1963 Detroit Tigers season

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 79Ã¢ÂÂ83, 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 24Ã¢ÂÂ36 (.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.
Rich Reese was drafted from the Tigers by the Minnesota Twins.
Conrad Cardinal was drafted from the Tigers by the Houston Colt .45s.
November 26, 1962: Dick Brown was traded by the Tigers to the Baltimore Orioles for Whitey Herzog and Gus Triandos.

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.
May 8, 1963: Chico FernÃÂ¡ndez was traded by the Tigers to the Milwaukee Braves for Lou Johnson and cash.

Roster

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

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers