Charlie Gehringer
Charles Leonard Gehringer, nicknamed "the Mechanical Man", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons from 1924 to 1942. He compiled a.320 career batting average with 2,839 hits and 1,427 runs batted in. He had seven seasons with more than 200 hits and was the starting second baseman and played every inning of the first six All Star Games. He won the American League batting title in 1937 with a.371 average and won the American League Most Valuable Player Award. He helped lead the Tigers to three American League pennants and the 1935 World Series championship.
Gehringer was also one of the best fielding second basemen in history. At the time of his retirement, he ranked first in Major League Baseball history with 1,444 double plays turned at second base. He remains among MLB's all-time leaders with 7,068 assists at second base and 5,369 putouts.
Gehringer later served as the Tigers general manager during the 1952 and 1953 seasons. After his playing career ended, he operated a company serving as an agent for manufacturers of automobile interior furnishings. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 and had his jersey retired by the Tigers in 1983.
Early years
Gehringer was born on May 11, 1903, on a farm in Iosco Township, Michigan. The son of German immigrants, he had nine half-siblings from his parents' prior marriages. When Gehringer was a young boy, the family moved to a 220-acre dairy and grain farm two miles south of Fowlerville, Michigan.Gehringer later recalled his introduction to baseball:
We used to play a lot of baseball games out on the farm. We'd just throw three bags out there for bases and choose up sides. We'd usually get enough for two full teams. On a Sunday afternoon, nobody had anything better to do, so we'd just play baseball all day.
Gehringer attended Fowlerville High School where he led the baseball team to a state championship while playing as both an infielder and pitcher. He also played for a Fowlerville summer league team that competed against other town teams.
University of Michigan
In 1921, Gehringer enrolled at the University of Michigan to study physical education and played on the university's freshman baseball team. The Ann Arbor News in May 1923 called him "one of the best third baseman prospects that has reported for a freshman squad in several years." Gehringer later recalled that he also played basketball at the University of Michigan: "Funny thing is, I won a letter in basketball but I didn' get one in baseball."Professional baseball
Discovery and minor leagues (1923 to 1925)
In the fall of 1923, after his first year at the University of Michigan, Gehringer was discovered by Detroit Tigers left fielder Bobby Veach. Veach was hunting in Fowlerville when a friend, Floyd Smith, recommended that Veach have a look at Gehringer. Veach brought him to Navin Field to work out and show the Tigers what he could do. Player-manager Ty Cobb was reportedly so impressed that he asked club owner Frank Navin to sign Gehringer to a contract on the spot. "I knew Charlie would hit and I was so anxious to sign him that I didn't even take the time to change out of my uniform before rushing him into the front office to sign a contract."'In 1924, Gehringer played with London Tecumsehs in the Class B Michigan Ontario League. He was called up briefly at the end of September and played five games for the Tigers, batting.462 in 13 at-bats. He returned to the minor leagues where he played in 1925 for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, compiling a.325 batting average with 206 hits and 25 home runs. In a brief call-up at the end of the 1925 season, he appeared in eight games for the Tigers, compiling a.167 batting average in 18 at bats.
Relationship with Cobb (1926)
Gehringer made the Tigers' regular-season roster in the spring of 1926. When second baseman Frank O'Rourke contracted measles, Gehringer played his first game as a starter on April 28, 1926. Gehringer committed two costly errors and was hitless in four at bats, leading the Associated Press to write:Yesterday there was written at Navin field the sad story of the ambitious small town boy from a quiet Michigan village and his big league debut. It was sad because the ambitious boy, who has been called by Ty Cobb one of the best natural ball players he ever saw, made two glaring errors and otherwise deported himself unseemingly.
Gehringer took over as the Tigers' second baseman, appearing in 112 games at the position in 1926. He hit.277 and tallied 17 triples, second best in the American League. Playing for the "small ball" oriented Cobb, Gehringer also had a career-high 27 sacrifice hits in 1926. After Cobb's departure, Gehringer never again came close to 27 sacrifice hits.
Gehringer recalled that, at the start, Cobb "was like a father to me." Gehringer's father had died in 1924. Cobb even made Gehringer use his own bat. According to Gehringer, Cobb's bat was "a thin little thing", and though Gehringer would have preferred a bigger bat, "I didn't dare use another one." Cobb and Gehringer subsequently had a falling out. Cobb told Gehringer he needed more "pepper" and should "chatter like the rest of the infield." Cobb became peeved when Gehringer replied that "there were enough people talking and saying nothing." Gehringer later described Cobb as "a real hateful guy."
Gehringer becomes a star: 1927–1933
After the 1926 season, Cobb left the Tigers and was replaced as manager by George Moriarty. During the off-season, Moriarty acquired Marty McManus from the St. Louis Browns. Moriarty chose McManus as his starting second baseman at the start of the 1927 season, but McManus was benched for disciplinary reasons, giving Gehringer the opportunity to return to the starting lineup at second base.Gehringer seized the opportunity and had his breakout season in 1927. He led the American League's second basemen with 438 assists, 84 double plays turned, and a range factor of 6.19. He also blossomed as a hitter, batting.317 and scoring 110 runs — fourth best in the American League.
In 1928, he played in all 154 games for the Tigers, beginning a streak of 511 consecutive games. He hit.320, collected 193 hits, scored 108 runs, and had 507 assists. At the end of the 1928 season, Gehringer placed 19th in the voting for the American League's Most Valuable Player.
