1996 Detroit Tigers season

The 1996 Detroit Tigers had a record of 53–109 for what was, at the time, the most losses (109) and worst winning percentage (.327) in team history—both of which have since been surpassed twice by the 2003 and 2019 teams.

1996 Detroit Tigers
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Tiger Stadium
City	Detroit, Michigan
Owners	Mike Ilitch
General managers	Randy Smith
Managers	Buddy Bell
Television	WKBD (George Kell, Al Kaline) PASS (Ernie Harwell, Fred McLeod, Jim Price)
Radio	WJR (Frank Beckmann, Lary Sorensen)
Seasons

With a number of capable batters (Cecil Fielder, Tony Clark, Bobby Higginson, Alan Trammell, Rubén Sierra, and Damion Easley), the team scored a respectable 783 runs. However, the 1996 Tigers lacked pitching, allowing their opponents to score 1,103 runs and posting a team ERA of 6.38. The team's pitchers recorded 6,713 batters faced, more than any other team in MLB history. No team in American League history and only one in major league history (the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies) has given up more runs. No pitcher on the team had more than 7 wins. Of the 109 games the Tigers lost, 58 were by four or more runs, a record for the number of games lost by such a margin. The Tigers made more unwanted history when they were swept 12–0 by the Cleveland Indians in the regular season series, losing all twelve games played while being outscored, 79–28. The 1996 Tigers did not have a winning record against any AL opponent.

Regular season

Opening Day roster

• Chad Curtis CF
• Bobby Higginson RF
• Travis Fryman 3B
• Cecil Fielder 1B
• Melvin Nieves LF
• Eddie Williams DH
• Mark Lewis 2B
• John Flaherty C
• Alan Trammell SS
• Felipe Lira SP

Season standings

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	92	70	.568	—	49‍–‍31	43‍–‍39
Baltimore Orioles	88	74	.543	4	43‍–‍38	45‍–‍36
Boston Red Sox	85	77	.525	7	47‍–‍34	38‍–‍43
Toronto Blue Jays	74	88	.457	18	35‍–‍46	39‍–‍42
Detroit Tigers	53	109	.327	39	27‍–‍54	26‍–‍55

Record vs. opponents

1996 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	7–6	6–6	4–8	5–7	11–2	9–3	9–3	7–5	3–10	9–4	7–5	3–10–1	8–5
Boston	6–7	—	8–4	6–6	1–11	12–1	3–9	7–5	6–6	7–6	8–5	7–6	6–6	8–5
California	6–6	4–8	—	6–6	4–9	6–6	4–8	7–5	4–8	7–6	6–7	5–8	4–9	7–5
Chicago	8–4	6–6	6–6	—	5–8	10–3	7–6	6–7	6–7	6–7	5–7	5–7	8–4	7–5
Cleveland	7–5	11–1	9–4	8–5	—	12–0	7–6	7–6	10–3	3–9	6–6	8–4	4–8	7–5
Detroit	2–11	1–12	6–6	3–10	0–12	—	6–6	4–8	6–6	5–8	4–8	6–6	4–9	6–7
Kansas City	3–9	9–3	8–4	6–7	6–7	6–6	—	4–9	6–7	4–8	5–7	7–5	6–6	5–8
Milwaukee	3–9	5–7	5–7	7–6	6–7	8–4	9–4	—	9–4	6–6	7–5	4–9	6–7	5–7
Minnesota	5–7	6–6	8–4	7–6	3–10	6–6	7–6	4–9	—	5–7	6–7	6–6	7–5	8–5
New York	10–3	6–7	6–7	7–6	9–3	8–5	8–4	6–6	7–5	—	9–3	3–9	5–7	8–5
Oakland	4–9	5–8	7–6	7–5	6–6	8–4	7–5	5–7	7–6	3–9	—	8–5	7–6	4–8
Seattle	5–7	6–7	8–5	7–5	4–8	6–6	5–7	9–4	6–6	9–3	5–8	—	10–3	5–7
Texas	10–3–1	6–6	9–4	4–8	8–4	9–4	6–6	7–6	5–7	7–5	6–7	3–10	—	10–2
Toronto	5–8	5–8	5–7	5–7	5–7	7–6	8–5	7–5	5–8	5–8	8–4	7–5	2–10	—

Game log

1996 Game Log: 53–109 (Home: 27–54; Away: 26–55)
April: 9–18 (Home: 5–6; Away: 4–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 1 @ Twins 6–8 Radke Lira (0–1) Stevens 30,185 0–1 2 April 2 @ Twins 10–6 Sodowsky (1–0) Robertson — 20,164 1–1 3 April 3 @ Twins 7–16 Mahomes Aldred (0–1) — 12,256 1–2 4 April 4 @ Athletics 10–9 (15) Keagle (1–0) Small — 8,346 2–2 5 April 5 @ Athletics 2–13 Johns Gohr (0–1) — 11,149 2–3 6 April 6 @ Athletics 6–1 Lira (1–1) Reyes — 10,424 3–3 7 April 7 @ Athletics 6–7 Corsi Williams (0–1) — 9,723 3–4 8 April 9 Mariners 10–9 Keagle (2–0) Menhart Williams (1) 42,932 4–4 9 April 10 Mariners 7–3 Olivares (1–0) Hurtado — 9,299 5–4 10 April 11 Mariners 1–9 Johnson Gohr (0–2) — 12,272 5–5 11 April 12 Angels 4–5 Finley Lira (1–2) Percival 9,921 5–6 12 April 13 Angels 9–5 Keagle (3–0) Sanderson — 11,719 6–6 13 April 14 Angels 5–4 Lewis (1–0) James — 12,009 7–6 14 April 15 @ Blue Jays 2–8 Guzman Olivares (1–1) — 26,127 7–7 15 April 16 @ Blue Jays 13–8 Gohr (1–2) Hanson Lewis (1) 25,503 8–7 16 April 17 @ Mariners 3–8 Jackson Veres (0–1) — 18,008 8–8 17 April 18 @ Mariners 3–11 Bosio Sodowsky (1–1) Hurtado 17,536 8–9 18 April 19 @ Angels 3–4 Langston Myers (0–1) — 32,693 8–10 19 April 20 @ Angels 1–2 Grimsley Keagle (3–1) Percival 25,685 8–11 20 April 21 @ Angels 5–6 Eichhorn Lewis (1–1) Percival 36,733 8–12 21 April 22 @ Angels 5–6 James Christopher (0–1) Percival 17,039 8–13 22 April 24 Twins 11–24 Bennett Veres (0–2) — 12,189 8–14 23 April 25 Twins 1–11 Hawkins Aldred (0–2) Hansell 11,804 8–15 24 April 26 Athletics 14–5 Christopher (1–1) Johns — 7,941 9–15 25 April 27 Athletics 1–4 Reyes Lira (1–3) Taylor 13,067 9–16 26 April 28 Athletics 3–6 Wojciechowski Gohr (1–3) Taylor 8,907 9–17 27 April 30 @ Red Sox 4–13 Wakefield Lima (0–1) — 18,504 9–18
May: 4–23 (Home: 1–11; Away: 3–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 28 May 1 @ Red Sox 1–5 Clemens Aldred (0–3) — 20,828 9–19 29 May 2 Rangers 5–2 Lira (2–3) Witt Williams (2) 7,416 10–19 30 May 3 Rangers 0–11 Hill Keagle (3–2) — 9,079 10–20 31 May 4 Rangers 1–3 Pavlik Gohr (1–4) — 10,734 10–21 32 May 5 Rangers 2–3 Gross Lima (0–2) Henneman 12,337 10–22 33 May 6 @ Yankees 5–10 Wickman Myers (0–2) — 12,838 10–23 34 May 7 @ Yankees 5–12 Mecir Lewis (1–2) Nelson 12,760 10–24 35 May 8 @ Yankees 3–10 Gooden Keagle (3–3) — 18,729 10–25 36 May 9 @ Yankees 4–2 Gohr (2–4) Key Myers (1) 13,098 11–25 37 May 10 @ Rangers 2–6 Pavlik Lima (0–3) Henneman 31,426 11–26 38 May 11 @ Rangers 7–11 Gross Aldred (0–4) — 42,732 11–27 39 May 12 @ Rangers 5–3 Lira (3–3) Oliver Myers (2) 35,677 12–27 40 May 14 @ Indians 1–5 Nagy Gohr (2–5) — 40,765 12–28 41 May 15 @ Indians 2–5 Martinez Lima (0–4) Mesa 42,259 12–29 42 May 16 @ Indians 3–8 McDowell Williams (0–2) — 42,330 12–30 43 May 17 White Sox 6–11 (10) Hernandez Lewis (1–3) — 12,094 12–31 44 May 18 White Sox 4–16 McCaskill Farrell (0–1) Simas 21,673 12–32 45 May 19 White Sox 3–14 Alvarez Gohr (2–6) — 9,709 12–33 46 May 21 Royals 1–7 Linton Williams (0–3) Valera 24,372 12–34 47 May 22 Royals 4–6 Belcher Farrell (0–2) Montgomery 12,890 12–35 48 May 24 Indians 3–6 Plunk Veres (0–3) Mesa 26,967 12–36 49 May 25 Indians 6–7 Nagy Lewis (1–4) Mesa 41,527 12–37 50 May 26 Indians 0–5 Martinez Williams (0–4) — 39,056 12–38 51 May 27 @ Royals 4–5 (13) Montgomery Veres (0–4) — 19,776 12–39 52 May 29 @ Royals 5–4 Gohr (3–6) Appier Walker (1) 13,712 13–39 53 May 30 @ White Sox 2–8 Alvarez Olivares (1–2) — 17,339 13–40 54 May 31 @ White Sox 0–9 Tapani Lira (3–4) — 16,983 13–41
June: 10–17 (Home: 6–7; Away: 4–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 55 June 2 @ White Sox 2–4 Baldwin Thompson (0–1) Hernandez — 13–42 56 June 2 @ White Sox 5–13 McCaskill Keagle (3–4) — 26,125 13–43 57 June 4 @ Orioles 7–10 Mussina Gohr (3–7) Myers 43,727 13–44 58 June 5 @ Orioles 4–6 Rhodes Myers (0–3) Myers 43,087 13–45 59 June 6 @ Orioles 6–13 Krivda Lira (3–5) — 46,269 13–46 60 June 7 Yankees 6–5 Lewis (2–4) Nelson — 16,350 14–46 61 June 8 Yankees 9–7 Olson (1–0) Rogers Lewis (2) 20,173 15–46 62 June 9 Yankees 2–3 Gooden Gohr (3–8) Wetteland 16,588 15–47 63 June 10 Orioles 8–3 Olivares (2–2) Wells — 10,655 16–47 64 June 11 Orioles 9–12 Coppinger Lira (3–6) — 10,874 16–48 65 June 12 Orioles 7–10 Rhodes Lewis (2–5) Myers 12,043 16–49 66 June 14 @ Twins 5–4 Gohr (4–8) Robertson Olson (1) 22,831 17–49 67 June 15 @ Twins 6–4 Olivares (3–2) Rodriguez Olson (2) 17,099 18–49 68 June 16 @ Twins 1–4 Aguilera Lira (3–7) Hansell 20,641 18–50 69 June 17 Athletics 4–8 (10) Corsi Myers (0–4) — 9,231 18–51 70 June 18 Athletics 5–8 Van Poppel Urbani (0–1) Taylor 8,543 18–52 71 June 19 Athletics 3–10 Wasdin Keagle (3–5) — 9,875 18–53 72 June 20 Twins 3–7 Rodriguez Olivares (3–3) — 8,310 18–54 73 June 21 Twins 2–0 Lira (4–7) Aguilera — 13,127 19–54 74 June 22 Twins 6–0 Williams (1–4) Aldred — 14,506 20–54 75 June 23 Twins 10–8 Urbani (1–1) Radke — 13,994 21–54 76 June 24 @ Athletics 2–4 Wasdin Sodowsky (1–2) Taylor 10,122 21–55 77 June 25 @ Athletics 10–8 Olivares (4–3) Wengert Olson (3) 9,652 22–55 78 June 27 @ Red Sox 9–6 Lira (5–7) Minchey — 29,582 23–55 79 June 28 @ Red Sox 5–8 Wakefield Williams (1–5) — 27,578 23–56 80 June 29 @ Red Sox 6–13 Eshelman Keagle (3–6) — 33,509 23–57 81 June 30 @ Red Sox 4–9 Gordon Sodowsky (1–3) — 31,217 23–58
July: 12–14 (Home: 6–7; Away: 6–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 82 July 1 Brewers 0–2 Sparks Olivares (4–4) Fetters 10,727 23–59 83 July 2 Brewers 1–2 (11) Garcia Sager (0–1) Fetters 9,455 23–60 84 July 3 Brewers 8–5 Williams (2–5) D'Amico — 11,047 24–60 85 July 4 Blue Jays 6–1 Nitkowski (1–0) Janzen Myers (6) 10,557 25–60 86 July 5 Blue Jays 4–3 Sager (1–1) Hanson Olson (4) 20,808 26–60 87 July 6 Blue Jays 0–15 Hentgen Olivares (4–5) — 16,228 26–61 88 July 7 Blue Jays 9–0 Lira (6–7) Ware — 15,784 27–61 89 July 11 Red Sox 4–11 Clemens Williams (2–6) — 15,826 27–62 90 July 12 Red Sox 3–11 Gordon Olivares (4–6) — 19,535 27–63 91 July 13 Red Sox 5–10 Sele Nitkowski (1–1) — 16,671 27–64 92 July 14 Red Sox 4–6 Moyer Lira (6–8) Slocumb 19,670 27–65 93 July 15 @ Brewers 10–9 Sager (2–1) Bones Olson (5) 15,819 28–65 94 July 16 @ Brewers 7–20 D'Amico Williams (2–7) — 12,476 28–66 95 July 17 @ Brewers 2–3 (10) Fetters Urbani (1–2) — 21,121 28–67 96 July 18 @ Blue Jays 4–8 Hentgen Nitkowski (1–2) — 31,202 28–68 97 July 19 @ Blue Jays 8–6 Urbani (2–2) Janzen Olson (6) 30,123 29–68 98 July 20 @ Blue Jays 5–4 (10) Olson (2–0) Quantrill Lima (1) 36,220 30–68 99 July 21 @ Blue Jays 4–5 (12) Spoljaric Lima (0–5) — 33,238 30–69 100 July 22 @ Angels 0–1 Finley Olivares (4–7) Percival 16,336 30–70 101 July 23 @ Angels 8–3 Lima (1–5) James — 16,432 31–70 102 July 25 @ Mariners 7–4 (10) Lima (2–5) Ayala — 19,949 32–70 103 July 26 @ Mariners 4–6 Hitchcock Sager (2–2) Jackson 25,175 32–71 104 July 27 @ Mariners 7–13 Davis Williams (2–8) — 43,209 32–72 105 July 28 @ Mariners 14–6 Olivares (5–7) Bosio — 38,204 33–72 106 July 30 Angels 12–9 Nitkowski (2–2) Grimsley — 11,641 34–72 107 July 31 Angels 10–5 Lima (3–5) Holtz — 9,740 35–72
August: 14–15 (Home: 9–7; Away: 5–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 108 August 1 Angels 13–5 Williams (3–8) Boskie — 14,591 36–72 109 August 2 Mariners 8–2 Olivares (6–7) Wagner — 23,405 37–72 110 August 3 Mariners 6–3 Olson (3–0) Charlton — 25,928 38–72 111 August 4 Mariners 3–9 Wolcott Nitkowski (2–3) — 23,569 38–73 112 August 6 Rangers 2–4 Hill Lira (6–9) Henneman 10,931 38–74 113 August 7 Rangers 4–2 Cummings (1–0) Pavlik Myers (7) 10,297 39–74 114 August 8 Rangers 3–2 Olivares (7–7) Heredia — 10,995 40–74 115 August 9 @ Yankees 5–3 Cummings (2–0) Pettitte Myers (8) 23,439 41–74 116 August 10 @ Yankees 13–7 Lewis (3–5) Key — 28,863 42–74 117 August 11 @ Yankees 0–12 Rogers Lira (6–10) — 33,517 42–75 118 August 12 @ Rangers 0–7 Hill Williams (3–9) — 25,210 42–76 119 August 13 @ Rangers 2–6 Pavlik Olivares (7–8) — 31,331 42–77 120 August 14 @ Rangers 4–5 Witt Van Poppel (0–1) Henneman 33,942 42–78 121 August 16 @ Indians 1–3 (12) Assenmacher Lewis (3–6) — 42,485 42–79 122 August 17 @ Indians 3–6 Hershiser Thompson (0–2) Mesa 42,511 42–80 123 August 18 @ Indians 3–11 Ogea Williams (3–10) — 42,337 42–81 124 August 19 White Sox 7–12 Simas Lima (3–6) — 14,690 42–82 125 August 20 White Sox 16–11 Lewis (4–6) Tapani — 12,119 43–82 126 August 21 White Sox 7–4 Lima (4–6) Simas Olson (7) 13,424 44–82 127 August 22 @ Royals 10–3 Thompson (1–2) Belcher — 14,699 45–82 128 August 23 @ Royals 3–2 Sager (3–2) Appier Olson (8) 15,603 46–82 129 August 24 @ Royals 2–9 Rosado Olivares (7–9) — 28,011 46–83 130 August 25 @ Royals 7–4 Van Poppel (1–1) Linton Myers (9) 15,123 47–83 131 August 26 Indians 1–2 Nagy Lira (6–11) — 22,349 47–84 132 August 27 Indians 2–12 Lopez Thompson (1–3) — 19,602 47–85 133 August 28 Indians 3–9 Hershiser Sager (3–3) — 21,091 47–86 134 August 29 Royals 4–1 Eischen (1–0) Appier Lima (2) 7,882 48–86 135 August 30 Royals 4–0 Van Poppel (2–1) Rosado — 16,498 49–86 136 August 31 Royals 1–3 Linton Lira (6–12) Montgomery 16,270 49–87
September: 4–22 (Home: 0–16; Away: 4–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 137 September 1 Royals 2–3 (13) Huisman Myers (0–5) Jacome 17,647 49–88 138 September 2 @ White Sox 8–6 Myers (1–5) Hernandez Lima (3) 19,599 50–88 139 September 3 @ White Sox 4–6 Bertotti Olivares (7–10) Hernandez 13,857 50–89 140 September 4 @ White Sox 6–11 Castillo Miller (0–1) — 15,120 50–90 141 September 6 @ Orioles 5–4 (12) Cummings (3–0) Mathews — 46,708 51–90 142 September 7 @ Orioles 0–6 Mussina Thompson (1–4) — 47,131 51–91 143 September 8 @ Orioles 2–6 Mills Eischen (1–1) — 47,082 51–92 144 September 9 @ Orioles 4–5 Erickson Olivares (7–11) Myers 42,562 51–93 145 September 10 Yankees 8–9 Rivera Sager (3–4) Wetteland 11,042 51–94 146 September 11 Yankees 3–7 Key Lira (6–13) — 9,775 51–95 147 September 12 Yankees 3–12 Cone Thompson (1–5) — 9,009 51–96 148 September 13 Orioles 4–7 Erickson Miller (0–2) Mills 11,178 51–97 149 September 14 Orioles 6–7 Mathews Cummings (3–1) Myers 15,386 51–98 150 September 15 Orioles 6–16 Corbin Van Poppel (2–2) — 13,764 51–99 151 September 17 Red Sox 2–4 Brandenburg Lira (6–14) Slocumb 8,180 51–100 152 September 18 Red Sox 0–4 Clemens Thompson (1–6) — 8,779 51–101 153 September 19 Red Sox 3–8 Gordon Miller (0–3) — 7,666 51–102 154 September 20 @ Brewers 10–1 Sager (4–4) Karl — 15,046 52–102 155 September 21 @ Brewers 6–13 D'Amico Van Poppel (2–3) Villone 33,106 52–103 156 September 22 @ Brewers 7–5 Lima (5–6) Fetters — 15,705 53–103 157 September 23 Blue Jays 4–6 Hanson Sager (4–5) Timlin 9,678 53–104 158 September 24 Blue Jays 1–4 Hentgen Miller (0–4) Timlin 8,355 53–105 159 September 25 Blue Jays 11–13 Brow Cummings (3–2) Timlin 8,055 53–106 160 September 27 Brewers 6–7 (6) Wickman Van Poppel (2–4) — 8,606 53–107 161 September 28 Brewers 2–7 Eldred Moehler (0–1) — 12,939 53–108 162 September 29 Brewers 5–7 (10) Reyes Cummings (3–3) Fetters 13,038 53–109
Legend:        = Win        = Loss Bold = Tigers team member

