2003 Detroit Tigers season

The 2003 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 103rd season and fourth at Comerica Park. The team went 43–119, which surpassed the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics for the most losses in American League history (though not for the worst winning percentage) and came within one loss of tying the 1962 New York Mets of the National League for the most losses in modern major league history. This particular season gave the team the nickname of "Motor City Kitties".

2003 Detroit Tigers
League	American League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Comerica Park
City	Detroit
Record	43–119 (.265)
Divisional place	5th
Owners	Mike Ilitch
General managers	Dave Dombrowski
Managers	Alan Trammell
Television	WKBD (Frank Beckmann, Jack Morris) FSN Detroit (Mario Impemba, Rod Allen)
Radio	WXYT (AM) (Jim Price, Dan Dickerson)
Seasons

It was a mark that stood for 20 seasons before being surpassed by the 2024 Chicago White Sox.

The Tigers were outscored by 337 runs over the course of the season (928 to 591) and finished 47 games behind the Minnesota Twins. They were swept a total of 21 times while notching only eight series victories (by any margin) of their own. They were eliminated from playoff contention on August 22, the earliest elimination in the divisional era at the time, since surpassed by the 2018 Baltimore Orioles and 2024 Chicago White Sox.

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. However, 2003 was a nadir from which the Tigers recovered remarkably quickly, making the World Series in 2006 and avoiding another 100-loss season until 2019.

Season overview

Reeling from yet another terrible season in 2002, Tigers 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. Leading the team was first-year manager, former Tigers shortstop, and future Hall of Famer 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.

The results were disastrous. The Tigers lost their first nine games, won their first against the Chicago White Sox 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 problems, batting just .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 the 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 Germán had the most saves on the team, with five in limited opportunities.

By 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 what were at the time the third-most losses in major league history (behind the 1899 Cleveland Spiders and 1962 Mets), they fare slightly better based on winning percentage.

As of 2023, the 2003 Tigers rank only as the 12th worst team in history based on winning percentage (minimum 120 games), 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:

• The owners of the 1899 Spiders also owned the St. Louis Browns, and transferred all their best players from Cleveland to St. Louis.
• The 1916 and 1919 A's had been plagued by financial problems, and their owner Connie Mack had sold off the team's best players, stocking the team with minor leaguers.
• The 1890 Alleghenys had almost all of their star players jump to the Players' League, leaving only a shell of a team.
• The 1886 Senators and Cowboys, 1889 Colonels, 1897–98 Browns, 1904 Senators and 1935 Braves were all plagued by financial and/or ownership issues, with the Colonels and Braves ownership failing to finish out the season.
• The 1962 Mets were a first-year expansion team.

For this reason, the 2003 Tigers had 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 (2nd most in the AL) and had an ERA of 3.32 (Adjusted ERA+ of 130).

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, but ended up retiring. 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 (who spent 2004 and 2005 with the Seattle Mariners), Craig Monroe, Omar Infante, Mike Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Jamie Walker, Wilfredo Ledezma, and Fernando Rodney. Dmitri Young was released in September 2006 following a number of off-field issues.

The loss record would not be threatened until 2018, when the Baltimore Orioles went 47–115. A year later, the Tigers themselves would also threaten the mark -- winning just 47 games. However, 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 2010s.

It would be 2024 when both the American League and MLB records would finally fall thanks to the Chicago White Sox. In a bit of irony, it would be the Tigers who handed Chicago the record breaking 121st loss -- while simultaneously clinching a spot in the Postseason as a Wildcard Team.

Season standings

AL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Minnesota Twins	90	72	.556	—	48‍–‍33	42‍–‍39
Chicago White Sox	86	76	.531	4	51‍–‍30	35‍–‍46
Kansas City Royals	83	79	.512	7	40‍–‍40	43‍–‍39
Cleveland Indians	68	94	.420	22	38‍–‍43	30‍–‍51
Detroit Tigers	43	119	.265	47	23‍–‍58	20‍–‍61

Record vs. opponents

2003 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	ANA	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Anaheim	—	1–8	3–6	3–4	6–3	6–1	6–3	5–4	3–6	8–12	8–11	6–3	9–10	2–7	11–7
Baltimore	8–1	—	9–10	2–4	3–3	3–3	3–4	3–4	6–13–1	2–7	4–5	8–11	7–2	8–11	5–13
Boston	6–3	10–9	—	5–4	4–2	8–1	5–1	2–4	9–10	3–4	5–2	12–7	5–4	10–9	11–7
Chicago	4–3	4–2	4–5	—	11–8	11–8	11–8	9–10	4–2	4–5	2–7	3–3	3–4	6–3	10–8
Cleveland	3–6	3–3	2–4	8–11	—	12–7	6–13	9–10	2–5	3–6	3–6	5–2	4–5	2–4	6–12
Detroit	1–6	3–3	1–8	8–11	7–12	—	5–14	4–15	1–5	3–6	1–8	2–4	1–6	2–7	4–14
Kansas City	3–6	4–3	1–5	8–11	13–6	14–5	—	11–8	2–4	2–7	4–5	4–3	7–2	1–5	9–9
Minnesota	4–5	4–3	4–2	10–9	10–9	15–4	8–11	—	0–7	8–1	3–6	6–0	5–4	3–3	10–8
New York	6–3	13–6–1	10–9	2–4	5–2	5–1	4–2	7–0	—	3–6	5–4	14–5	4–5	10–9	13–5
Oakland	12–8	7–2	4–3	5–4	6–3	6–3	7–2	1–8	6–3	—	7–12	6–3	15–4	5–2	9–9
Seattle	11–8	5–4	2–5	7–2	6–3	8–1	5–4	6–3	4–5	12–7	—	4–5	10–10	3–4	10–8
Tampa Bay	3–6	11–8	7–12	3–3	2–5	4–2	3–4	0–6	5–14	3–6	5–4	—	3–6	11–8	3–15
Texas	10–9	2–7	4–5	4–3	5–4	6–1	2–7	4–5	5–4	4–15	10–10	6–3	—	5–4	4–14
Toronto	7–2	11–8	9–10	3–6	4–2	7–2	5–1	3–3	9–10	2–5	4–3	8–11	4–5	—	10–8

Roster

2003 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 14 Matt Anderson 33 Steve Avery 24 Adam Bernero 38 Jeremy Bonderman 34 Nate Cornejo 36 Eric Eckenstahler 49,62 Franklyn Germán 55,35 Gary Knotts 41 Wilfredo Ledezma 58 Shane Loux 46 Mike Maroth 45 Chris Mears 28 Danny Patterson 59 Nate Robertson 56 Fernando Rodney 52 Matt Roney 53 Brian Schmack 37 Steve Sparks 48 Chris Spurling 32 Jamie Walker		Catchers 26 A. J. Hinch 15 Brandon Inge  8 Matt Walbeck Infielders 17 Shane Halter 20 Omar Infante 49 Danny Klassen 24 Warren Morris 31 Eric Munson  7 Dean Palmer 21 Craig Paquette 12 Carlos Peña 39 Ramón Santiago 21 Kevin Witt		Outfielders 26 Hiram Bocachica  4 Bobby Higginson 43 Gene Kingsale 27 Craig Monroe 30 Ben Petrick 26 Cody Ross 19 Alex Sánchez 44 Andrés Torres 25 Dmitri Young Other batters 30 Ernie Young		Manager  3 Alan Trammell Coaches 54 Bob Cluck (pitching) 29 Bruce Fields (hitting) 22 Kirk Gibson (bench) 18 Mick Kelleher (first base) 13 Lance Parrish (bullpen) 10 Juan Samuel (third base)

Transactions

• November 25, 2002: Randall Simon was traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later and Adrian Burnside (minors). The Pittsburgh Pirates sent Roberto Novoa (December 16, 2002) to the Detroit Tigers to complete the trade.
• November 29, 2002: Ernie Young was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
• January 20, 2003: Bill Haselman was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
• January 23, 2003: Steve Avery was signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.
• March 27, 2003: Bill Haselman was released by the Detroit Tigers.
• March 29, 2003: A. J. Hinch was purchased by the Detroit Tigers from the Cleveland Indians.

