Charlie Gehringer

Standing at 5 foot 11 and 180 pounds throwing with his right hand, while batting with his left Charlie Gehringer was one of the greatest all around infielders before and during the Depression. He played from 1924-1942 totaling 2323 games played (all for the Tigers). Some of his most important stats are the following: 1774 runs, 2839 hits, 574 doubles, 1427 RBI’s, 1186 walks (and only 372 strikeouts), .320 average, .884 OPS, and 4257 total bases. He also had quite a few other impressive stats.

Gehringer was born on May 11, 1903 in Fowlerville, MI where his two parents along with 8 half brothers and sisters raised him. He grew up on the farm with his family. After high school he attended the University of Michigan. He was only there for a year before the Tigers outfielder Bobby Veach discovered him and brought him to train with the aging Ty Cobb and the Tigers. Cobb was so impressed with Charlie that he asked the owner to sign Gehringer on the spot.

Gehringer’s first full season was in 1926 and from there it is all history as he took over as the star after Cobb retired that year. During the course of his long career he collected a ring, MVP, batting title, and 6 all-star appearances while leading the league in runs twice, hits twice and doubles twice. He was a fairly healthy player as he averaged to play in 122 games/season in which 4 of those he played the most out of any player. He could not only hit, but was also a pretty solid defender too as his career range factor per game, 5.64, was right around league average and his fielding percentage was .976. Now the question that comes to mind a lot when discussing great players is whether or not they can hit when it matters; in the postseason. Gehringer could. He batted .321 with 26 hits, 4 doubles, a homer and 7 RBI’s in just 20 games.

During all the great performances of his career, he remained a quiet fellow through all of it. Was a nice gentleman in the clubhouse and would always respond in a friendly way, but never spoke much. He just went to work everyday producing great results as a loyal Tiger.