Who do you think wins a seven-game series between the ’68 Tigers and the ’84 Tigers?
On July 8th of 2025, the Detroit Tigers had the best record in all of Major League Baseball at 59-34, rekindling Tigers fans’ dreams of perhaps making the World Series and winning it. More than 40 seasons have gone by since the last time the Detroit Tigers won a World Series. Which means that no Tigers fan under the age of 40 remembers or knows what it feels like to get caught up in the excitement of watching the Tigers win a World Series.
As a sports fan, it is nice to look back and reminisce about your team’s better days and good times, and as every loyal Detroit Tigers fan knows, the last two Tigers teams to win a World Series were in 1968 and in 1984. How did they each get there, and which would win a seven-game series against the other: the 1968 Detroit Tigers or the 1984 Detroit Tigers?
The 1968 team had a regular-season record of 103-59 and finished first in the American League by 12 games over the second-place Baltimore Orioles. The Tigers then went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series four games to three.
The ‘68 Tigers led the American League in runs scored with 671 and in home runs with 178. Detroit’s pitching staff led the American League in fewest runs allowed with 492 and was third in the American League with a 2.71 ERA. Two players from the ’68 team would become coaches for the ’84 Tigers team: Gates Brown and Dick Tracewski.
The ‘84 Tigers had a regular season record of 104-58 and won the American League Eastern Division by 15 games over the second-place Toronto Blue Jays.
The 1984 Tigers dominated the American League from the beginning of the season with a torrid 35-5 start and led the American League in runs scored with 829 and home runs with 187. Detroit then swept the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series three games to none and then defeated the San Diego Padres four games to one in the World Series.
How do the teams compare position by position?
CATCHER: Bill Freehan vs. Lance Parrish
Both Freehan of the ’68 Tigers and Parrish of the ’84 Tigers were integral parts of their team’s success. Both Freehan and Parrish were All-Stars in their respective seasons and won Gold Gloves defensively. At the plate, Freehan was hit by a pitch 24 times, hit 25 home runs, drove in 84 runs, and hit .263. Parrish hit 33 home runs, had 98 runs batted in, and hit. 237. Freehan’s hitting success should be considered even greater in that his hitting statistics came in the year of the pitcher. Freehan finished second in MVP balloting in 1968, and Parrish finished 16th in 1984. Edge: ’68.
FIRST BASE: Norm Cash vs. Dave Bergman
Cash had a terrific year in 1968. Like Freehan, he hit 25 home runs, which was fifth in the American League, drove in 70 runs, and hit .263. Bergman hit seven home runs, had 44 runs batted in, and hit. 244. Big edge: ’68.
SECOND BASE: Dick McAuliffe vs. Lou Whitaker
“Sweet Lou” (courtesy Detroit Vintage Collection)
You have two fan favorites in McAuliffe from the ’68 Tigers and Whitaker from the ’84 Tigers. As to which player had the better season, that is not an easy choice. Whitaker had the better career, but in this comparison, it is McAuliffe’s 1968 season vs. Whitaker’s 1984 season. As George Cantor so aptly described in his book, The Tigers of ’68, “With all the power in the Detroit lineup, it was still McAuliffe who made the engine run.” In fact, the Tigers lost four of the five games McAuliffe missed due to his suspension for charging Tommy John, after John threw two pitches at McAuliffe. McAuliffe led the team in runs scored with 95, had 142 hits, 10 triples, 16 home runs, 56 RBIs, a .249 batting average, .344 OBP, .411 SLG, .755 OPS, a WAR of 5.6, and finished seventh in MVP balloting. Whitaker scored 90 runs, had 161 hits, 13 home runs, 56 RBIs, a .289 batting average, .357 OBP, .407 SLG, .764 OPS, a WAR of 4.3, and was named an All-Star. For those who would say Whitaker was better defensively, consider this: Whitaker had 710 chances in the field; McAuliffe, 645. Whitaker made 15 errors, McAuliffe made nine. Whitaker was involved in 83 double plays, and McAuliffe was involved in 79. Whitaker was awarded a Gold Glove, and his fielding percentage was .979, yet McAuliffe’s was .986. With their offensive numbers so close and given that McAuliffe did it in 1968, the year of the pitcher, it is a slight edge to McAuliffe. Slight edge: ’68.
SHORTSTOP: Mickey Stanley vs. Alan Trammell
I realize that manager Mayo Smith played Mickey Stanley at shortstop in the 1968 World Series to get more hitting from the shortstop position and to get Al Kaline into the lineup. Still, for this comparison, I went with the trio of shortstops that saw most of the action during the ’68 season. I will do the Mayo Smith World Series lineup comparisons as we go on as well.
