Season Summary
The 1911 Detroit Tigers opened the season with a phenomenal 21-2 record. The Tigers set the modern record for home wins to start the season, 12-0, and were 51-25 at home but 38-40 on the road. They were in first place in the American League every day except one until August 3, 1911. After going 59-24, the wheels fell off as the team lost 20 of 30 games in July and were 23-43 in the second half. The Tigers lost 20 of 30 games in July and ended up 13½ games behind the Athletics.
The 1911 Tigers had two of the best batters in baseball in Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford. Cobb led both leagues in batting average (.420), RBIs (127), stolen bases (83), slugging (.621), runs (147), hits (248), total bases (367), doubles (47), and extra base hits (79). Crawford was not far behind, ranking in the top three in the AL in batting average (.378), slugging (.438), hits (217), total bases (302), and RBIs (115).
The team ranked second best in the American League in runs scored but the pitching staff's earned run average of 3.73 was the second worst in the league—a full point above the league leading Red Sox' team ERA of 2.74. Playing in Bennett Field, with its 8,500-seat wooden grandstand, their home attendance for the entire season was 484,988.
Read more about this topic: 1911 Detroit Tigers Season, Regular Season
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