The 1998 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 98th season and the 87th season at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers finished in fifth place in their first season in the American League Central 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 were the first team to lose to the Tampa Bay Rays when they lost 11-8 in their second game of the season. They ultimately lost 2 of 3 games in the series, resulting in the first series win for the Rays as well.
The Tigers missed the playoffs for the 11th straight season, tying a record set between 1973 and 1983. 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. November 18, 1997: Travis Fryman was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Gabe Alvarez, Joe Randa, and Matt Drews (minors). December 16, 1997: Billy Ripken was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers. December 22, 1997: Joe Oliver was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers. March 25, 1998: Doug Bochtler was purchased by the Detroit Tigers from the Oakland Athletics.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Transactions July 16, 1998: Joe Oliver was released by the Detroit Tigers. July 20, 1998: Billy Ripken was released by the Detroit Tigers.
Roster 1998 Detroit Tigers Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches (Pitching) (Hitting) (Third Base) (Bullpen) (Bench) (First Base)
Player stats
= Indicates team leader
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 RBIBobby Higginson 157612 174 .28425 85 Tony Clark 157 602 175 .29134 103Brian L. Hunter 142 595 151 .2544 36Damion Easley 153 594 161 .271 27100 Joe Randa 138560 117 .2549 50Luis Gonzalez 154547 146 .26723 71 Deivi Cruz 135 518 118 .2605 45Paul Bako 96 305 83 .2723 30Gabe Alvarez 58 286 46 .231 5 29Frank Catalanotto 89 213 60 .2826 25Gerónimo Berroa 52 126 30 .2381 10Juan Encarnación 40 164 54 .3297 21Joe Oliver 50155 35 .2264 22Bip Roberts 34 113 28 .2480 9Kimera Bartee 57 98 19 .1943 15Billy Ripken 27 74 20 .2700 5Andy Tomberlin 3269 15 .2172 12Joe Siddall 29 65 12 .1851 6Trey Beamon 28 42 11 .262 0 2Raul Casanova 1642 6 .1431 3Jeff Manto 16 30 8 .2671 3Gabe Kapler 7 25 5 .2000 0Jason Wood 10 23 8 .348 1 1Robert Fick 722 8 .3643 7Pete Incaviglia 714 1 .0710 0Pitcher Totals162213.14301Team Totals16256641494.264165691
Note: Individual 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 SOJustin Thompson 34222.0 1115 4.05 149Seth Greisinger 33 221.1 14 13 3.90 123Brian Moehler 21 130.0 6 9 5.12 66Frank Castillo 27 116.0 3 9 6.83 81 Brian Powell 18 83.23 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 SOBryce Florie 42 133.0 8 9 0 4.8097Doug Bochtler 5167.1 02 0 6.1545Todd Jones 65 63.1 1 4 28 4.9757Doug Brocail 60 62.25 2 0 2.7355Tim Worrell 1561.2 26 0 5.98 47A. J. Sager 31 59.1 4 2 2 6.5223Sean Runyan 88 50.1 1 4 1 3.5839Dean Crow 32 45.22 2 0 3.9418Matt Anderson 42 44.0 5 1 0 3.2744Greg Keagle 9 31.2 0 5 0 5.5925Roberto Durán 1815.1 01 0 5.8712Denny Harriger 4 12.0 0 3 0 6.753Scott Sanders 3 9.2 0 2 0 17.696 Marino Santana 7 7.1 0 0 0 3.6810Will Brunson 8 3.00 0 0 0.001Team Pitching Totals1621446.16597324.93947
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: West MichiganJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
References
External links
1998 Detroit Tigers season at Baseball Reference