The 1963 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 63rd season and the 52nd season at Tiger Stadium. The team finished tied for fifth place in the American League with a record of 79–83, games behind the New York Yankees.
A sluggish start, then a seven-game, mid-June losing streak, cost third-year manager Bob Scheffing his job on June 17. He was replaced by 68-year-old veteran former MLB manager Chuck Dressen. When the change was made, the Tigers were in ninth place at 24–36 (.400), games behind the Yankees. Scheffing's three-man coaching staff was released along with him. Under Dressen, Detroit would recover to win 55 of 102 games and move up to its fifth-place finish.
Offseason November 26, 1962: 1962 first-year draft Tom Matchick was drafted by the Tigers from the St. Louis Cardinals.Tom Matchick at Baseball Reference Rich Reese was drafted from the Tigers by the Minnesota Twins.Rich Reese at Baseball Reference Conrad Cardinal was drafted from the Tigers by the Houston Colt .45s.Conrad Cardinal at Baseball Reference November 26, 1962: Dick Brown was traded by the Tigers to the Baltimore Orioles for Whitey Herzog and Gus Triandos.Whitey Herzog at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 8, 1963: Denny McLain was selected off waivers by the Tigers from the Chicago White Sox as first-year waiver pick.Denny McLain at Baseball Reference May 8, 1963: Chico Fernández was traded by the Tigers to the Milwaukee Braves for Lou Johnson and cash.Chico Fernández at Baseball Reference
Roster 1963 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats
Batting
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 106 327 78 .239 14 41 1B 147 493 133 .270 26 79 2B Jake Wood 85 351 95 .271 11 27 SS Dick McAuliffe 150 568 149 .262 13 61 3B Bubba Phillips 128 464 114 .246 5 45 LF Rocky Colavito 160 597 162 .271 22 91 CF Bill Bruton 145 524 134 .256 8 48 RF Al Kaline 145 551 172 .312 27 101
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 Bill Freehan 100 300 73 .243 9 36 Don Wert 78 251 65 .259 7 25 George Smith 52 171 37 .216 0 17 George Thomas 49 109 26 .239 1 11 Gates Brown 55 82 22 .268 2 14 52 53 8 .151 0 7 Frank Kostro 31 52 12 .231 0 0 Chico Fernández 15 49 7 .143 0 1 Mike Roarke 23 44 14 .318 0 1 Willie Horton 15 43 14 .326 1 4 Coot Veal 15 32 7 .219 0 4 Bubba Morton 6 11 1 .091 0 2 Purnal Goldy 9 8 2 .250 0 0 John Sullivan 3 5 0 .000 0 0 Vic Wertz 6 5 0 .000 0 0
Pitching
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 Jim Bunning 39 248.1 12 13 3.88 196 38 225.2 14 15 3.67 134 Phil Regan 38 189.0 15 9 3.86 115 Don Mossi 24 122.2 7 7 3.74 68 Frank Lary 16 107.1 4 9 3.27 46 Denny McLain 3 21.0 2 1 4.29 22
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 Mickey Lolich 33 144.1 5 9 3.55 103 Bill Faul 28 97.0 5 6 4.64 64 Willie Smith 11 21.2 1 0 4.57 16 Alan Koch 7 10.0 1 1 10.80 5
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 Terry Fox 46 8 6 11 3.59 35 Bob Anderson 32 3 1 0 3.30 38 Tom Sturdivant 28 1 2 2 3.76 36 Fred Gladding 22 1 1 7 1.98 24 Dick Egan 20 0 1 0 5.14 16 Paul Foytack 9 0 1 0 8.66 7 Bob Dustal 7 0 1 0 9.00 4 Larry Foster 1 0 0 0 13.50 1
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Thomasville
Notes
References
1963 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference