Detroit Tigers All-Time 25-Man Roster
First Baseman—Hank Greenberg
(with Tigers from 1930, 1933-1941, 1945-1946)
57.9 fWAR, 54.1 bWAR
.319/.412/.616, 1269 G, 5588 PA, 161 OPS+ (with Tigers)
Greenberg signed with the Tigers in 1929 and was called up at the end of the 1930 season to get a taste of the big leagues. He batted just one time and played the next two seasons in the minor leagues. He finally broke through as a 22-year-old in 1933 with a .301/.367/.468 season.
In 1934, Greenberg hit a league-leading 63 doubles. That’s still the fourth-most doubles in one season in baseball history, but it was just a precursor to the big year Greenberg would have in 1935 when he hit .328/.411/.628 with 36 homers and 168 RBI. He led the league in both categories, as well as total bases. The big year with the stick won him the AL MVP Award.
The Tigers were very successful in 1934 and 1935. They went to the World Series both years, losing the first but winning the second. Their World Series title in 1935 was the first time in five attempts that they were able to win the championship.
During the stretch run of the 1934 season, Greenberg was the subject of controversy. He was Jewish but admitted that he never strongly identified himself as a Jew. When the Tigers were battling the Yankees for the pennant in September of 1934, Greenberg had to decide whether to play on Rosh Hashanah, which was on September 10. The previous year, he did not play on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. In 1934, after consulting with a rabbi, he decided to play on Rosh Hashanah and homered twice in a 2-1 Tigers’ victory.
On Yom Kippur, ten days later, the Tigers had a solid lead and Greenberg sat out. Syndicated newspaper poet Edgar Guess wrote about Greenberg, “We shall miss him on the infield and shall miss him at the bat, But he’s true to his religion – and I honor him for that!”
Greenberg injured his wrist in the 1935 World Series and re-injured it early in the 1936 season, which caused him to miss most of the season. He came back strong in 1937 with a 40-HR, 184-RBI season. His 184 RBI is still the third most in a season in baseball history.
From 1937 to 1940, Greenberg had the second most Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs) in baseball. Only Joe DiMaggio was worth more. Greenberg made the all-star team all four years, was the MVP once, and finished third in AL MVP voting two times. His average season during this stretch was incredible: 149 G, 664 PA, 130 R, 43 HR, 148 RBI, .327/.432/.662.
In the middle of this stretch, 1938, he challenged Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record of 60. He had 58 home runs with five games to play. Even though he had seven hits in the final five games, none of them went over the wall and he ended up two dingers short.
Greenberg was coming off his second MVP season when his career hit a roadblock known as World War II. Greenberg played 19 games in 1941, then missed the next three years serving as a first lieutenant in the Air Corps. At the time, he said, “We are in trouble and there is only one thing to do—return to service. Baseball is out of the window as far as I’m concerned. I don’t know if I’ll ever return to baseball.”
Even after missing almost four seasons, Greenberg came back strong. He rejoined the Tigers in July of 1945 and hit a home run in his first game back. Late in the season, he hit a grand slam in the ninth inning that clinched the pennant for Detroit. In the World Series win over the Chicago Cubs, Greenberg hit .304/.467/.696 with 2 home runs, 7 runs scored, and 7 RBI.
Despite leading the league in home runs and RBI in 1946, Greenberg started to feel his age. He was 35 years old and “only” hit .277 (with a .373 on-base percentage and .604 slugging). The Tigers thought his better days were behind them so they sold him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for $75,000.
Greenberg considered retiring. The Pirates played in Forbes Field, which was a tough park for right-handed hitters. In order to get Greenberg to agree to play, the Pirates moved the left field fences in and dubbed that area “Greenberg Gardens.” Greenberg joined the Pirates. He hit .249/.408/.478, with 25 homers in 125 games. He also led the league in walks, with 104.
Another benefit to the Pirates was Greenberg’s tutelage of young Ralph Kiner. Kiner had led the NL in home runs the previous year, with 23, but with Greenberg on the team and the “Greenberg Gardens” to shoot for, Kiner knocked 51 over the wall. This area would be re-named “Kiner’s Korner” and Kiner would end up leading the league in home runs the first seven years of his career.
Greenberg retired after the 1947 season. Nine years later he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 85% of the vote. In 1983, Greenberg’s number 5 and Charlie Gehringer’s number 2 were retired by the Detroit Tigers during a ceremony at Tiger Stadium. It was the last time Greenberg would appear at the stadium and he was honored, saying, “I am very proud of the fact that my name and uniform number will be remembered as long as baseball is played in Detroit.”