2003 Detroit Tigers season


The 2003 Detroit Tigers season was team's 103rd season. They finished with the most losses in American League history, and came within one loss of tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in modern major league history. This, until 2019, would be the last year in which the team would lose 100 or more games in a season.
The team went 43–119, which surpassed the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the most losses in American League history. But due to a shorter season in 1916, the Athletics had a worse winning percentage and seven fewer wins than the 2003 Tigers. The Tigers were outscored by 337 runs over the course of the season and finished 47 games behind the Minnesota Twins. Blame for the dismal season was shared by both the pitching staff, which had an ERA of 5.30, and the batters, who finished with a team batting average of.240, 19 points below the American League's.259 batting average.

Season overview

Reeling off yet another losing season in 2002, management found themselves in a big hole: a farm system that wasn't producing, a big-league club with major deficiencies, and contracts being paid to veterans not playing to expectations; those who did produce - Juan Acevedo, Randall Simon, and Robert Fick, did not return for 2003. Piloting the team was first-year manager and longtime Tiger favorite, Alan Trammell, who had a dilemma nearly everywhere on the roster, particularly the starting rotation. Gary Knotts, who had pitched mostly in relief in his career, was to be converted to a starting role; Detroit area native Steve Avery was looking to make a comeback after not pitching in two years; two untested rookies, Jeremy Bonderman - drafted straight out of high school - and Nate Robertson - acquired in a trade for Mark Redman to the Florida Marlins - also vied for their chances to make the big-league rotation.
Results were nothing short of disastrous. The Tigers lost their first nine games, won their first against Chicago on April 12, then proceeded to drop eight in a row to fall to 1-17. An almost non-existent offense accounted for most of the team's early season woes, batting a paltry.228 as a team in the first half. To the surprise of many, their young corps of pitchers were performing better than expected and remained durable as the team struggled to score runs and the losses continued to pile up - 18 in May, 22 in June - with no reason to expect any change in fortune.
By the end of May, the Tigers were 14–39, 16.5 games out of first, and their season was all but finished. On August 30, after a 5–2 loss to the White Sox, the Tigers had lost 100 games for the second straight season; furthermore, they were gaining nationwide attention as they seemed a sure bet to break the infamous 1962 Mets' record for most losses in a season. Looking for a spark from the farm system, players were constantly being shuffled back and forth between Detroit and nearby Toledo, where the team's Triple-AAA affiliate Toledo Mud Hens played. Unfortunately, the Mud Hens were not well-stocked, either, compounding frustrations for a team already in complete disarray. Meanwhile, the pitching staff, which had remained remarkably intact through the first half, finally collapsed; Mike Maroth lost 21 games, the first MLB pitcher to lose 20 games in a season since Brian Kingman lost 20 for the 1980 Oakland Athletics, while Jeremy Bonderman lost 19 before Trammell mercifully pulled him from the rotation with two weeks remaining. Tigers' starters Maroth, Bonderman and Cornejo were the top three pitchers in losses for the 2003 season, the only time in Major League history that one team had the top three losers in a season. Franklyn German had the most saves on the team, with five in limited opportunities.
On September 22, the Tigers had lost ten straight and 118 on the season. Just as they appeared likely to go into the record books for futility, the Tigers roared back to life and won five of their last six games to finish 43-119. While it was one game short of the 120 losses by the 1962 Mets, it was still the most losses in American League history and one of the worst seasons for a non-expansion team in modern baseball history. The final series of the season was particularly memorable against the division champion Minnesota Twins, 48 games ahead of Detroit. The Twins sat their starters for almost all of the series in order to keep players rested for the playoffs. On September 27, in their next-to-last game, the Tigers came back from an 8–0 deficit to beat the Twins, 9-8 - on a strikeout wild pitch, an appropriate finish to a team that had struggled mightily all summer long. The Tigers then won the season finale, 9–4, to avoid tying the record and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
While the 2003 Tigers finished with the third-most losses in major league history, they fare slightly better based on winning percentage.
As of 2020, the 2003 Tigers rank only as the 12th worst team in history based on winning percentage, but unlike the 2003 Tigers, most of the other teams usually described as the worst of all time were plagued by significant off-field troubles:
For this reason, the 2003 Tigers have been described as being possibly "the worst team of all time without a good excuse."
Designated hitter/left fielder Dmitri Young was the one member of the 2003 Tigers to have a truly good year, with a.297 batting average, 29 home runs, and.537 slugging percentage. According to Win Shares, the Tigers would have had about six fewer wins without him.
On the pitching staff, Jamie Walker stands out as the one pitcher who had a good season. Walker appeared in 78 games and had an ERA of 3.32.
Some blamed first-year manager Alan Trammell for the team's performance. However, the 2002 team was 55-106 under manager Luis Pujols and in short, Trammell inherited a team in shambles. The Tigers did not sign any significant new talent in 2003 and lost several key players from the 2002 team, including the team's best starter, Jeff Weaver, closer Juan Acevedo, second baseman Damion Easley, right fielder Robert Fick, and designated hitter Randall Simon. Dean Palmer, who had 275 career home runs, tried to resuscitate an injury-plagued career, and could not succeed at that; his career came to an end. Even with fellow 1984 teammates Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish on the coaching staff, Trammell could not turn the team around in 2003.
After the 2003 season, the Tigers acquired Iván Rodríguez, Carlos Guillén, Ugueth Urbina, and Rondell White. With the infusion of new talent, Trammell was able to lead the start of the franchise's turnaround, as the team improved to 72–90 in 2004, a 29-game improvement over the 2003 season which was the largest single-season improvement in the American League since Baltimore's 33-game improvement from 1988 to 1989.
Three years after losing 119 games, the Tigers went 95-67 and made it to the 2006 World Series. The 2006 pennant winners featured 10 players from the 2003 team: Brandon Inge, Ramón Santiago, Craig Monroe, Omar Infante, Mike Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Jamie Walker, Wilfredo Ledezma, and Fernando Rodney.
The record would not be threatened until, when the Baltimore Orioles went 47-115. A year later, the Tigers themselves would also win just 47 games, but due to a cancelled game that reduced their season to 161 games, they only had 114 losses, meaning that Baltimore had the worst team of the entire 2010s decade.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Transactions

Detailed Records

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Brandon Inge10433067.203830
Carlos Peña131452112.2481850
Warren Morris9734694.272637
Eric Munson9931375.2401850
Ramón Santiago141444100.225229
Craig Monroe128425102.2402370
Alex Sánchez101394114.289122
Bobby Higginson130469110.2351452
Dmitri Young155562167.2972985
Shane Halter11436078.2171230
Kevin Witt9327071.2631026
Omar Infante6922149.22208
Andrés Torres5916837.22019
Matt Walbeck5913824.17416

Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGIPWLERASO
Mike Maroth33193.39215.7387
Nate Cornejo32194.76174.6746
Jeremy Bonderman331626195.56108
Gary Knotts2095.3386.0451
Adam Bernero18100.71126.0854
Nate Robertson844.7125.4433

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W= Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF= Games Finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
PlayerGWLSVGFERASO
Matt Roney45190125.4547
Steve Sparks42062244.7249
Wilfredo Ledezma3437085.7949
Chris Spurling66133184.6838
Jamie Walker78433193.3245
Fernando Rodney27133116.0733
Franklyn Germán45245156.0441

League Leaders and Awards