Game log

2003 Game Log: 43–119 (Home: 23–58; Away: 20–61)
March: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 1 March 31 Twins 1–3 Radke (1–0) Maroth (0–1) Guardado (1) 40,427 0–1 L1
April: 3–20 (Home: 1–7; Away: 2–13) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 2 April 2 Twins 1–8 Mays (1–0) Bonderman (0–1) — 21,123 0–2 L2 3 April 3 Twins 0–3 Lohse (1–0) Bernero (0–1) Guardado (2) 8,862 0–3 L3 4 April 4 @ White Sox 2–5 Loaiza (1–0) Cornejo (0–1) Koch (1) 40,395 0–4 L4 5 April 5 @ White Sox 0–7 Buehrle (1–1) Maroth (0–2) — 16,972 0–5 L5 6 April 6 @ White Sox 2–10 Marte (1–0) German (0–1) — 14,514 0–6 L6 7 April 9 Royals 6–9 Affeldt (1–0) Bonderman (0–2) MacDougal (4) 14,286 0–7 L7 8 April 10 Royals 2–4 Asencio (1–0) Maroth (0–3) MacDougal (5) 9,080 0–8 L8 9 April 11 White Sox 0–5 Loaiza (2–0) Bernero (0–2) — 12,577 0–9 L9 10 April 12 White Sox 4–3 Cornejo (1–1) Stewart (0–1) Anderson (1) 12,985 1–9 W1 11 April 13 White Sox 2–3 Colón (1–0) Knotts (0–1) — 12,808 1–10 L1 12 April 15 @ Twins 4–6 Lohse (2–1) Maroth (0–4) Guardado (5) 14,036 1–11 L2 13 April 16 @ Twins 2–4 Reed (1–2) Bernero (0–3) Guardado (6) 13,503 1–12 L3 14 April 17 @ Twins 0–6 Rogers (2–0) Bonderman (0–3) — 13,015 1–13 L4 15 April 18 @ Royals 3–4 Carrasco (1–0) Anderson (0–1) — 38,937 1–14 L5 16 April 19 @ Royals 2–9 Lopez (3–0) Knotts (0–2) — 13,777 1–15 L6 17 April 20 @ Royals 3–4 MacDougal (1–0) Maroth (0–5) — 16,203 1–16 L7 18 April 22 @ Athletics 5–6 Rincón (1–1) Ledezma (0–1) — 11,559 1–17 L8 19 April 23 @ Athletics 4–1 Bonderman (1–3) Zito (3–2) Anderson (2) 23,558 2–17 W1 20 April 24 @ Athletics 0–2 Mulder (3–1) Cornejo (1–2) — 11,843 2–18 L1 21 April 25 @ Mariners 0–6 Pineiro (2–1) Maroth (0–6) — 33,458 2–19 L2 22 April 26 @ Mariners 6–4 Walker (1–0) Franklin (1–2) Anderson (3) 36,258 3–19 W1 23 April 27 @ Mariners 3–4 Garcia (2–3) Bernero (0–4) Nelson (2) 39,678 3–20 L1 24 April 29 Orioles 3–11 Johnson (4–0) Bonderman (1–4) — 10,829 3–21 L2
May: 11–18 (Home: 4–12; Away: 7–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 25 May 1 (1) Orioles 2–5 Ryan (3–0)a Germán (0–2) Julio (7) 3–22 L3 26 May 1 (2) Orioles 4–6 Daal (2–3) Maroth (0–7) Julio (8) 16,177 3–23 L4 27 May 2 Devil Rays 0–2 Kennedy (2–2) Knotts (0–3) — 14,571 3–24 L5 28 May 3 Devil Rays 6–8 Levine (2–1) Ledezma (0–2) — 13,371 3–25 L6 29 May 4 Devil Rays 7–3 Bonderman (2–4) Sosa (1–4) Spurling (1) 12,956 4–25 W1 30 May 5 @ Orioles 6–1 Cornejo (2–2) Johnson (4–1) Sparks (1) 17,267 5–25 W2 31 May 6 @ Orioles 7–6 Germán (1–2) Groom (1–1) — 22,906 6–25 W3 32 May 7 @ Orioles 9–4 Knotts (1–3) Daal (2–4) — 22,770 7–25 W4 33 May 9 @ Devil Rays 0–2 Parque (1–1) Bernero (0–5) Carter (6) 8,894 7–26 L1 34 May 10 @ Devil Rays 1–3 McClung (3–1) Bonderman (2–5) Carter (7) 12,325 7–27 L2 35 May 11 @ Devil Rays 9–2 Cornejo (3–2) Sosa (1–5) — 9,259 8–27 W1 36 May 13 Athletics 1–3 Lilly (3–2) Maroth (0–8) Foulke (11) 12,563 8–28 L1 37 May 14 Athletics 2–1 Avery (1–0) Rincón (2–2) — 11,091 9–28 W1 38 