Gehringer's steady improvement continued in 1929, as he hit.339 with an on-base percentage of.405, a slugging percentage of.532, and 106 RBIs. He also led the American League with 215 hits, 45 doubles, 19 triples, 131 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases. He also led the league in putouts and fielding percentage by a second baseman and ranked second with 501 assists.
In 1930, Gehringer hit.330 with a.404 on-base percentage and a.534 slugging percentage. He also scored 144 runs and collected 201 hits, 78 extra base hits, 47 doubles, 15 triples, and 19 stolen bases.
In relative terms, 1931 was an "off" year for Gehringer. His consecutive game streak ended in May, and he appeared in only 101 games. He also fell below the.300 mark for the only time between 1926 and 1941. Gehringer still had a fine year by most standards, and ended up No. 17 in the 1931 American League Most Valuable Player voting.
In 1932, Gehringer was back at full strength, playing in 152 games and hitting.325 with 112 runs, 107 RBI, and 44 doubles. Not generally known as a power hitter, Gehringer also hit 19 home runs in 1932, seventh best in the American League. At the end of the year, Gehringer was ninth in the league's MVP voting.
In 1933, he played in all 155 games for the Tigers, batting.330, and collecting 204 hits, 42 doubles, 105 RBIs, and a career-high 542 assists. Gehringer was once again among the top vote recipients in the 1933 MVP voting, this time placing sixth.
A quiet man
Gehringer had a reputation as a quiet man of few words. Player-manager Mickey Cochrane joked: "He says hello on opening day, goodbye on closing day, and in between, he hits.350."Gehringer acknowledged his quiet demeanor:
"I wasn't a rabble rouser. I wasn't a big noisemaker in the infield, which a lot of managers think you've got to be or you're not showing. But I don't think it contributes much." Gehringer also had a sense of humor about his reputation. At a civic banquet in his honor, Gehringer's entire speech consisted of the following: "I'm known around baseball as saying very little, and I'm not going to spoil my reputation." When asked why he signed his name "Chas. Gehringer", he responded: "Why use seven letters when four will do?" On another occasion, when asked about his closed-lip reputation, he responded: "Not true; if somebody asked me a question, I would answer them. If they said, 'Pass the salt,' I would pass the salt."
His unassuming nature is also reflected in his reaction to a "Charlie Gehringer Day" held by the Tigers in 1929. Fans from Gehringer's hometown and throughout Detroit filled the stands for a 17–13 win over the Yankees. Gehringer handled 10 chances at second base, had four hits including a home run, and stole home. In a ceremony, the people of Fowlerville presented Gehringer with a set of golf clubs. Though the clubs were right-handed, and Gehringer was left-handed, Gehringer learned to golf right-handed rather than trade for a left-handed set of clubs.
Back-to-back pennants (1934 and 1935)
In 1934, Gehringer had his best year to date, playing all 154 games and leading the Tigers to their first American League pennant in 25 years. His.356 batting average and.450 on-base percentage were both second best in the league. He led the league with 134 runs scored and 214 hits and tallied 42 doubles and a career-high 127 RBIs. Gehringer finished second in the 1934 American League MVP voting, just two points behind Detroit's player-manager, Mickey Cochrane.The Detroit infield in the mid-1930s was one of the best-hitting combinations in major league history. With Hank Greenberg at first, Gehringer at second, Billy Rogell at shortstop, and Marv Owen at third, the 1934 Tigers infield collected 769 hits, 462 RBI, and 179 doubles. Three members of the 1934 Tigers infield played in all 154 games, and the fourth played in 153.
Gehringer's 127 RBIs in 1934 is all the more remarkable given the fact that he played in the same lineup with one of the greatest RBI men of all time, Hank Greenberg. Gehringer later recalled that Greenberg would tell him: "Just get the runner over to third", so Hank could drive them in. Gehringer noted that "Hank loved those RBIs", to the point that Gehringer once kidded Greenberg: "You'd trip a runner coming around third base just so you could knock him in yourself."
The 1934 World Series was a match-up between St. Louis's "Gashouse Gang" and Detroit's' "G-Men". Even 50 years later, Gehringer felt the Tigers were robbed of the 1934 championship by umpire Brick Owens. Detroit was ahead three games to two, and in Gehringer's view "we should've won the sixth game." Late in the game, Brick Owens called Mickey Cochrane out on a play at third base "even though all of the photographs show that he was safe by a mile." Gehringer insisted that, if Cochrane had been called safe, "we would've had the bases loaded with nobody out and we could've had a big inning." The Tigers wound up losing Game 6 by one run. They then lost Game 7 in an 11–0 shutout thrown by Dizzy Dean, despite a two-for-four game from Gehringer. Gehringer played all seven games of the 1934 World Series, batting.379 with an on-base percentage of.438 and a.517 slugging percentage.
In 1935, Gehringer and the Tigers won the World Series, beating the Chicago Cubs, four games to two. It was the Tigers' first World Series win, after failing in the fall classic in four previous appearances. For the year, Gehringer hit.330 with a.409 on-base percentage and a.502 slugging percentage, collecting 201 hits, 123 runs, 108 RBIs, and 19 home runs.
Gehringer also continued his consistent hitting into the 1935 World Series, where he played all six games, and hit.375 with a.423 on-base percentage, a.500 slugging percentage and four RBIs.