Detailed records

American League
Opponent	W	L	WP	RS	RA
AL East
Baltimore Orioles	2	11	0.154	68	105
Boston Red Sox	1	12	0.077	50	108
Detroit Tigers
New York Yankees	5	8	0.385	66	99
Toronto Blue Jays	6	7	0.462	71	81
Total	14	38	0.269	255	393
AL Central
Chicago White Sox	3	10	0.231	70	125
Cleveland Indians	0	12	0.000	28	79
Kansas City Royals	6	6	0.500	47	47
Milwaukee Brewers	4	8	0.333	64	81
Minnesota Twins	6	6	0.500	68	92
Total	19	42	0.311	277	424
AL West
California Angels	6	6	0.500	75	55
Oakland Athletics	4	8	0.333	66	83
Seattle Mariners	6	6	0.500	73	83
Texas Rangers	4	9	0.308	37	65
Total	20	29	0.408	251	286
Season Total	53	109	0.327	783	1103

Month	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
April	27	9	18	0.333	152	211
May	27	4	23	0.148	84	194
June	27	10	17	0.370	146	187
July	26	12	14	0.462	146	168
August	29	14	15	0.483	137	159
September	26	4	22	0.154	118	184
Total	162	53	109	0.327	783	1103

	Games	Won	Lost	Win %	RS	RA
Home	81	27	54	0.333	391	539
Away	81	26	55	0.321	392	564
Total	162	53	109	0.327	783	1103

Notable transactions

• March 22, 1996: Melvin Nieves was traded by the San Diego Padres with Raul Casanova and Richie Lewis to the Detroit Tigers for Sean Bergman, Todd Steverson, and Cade Gaspar (minors).
• March 31, 1996: Curtis Pride was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
• April 27, 1996: Joe Boever was selected off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Detroit Tigers.
• July 31, 1996: Cecil Fielder was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the New York Yankees for Rubén Sierra and Matt Drews (minors).
• July 31, 1996: Chad Curtis was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers for John Cummings and Joey Eischen.
• August 6, 1996: Todd Van Poppel was selected off waivers by the Detroit Tigers from the Oakland Athletics.

Roster

1996 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 49 Scott Aldred 33 Mike Christopher 34 John Cummings 43 Joey Eischen 52 John Farrell 34 Greg Gohr 57 Greg Keagle 43,51 Richie Lewis 32 José Lima 40 Felipe Lira 15 Brian Maxcy 43 Jeff McCurry 37 Trever Miller 38 Brian Moehler 27 Mike Myers 48 C. J. Nitkowski 28 Omar Olivares 37 Gregg Olson 49 A. J. Sager 38 Bob Scanlan 46 Clint Sodowsky 22 Justin Thompson 42 Tom Urbani 59 Todd Van Poppel 42,52 Randy Veres 21 Mike Walker 26 Brian Williams		Catchers  7 Brad Ausmus 33 Raul Casanova 12 John Flaherty  8 Mark Parent Infielders 15 Andújar Cedeño 17 Tony Clark 41 Fausto Cruz  9 Damion Easley 45 Cecil Fielder 24 Travis Fryman 35 Chris Gomez  8 Phil Hiatt  7 Tim Hyers 14 Mark Lewis 12 Phil Nevin  3 Alan Trammell 20 Eddie Williams		Outfielders 39,12 Kimera Bartee 29 Danny Bautista  9 Chad Curtis  4 Bobby Higginson 30 Melvin Nieves 42 Shannon Penn 36 Curtis Pride 21 Rubén Sierra 15 Duane Singleton		Manager 25 Buddy Bell Coaches -- Rick Adair (Pitching) 10 Glenn Ezell (Bench) 55 Terry Francona (Third Base) 31 Larry Herndon (Hitting) 18 Fred Kendall (Bullpen) 54 Jon Matlack (Pitching) 16 Ron Oester (First Base)

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	Brad Ausmus	75	226	56	.248	4	22
1B	Tony Clark	100	376	94	.250	27	72
2B	Mark Lewis	145	545	147	.270	11	55
3B	Travis Fryman	157	616	165	.268	22	100
SS	Andújar Cedeño	52	179	35	.196	7	20
LF	Bobby Higginson	130	440	141	.320	26	81
CF	Chad Curtis	104	400	105	.263	10	37
RF	Melvin Nieves	110	431	106	.246	24	60
DH	Eddie Williams	77	215	43	.200	6	26

