 |
| Brian Powell | 18 | 83.2 | 3 | 8 | 6.35 | 46 |
Relief and other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Jones | 65 | 63.1 | 1 | 4 | 28 | 4.97 | 57 |
| Tim Worrell | 15 | 61.2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5.98 | 47 |
| Greg Keagle | 9 | 31.2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5.59 | 25 |
| Sean Runyan | 88 | 50.1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3.58 | 39 |
| Doug Brocail | 60 | 62.2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.73 | 55 |
| Doug Bochtler | 51 | 67.1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.15 | 45 |
| Matt Anderson | 42 | 44.0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3.27 | 44 |
| Bryce Florie | 42 | 133.0 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 4.80 | 97 |
| A. J. Sager | 31 | 59.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6.52 | 23 |
| Dean Crow | 32 | 45.2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.94 | 18 |
| Roberto Durán | 18 | 15.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.87 | 12 |
| Denny Harriger | 4 | 12.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6.75 | 3 |
| Scott Sanders | 3 | 9.2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17.69 | 6 |
| Marino Santana | 7 | 7.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.68 | 10 |
| Will Brunson | 8 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: West Michigan[6]
References
- ^ "Melvin Nieves Stats".
- ^ "Travis Fryman Stats".
- ^ a b "Billy Ripken Stats".
- ^ a b "Joe Oliver Stats".
- ^ "Doug Bochtler Stats".
- ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
