This newsletter has devoted several months to exploring past greatness. We’ve broken down the top 50 ballclubs in history – collectively known as the 50 Greatest – as determined by my new book, The Best (and Worst) Baseball Teams.. And now we have reached the end of the line, No. 1 on the all-time list, the 1984 Detroit Tigers.
Here’s a quick boilerplate explanation that I’ve added to every story in this thread:
I compiled the Best 50 by analyzing 2,544 major league teams from 1903 to 2024. Those clubs are ranked according to their team points (TS), which are ranked on a 100-point scale. (A given club’s all-time percentile is the percentage of the other 2,543 teams that did best.)
See my book for an explanation of my TS calculations. The book also offers separate breakdowns of the best and worst clubs for each decade and franchise, complete profiles of the Best 50 (including ranking by position and more information than you’ll find in this newsletter), and similar summaries of the 10 worst teams of all time.
Now to today’s profile.
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Team: 1984 Detroit Tigers
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Team score: 98.987 points
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All-time rank: 1 in 2,544
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Percentage of all time: 100.00%
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Season record: 104-58 (.642)
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Season position: First place in the American League East
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Final status: World champion
Baltimore won the world championship in 1983, and many experts expected a repeat. I Sports News surveyed 165 sportswriters before the 1984 season. A majority (96) predicted the Orioles would once again dominate the American League East, and a majority (42) saw a second consecutive World Series victory.
Both forecasts went quickly. Baltimore stumbled to a 7-13 record out of the gate, while Detroit had a shot at first place. The Tigers won 35 of their first 40 games, establishing an 8.5-game lead on May 24. The AL East race was, for all intents and purposes, over.
Detroit’s pace inevitably slowed, and critics began to scoff. “All I feel is that if the Tigers hadn’t started 35-5, they wouldn’t have won,” said the manager. Sparky Anderson. “I always thought a season was 162 games. Doesn’t that count the first 40?”
They do, of course. Anderson’s team, regardless of the hitters, led the team from fence to fence, finishing with a 15 game lead.
Get the complete breakdown on the 50 greatest (and 10 weakest) clubs of all time
The Tigers made a statement early in the American League Championship Series, racking up 14 hits (including three homers) in an 8-1 shellacking of the Kansas City Royals. The next two games were close, though Detroit got the sweep.
The World Series proved evenly matched, with the Tigers and San Diego Padres splitting the first two contests. “I think this is going to go seven games,” Sparky Anderson said nervously. But his Tigers took off from there, earning back-to-back victories by scores of 5-2, 4-2, and 8-4.
It’s a jar Jack Morris he pitched two of Detroit’s four wins, holding the Padres to four runs in 18 innings. Shortstop Alan Trammell was the club’s World Series hitter, going nine-for-20 with two home runs, cementing the ’84 Tigers’ status as the greatest team of all time.
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Roger Craig he knew all about the top teams. He earned World Series rings as a pitcher with the 1955 and 1959 Dodgers and the 1964 Cardinals. He also served as hitting coach for the 1984 Tigers, who willingly fielded them against the big clubs of the past. “We had a balanced team,” said Craig. “Everywhere, we didn’t have a star, but a good football player.”
Balance was really the key. No Detroit hitter hit 35 home runs or drove in 100 runs, yet the club led the team in homers (187) and runs scored (5.12 per game). No Tigers pitcher finished among the American League’s top 10 ERA leaders, yet the staff’s combined ERA (3.49) was the best in the league.
“Whitaker and Trammell, they are the key to our football club,” said Sparky Anderson. Second baseman Lou Whitaker he had 161 hits, a total surpassed by only one teammate, shortstop Alan Trammell (174). Both linebackers earned Golden Gloves for defensive excellence, as did the catcher Lance Parrish. The latter also led the Tigers with 33 homers and 98 runs batted in. Kirk Gibson again Lemoncombined power and speed. Each hit at least 20 homers, and Gibson’s 29 stolen bases were a team high.
Offensive starter Jack Morris has a career-high 19 wins, highlighted by a no-hitter against the White Sox. But Detroit’s true star was Willie Hernandezreliever found in spring training deal with Philadelphia. Hernandez appeared in 80 games, registered 32 saves, and posted a 1.92 ERA. Sparky Anderson said he did two things after the Tigers won the World Series. “At first I thanked God,” he said. “I was grateful to Hernandez.”