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
Cecil Fielder	107	391	97	.248	26	80
Curtis Pride	95	267	80	.300	10	31
Kimera Bartee	110	217	55	.253	1	14
Alan Trammell	66	193	45	.233	1	16
Rubén Sierra	46	158	35	.222	1	20
John Flaherty	47	152	38	.250	4	23
Chris Gomez	48	128	31	.242	1	16
Phil Nevin	38	120	35	.292	8	19
Mark Parent	38	104	25	.240	7	17
Raúl Casanova	25	85	16	.188	4	9
Damion Easley	21	67	23	.343	2	10
Danny Bautista	25	64	16	.250	2	8
Duane Singleton	18	56	9	.161	0	3
Fausto Cruz	14	38	9	.237	0	0
Tim Hyers	17	26	2	.077	0	0
Phil Hiatt	7	21	4	.190	0	1
Shannon Penn	6	14	1	.071	0	1

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
Felipe Lira	32	194.2	6	14	5.22	113
Omar Olivares	25	160.0	7	11	4.89	81
Greg Gohr	17	91.2	4	8	7.17	60
Justin Thompson	11	59.0	1	6	4.58	44
C.J. Nitkowski	11	45.2	2	3	8.08	36
Scott Aldred	11	43.1	0	4	9.35	36
Todd Van Poppel	9	36.1	2	4	11.39	16
Clint Sodowsky	7	24.1	1	3	11.84	9
Trever Miller	5	16.2	0	4	9.18	8
Brian Moehler	2	10.1	0	1	4.35	2
John Farrell	2	6.1	0	2	14.21	0

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
Brian Williams	40	121.0	3	10	6.77	72
Greg Keagle	26	87.2	3	6	7.39	70
A. J. Sager	22	79.0	4	5	5.01	52

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
Gregg Olson	43	3	0	8	5.02	29
Mike Myers	83	1	5	6	5.01	69
Richie Lewis	72	4	6	2	4.18	78
José Lima	39	5	6	3	5.70	59
Randy Veres	25	0	4	0	8.31	28
Joey Eischen	24	1	1	0	3.24	15
John Cummings	21	3	3	0	5.12	24
Mike Walker	20	0	0	1	8.46	13
Tom Urbani	16	2	2	0	8.37	20
Mike Christopher	13	1	1	0	9.30	19
Bob Scanlan	8	0	0	0	10.64	3
Brian Maxcy	2	0	0	0	13.50	1
Jeff McCurry	2	0	0	0	24.30	0

League leaders and award winners

• Kimera Bartee: #5 in AL times caught stealing (10)
• Chad Curtis: #5 in AL times caught stealing (10)
• Cecil Fielder: MLB leader in salary ($9,237,500)
• Travis Fryman: AL leader in fielding percentage at third base (.979)
• Travis Fryman: #3 in AL in sacrifice flies (10)
• Travis Fryman: #4 in AL in outs (483)
• Richie Lewis: #2 in AL in wild pitches (14)
• Felipe Lira: #4 in AL in shutouts (2)
• Mike Myers: AL leader in games (83)
• Melvin Nieves: #2 in AL in strikeouts (158)

Worst seasons in Detroit Tigers history

Worst Seasons in Detroit Tigers History Rank Year Wins Losses Win % 1 2003 43 119 .265 2 2019 47 114 .292 3 1952 50 104 .325 4 1996 53 109 .327 5 2002 55 106 .342

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Tom Runnells
AA	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	Bill Plummer and Larry Parrish
A	Visalia Oaks	California League	Tim Torricelli
A	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	Dave Anderson
A	Fayetteville Generals	South Atlantic League	Dwight Lowry
A-Short Season	Jamestown Jammers	New York–Penn League	Bruce Fields
Rookie	GCL Tigers	Gulf Coast League	Kevin Bradshaw

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Jacksonville
Visalia affiliation shared with Arizona Diamondbacks

See also

• List of worst MLB season records
• 1996 in baseball

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com 1996 Detroit Tigers