Charlie Gehringer

Career Batting Stats G AB H R HR RBI SB AVG SLG OBP OPS OPS+ 2323 8860 2839 1774 184 1427 181 .320 .480 .404 .884 117.8

Quotes About Charlie Gehringer

Where does Charlie Gehringer rank among baseball greats?

Best Season: 1936
He won the batting title in 1937 and had several other fantastic seasons, but in '36 he had an overall excellent campaign. In 1936, Gehringer played in every game, leading the league with 60 doubles. He finished fourth in the batting race (.354), and belted 15 homers and 12 triples. He played his usual flawless second base and collected 227 hits, scoring 144 and driving in 116. He finished fourth in AL MVP voting, behind Lou Gehrig, Luke Appling, and Earl Averill.

Factoids
On August 14, 1929, the Tigers held "Charlie Gehringer Day" to honor their young second baseman. Charlie responded with four hits, including a home run. He also stoled home.

Each year from 1926-1930, Charlie Gehringer improved his stats in the three triple crown categories (batting average, homers and RBI). He is one of only two players to ever do that for five years running. The other is Rogers Hornsby.

Description
Born in Fowlerville, Michigan, a rural farm town, Gehringer was a shy man who remained a bachelor throughout his playing career. His mother was a diabetic and he felt he should take care of her. Only after her death did he marry. He was famous for what he didn't say rather than for what he did say. He was a very quiet man who avoided the publicity of being a baseball player and he was very uncomfortable in crowds.

Where He Played
According to Bill Werber, who played against Gehringer in the 1930s, Charlie had one flaw in his defensive play.

"He always positioned himself in front of the bag to receive the catcher's throw on attempted steals of second," Werber wrote in Memories of a Ballplayer. "That meant he had to catch the ball and reach back to tag the runner, so I only gave him the toe of my shoe on the outside of the bag when I was stealing. Many times he could not reach me, so I stole more bases against Detroit than against any other team in the American League."

Teammate Hank Greenberg praised Gehringer's defensive play.

"When a ball is hit past me, I never turn, I just dash for first base and I get there just in time to take Gehringer's throw," Greenberg said. "I don't know how he does it. One batter hits a ball past me and Gehringer is streaking behind me and making a running pick-up. The next batter hits one over second base and Gehringer grabs that one, too. I never realized how good he is until this spring when he was out for two weeks. I'd rush back to the bag and turn for the throw, but all I'd ever see was an outfielder chasing the ball."

Born
Charles Leonard Gehringer was born on May 11, 1903, in Fowlerville, MI.

Died
January 21, 1993, Bloomfield Hills, MI

Batted:  Left
Threw:  Right

Major League Debut
9 22,

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1924
Charlie Gehringer
Al Simmons
Earle Combs
Freddy Lindstrom
Chick Hafey
Red Ruffing
Hughie Critz
Max Bishop
Glenn Wright

Nicknames
The Mechanical Man

According to H.G. Salsinger, it was Lyn Lary, the Tiger infielder, who first called Gehringer "The Mechanical Man."

Uniform Numbers
#3 (1931), #2 (1932-1942), #22 (1942)

Similar Players
None. If George Brett could have played a Gold Glove second base, that would have been close to what Gehringer was as a player.

Related Players
He was discovered by Detroit outfielder Bobby Veach... Ty Cobb was his first manager... He teamed with Hank Greenberg, Billy Rogell, and Marv Owen to form one of the best infields in the 1930s and the most potent in history.

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1936 BBWAA 1 .4% 1945 BBWAA 10 4.0% 1946 BBWAA 23 8.7% 1946 Nominating Vote 45 22.3% 1947 BBWAA 105 65.2% 1948 BBWAA 52 43.0% 1949 BBWAA 102 66.7% 1949 Run Off 159 85.0%

Post-Season Appearances
1934 World Series
1935 World Series
1940 World Series

Awards and Honors
1937 AL MVP

Feats
Gehringer posted two streaks of more than 500 consecutive games played. One started in 1927 and stretched into 1931, and the other began later in 1931 and ended in 1935. He had nine seasons in which he played in at least 98% of his team's games.

Milestones
Collected his 2,500th career hit on June 6, 1939.

Batting Feats

• May 27, 1939: Cycle...

Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
In 1931, Gehringer came up with a sore arm and missed more than a month. The next season, following the long rest, his arm was back, and according to some, stronger than ever.

Hitting Streaks
21 games (1927)
20 games (1937)

All-Star Selections
1933 AL
1934 AL
1935 AL
1936 AL
1937 AL
1938 AL

Replaced
Frank O'Rourke, an overmatched middle infiedler, who was dealt to the St. Louis Browns in a seven-player trade in January of 1927.

Replaced By
Jimmy Bloodworth, a 24-year old second baseman, who was acquired by the Tigers prior to the 1942 campaign with Doc Cramer from the Senators. The trade proved to be a good one for Detroit, as Bloodworth filled the second base spot for three seasons, and Cramer finished his career in Detroit with six solid seasons.

Best Strength as a Player
Consistency.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Gehringer had no glaring weaknesses.

Learn More about Charlie Gehringer
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