In the late ‘60s, shortstops were to provide defense and perhaps steal some bases. If they provided any hitting at all, that was a bonus. For the ’68 Tigers, Oyler, Matchick, and Tracewski combined to hit eight home runs, drove in 41 runs, stole three bases, and had a combined batting average of .165. Oyler batted .135 on the season, going hitless in August and September, and was often a defensive replacement late in games for the Tigers. Matchick, a rookie, played mostly against right-handed pitching, and Tracewski played mostly against left-handed pitching. Contrast that to Trammell, who hit 14 home runs, drove in 69 runs batted in, stole 19 bases, and hit .314. Big edge: ’84.
By moving Stanley to short, you weakened two positions defensively: shortstop and center field, but Stanley was a good enough athlete to play shortstop. Stanley had a fine season in 1968, but it was not the season Trammell had in 1984, and Stanley would not be as good defensively at short as Trammell. Edge: ’84.
THIRD BASE: Don Wert vs. Howard Johnson
Imagine having your third baseman hit .200. That is what Wert hit for the 1968 season, along with 12 home runs and 37 runs batted in. In 1984, Johnson also hit 12 home runs, had 50 runs batted in, and hit. 248. Johnson’s OPS was .718 compared to Wert’s .556. Edge: ’84.
LEFT FIELD: Willie Horton vs. Larry Herndon
Horton had a terrific year for the Tigers in 1968. An All-Star, he hit 36 home runs, which was second in the American League, drove in 85 runs, hit .285, had an OPS of .895, and finished fourth in MVP balloting. Herndon hit seven home runs, drove in 43 runs, and hit .280 for the 1984 Tigers. Horton wins this comparison easily. Big edge: ’68.
CENTER FIELD: Mickey Stanley vs. Chet Lemon
Courtesy Detroit Vintage Collection
Stanley scored 88 runs for the ’68 Tigers, hit 11 home runs, had 60 runs batted in, had a batting average of .259, and won a Gold Glove for his defense. Lemon hit 20 home runs, drove in 76 runs, and hit .287 for the ’84 Tigers. Lemon had an .852 OPS compared to St nley’s .675 and tied Alan Trammell with the most doubles on the Tigers with 34. Lemon was an All-Star and made only two errors all season in 1984. Edge: ’84.
Jim Northrup vs. Chet Lemon: With Stanley going to play shortstop in the World Series, Jim Northrup moved over to play center field. In 1968, Northrup hit 21 home runs and drove in 90 runs. During the regular season, Northrup hit four grand slams and added another in the ’68 World Series. Northrup had a better offensive year than Stanley, but was not his equal defensively. Considering it was the year of the pitcher in 1968, Northrup’s offensive numbers are more impressive than Lemon’s in ‘84. Edge: ’68.
RIGHT FIELD: Jim Northrup vs. Kirk Gibson
When it comes to right field, one is almost splitting hairs between Northrup’s 1968 season and Gibson’s 1984 season. Where’s Al Kaline? Kaline was injured and was limited to 102 games, only 70 of them in right field, whereas Northrup played 105 games in right field. In 1984, Gibson hit 27 home runs with 91 runs batted in. Northrup hit .264 in the year of the pitcher, and Gibson hit .282. Gibson was the first Tiger ever to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season, stealing 29 bases compared to Northrup’s four. Northrup had a WAR of 5.9 and an OPS of .770. Gibson’s WAR was 5.2, and his OPS was 879. Slight edge: ’84.
Al Kaline vs Kirk Gibson: With Northrup moving over to center field, that opened right field for Tiger great Al Kaline. Kiline missed significant playing time in 1 time due to injury, and as a result, his offensive statistics don’t measure up to Gibson’s. Kaline hit .28 with 10 home runs and 52 runs batted in while playing in 102 games. Edge: ’84.
BEN H
Not many ballplayers ever had a pinch-hit as big as Gates Brown’s in 1968. Brown batted. 50 as a pinch-hitter, with 18 hits and seven RBIs in 39 at-bats. Nine of his 18 hits were for extra bases, and three of them were home runs. Only once in those 39 at-bats did Brownwn strike out. For the season, Brown hit six home runs and had a .370 batting average. Of course, the key was Al Kaline, who missed a good bit of playing time due to injury and only played in 102 games with 327 at-bats. However, with Kaline in the starting lineup for the World Series, the Tigers’ bench is weakened even further.
Mr. Evans was a clutch hitter (photo, Detroit Vintage Collection)
In addition to Brown and the three shortstops, the Tigers had Eddie Mathews with three home runs, eight runs batted in with a .212 batting average, and back-up catcher Jim Price hit three home runs and had 13 RBIs and a .174 batting average.
One advantage the 1984 Tigers had over the ’68 Tigers was having a designated hitter. Darrell Evans hit 16 home runs, drove in 63 runs, and batted .232, and Johnny Grubb hit eight home runs, drove in 17 runs, and batted .267.
As for bench players of significance, Ruppert Jones hit 12 home runs, had 37 runs batted in, and hit. 284. Barbaro Garbey and Tom Brookens each hit five home runs and drove in 52 and 26 runs, respectively, and hit .287 and .246. Marty Castillo hit four home runs and hit. 234 and Rusty Kuntz hit .286. Big edge: ’84.
STARTING PITCHING
You do not win a World Series without good starting pitching. Yes, that even applies to the ’75 and ’76 Reds.
The great Bob Gibson (photo courtesy Cooperstown Cred)
Denny McLain had a season for the ages in 1968, winning 31 games, losing only six, and having a 1.96 ERA with 280 strikeouts. Mickey Lolich was 17-9 with a 3.19 ERA, with 197 strikeouts, and was outstanding in the ’68 World Series. Earl Wilson was 13-12 with a 2.85 ER, and Joe Sparma was consistently inconsistent with a 10-10 record and a 3.70 ERA. That quartet combined to go 71-37 with a 2.78 ERA. The league earned run average for American League starters in 1968 was 2.99.
The 1984 Tigers used primarily five starters led by Jack Morris. Morris won 19 games, lost 11, and had an ERA of 3.60. Dan Petry was 8-8 with a 3.24 ERA, and Milt Wilcox was 17-8. Juan Berenguer had a 3.48 ERA, and Dave Rozema was 7-6 with a 3.94 ERA.
Despite the higher ERA numbers for the ’84 Tigers starters, consider that the American League average ERA for a starting pitcher was 4.16. The ’84 Tigers starters were 72-43 with a 3.58 ERA. Collectively, their ERA was lower than their league average by .58, and the ’68 Tigers were lower by .21.
One may think that the ’68 Tigers starting pitching staff had an obvious edge over the ’84 Tigers starters, but it is not as much as one would think. Overall, both teams allowed the fewest runs in the American League. The ’84 Tigers had the lowest ERA in the American League at 3.49. The ’68 Tigers were third in the American League with a 2.71 ERA.
In a seven-game series where a team can get by with only three starting pitchers, McClain, Lolich, and Wilson were 61-27, compared to Morris, Petry, and Wilcox, who were 54-27. Slight edge: ’68.
MIDDLE RELIEF
The 68 Tigers had Daryl Patterson (2-3 with a 2.12 ERA and seven saves), Fred Lasher (5-1 with a 3.33 ERA and five saves), Jon Warden (4-1 with a 3.62 ERA and three saves), Don McMahon (3-1 with a 2.02 ERA and one save) and John Wyatt (1-0 with a 2.37 ERA and two saves).
The ’84 Tigers’ middle relief can primarily be described as Doug Bair. B ir had 47 appearances with a 5-3 record, a 3.75 ERA, and four saves. S d Monge (1-0 with a 4.25 ERA) and ill Scherrer, who came to the Tigers in August of 1984, were 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA. Both appeared in fewer than 20 games each. I may remember Glenn Abbott, who, as a 3-4 with a 5.93 ERA in 13 games, was released in August of 1984.
Despite playing in an era when complete games were more common in starting pitching, the ’68 Tigers middle-relief pitchers listed ranged from 20 games for McMahon to 38 for Patterson, and on the ’84 Tigers middle-relief staff, he appeared in more than 20 games. Big edge: ’68.
CLOSER
The closer for the 1st of the Tigers was Pat Dobson with a 5-8 record, a 2.66 ERA, and seven saves. Dobson had help from John Hiller, who had a 9-6 record, a 2.39 ERA, and two saves. Few relievers had a year as Willie Hernandez did in 1984, winning nine games with 32 saves and a 1.92 ERA. H rnandez not only won the American League Cy Young Award but was also named American League MVP. In addition to Hernandez, the ’84 Tigers also had Aurelio Lopez. Lopez was 10-1 with a 2.94 ERA and saved 14 games for the ’84 Tigers. This one is easy. Big edge: ‘84
ANA ER: Mayo Smith vs. Sparky Anderson
Edge was obviously too much for Sparky, as he won more than one World Series, doing so with two different franchises in two different leagues. Edge: ’84
One of the best (courtesy Baseball Egg)
OUTCOME: ’68 Tigers 7, ’84 Tigers 9
The 1984 Tigers were the best team of the decade (sorry ’86 Mets fans). They led the American League in runs scored with 829, first in home runs with 187, and their pitching staff had the lowest ERA in the American League at 3.49 and gave up the fewest hits, runs, and earned runs that year.
The ’84 Tigers need to get a lead and then turn it over to Lopez and Hernandez. Can Morris, Perry, and Wilcox shut down Horton, Cash, Freehan, Northrup, Stanley, Kaline & McAuliffe?
The ’68 Tigers beat perhaps the greatest World Series pitcher, Bob Gibson, in Game 7; therefore, I like their chances against Morris and the ’84 Tigers.
What a series that would be!
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