May 15 Athletics 2–11 Zito (6–3) Bernero (0–6) — 10,513 9–29 L1 39 May 16 Mariners 3–6 Meche (5–2) Bonderman (2–6) Sasaki (5) 17,641 9–30 L2 40 May 17 Mariners 3–6 Moyer (6–2) Cornejo (3–3) Sasaki (6) 23,274 9–31 L3 41 May 18 Mariners 2–6 Pineiro (4–3) Maroth (0–9) — 16,263 9–32 L4 42 May 19 @ Indians 9–10 Traber (2–2) Walker (1–1) Riske (1) 16,492 9–33 L5 43 May 20 @ Indians 4–6 Riske (1–0) Roney (0–1) — 15,499 9–34 L6 44 May 21 @ Indians 0–4 Sabathia (3–2) Bonderman (2–7) — 16,534 9–35 L7 45 May 22 @ Indians 3–2 Germán (2–2) Phillips (0–1) Sparks (2) 18,347 10–35 W1 46 May 23 @ White Sox 3–2 Maroth (1–9) Gordon (2–4) Spurling (2) 15,069 11–35 W2 47 May 24 @ White Sox 1–0 Knotts (2–3) Loaiza (7–2) Germán (1) 27,535 12–35 W3 48 May 25 @ White Sox 5–8 Glover (1–0) Sparks (0–1) — 21,398 12–36 L1 49 May 26 Indians 6–5 Avery (2–0) Boyd (0–1) Germán (2) 17,619 13–36 W1 50 May 27 Indians 2–5 Miceli (1–2) Walker (1–2) Báez (10) 10,844 13–37 L1 51 May 28 Indians 2–8 Rodríguez (3–5) Maroth (1–10) — 17,388 13–38 L2 52 May 30 Yankees 0–6 Contreras (2–1) Knotts (2–4) — 28,003 13–39 L3 53 May 31 Yankees 4–2 Bernero (1–6) Weaver (3–4) Germán (3) 24,959 14–39 W1
June: 5–22 (Home: 2–12; Away: 3–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 54 June 1 Yankees 9–10 Wells (7–2) Sparks (0–2) Acevedo (6) 44,095 14–40 L1 55 June 3 @ Padres 3–2 Walker (2–2) Lawrence (3–7) Germán (4) 15,521 15–40 W1 56 June 4 @ Padres 5–3 Ledezma (1–2) Hackman (1–1) Germán (5) 13,227 16–40 W2 57 June 5 @ Padres 1–5 Eaton (2–4) Bernero (1–7) — 14,710 16–41 L1 58 June 6 @ Giants 3–5 Rueter (7–1) Bonderman (2–8) Worrell (15) 41,554 16–42 L2 59 June 7 @ Giants 5–7 Schmidt (5–2) Maroth (1–11) — 40,060 16–43 L3 60 June 8 @ Giants 6–7 Nathan (6–2) German (2–3) Worrell (16) 41,177 16–44 L4 61 June 10 Dodgers 1–3 Shuey (3–1) Sparks (0–3) Gagné (22) 13,419 16–45 L5 62 June 11 Dodgers 1–3 Brown (9–1) Bernero (1–8) Gagné (23) 13,716 16–46 L6 63 June 12 Dodgers 2–3 Ishii (6–2) Bonderman (2–9) Gagné (24) 13,644 16–47 L7 64 June 13 Rockies 2–7 Chacón (9–3) Cornejo (3–4) — 19,212 16–48 L8 65 June 14 Rockies 9–7 Ledezma (2–2) Elarton (3–2) Spurling (3) 19,260 17–48 W1 66 June 15 Rockies 4–5 Jennings (6–5) Knotts (2–5) Jimenez (16) 19,323 17–49 L1 67 June 17 Indians 4–7 Sabathia (6–3) Bernero (1–9) Báez (15) 13,908 17–50 L2 68 June 18 Indians 1–4 Davis (6–5) Bonderman (2–10) — 16,278 17–51 L3 69 June 19 Indians 3–10 Anderson (4–6) Cornejo (3–5) — 19,098 17–52 L4 70 June 20 @ Rockies 7–5 Maroth (2–11) Elarton (3–3) — 29,603 18–52 W1 71 June 21 @ Rockies 6–9 Jennings (7–5) Sparks (0–4) — 35,660 18–53 L1 72 June 22 @ Rockies 3–5 Neagle (1–1) Bernero (1–10) Jimenez (17) 34,723 18–54 L2 73 June 23 @ Red Sox 1–3 Wakefield (6–3) Bonderman (2–11) Timlin (2) 33,814 18–55 L3 74 June 24 @ Red Sox 1–10 Lowe (8–3) Cornejo (3–6) — 33,848 18–56 L4 75 June 25 @ Red Sox 2–11 Burkett (6–3) Maroth (2–12) — 33,587 18–57 L5 76 June 26 @ Red Sox 4–6 Martínez (5–2) Roney (0–2) Lyon (9) 34,415 18–58 L6 77 June 27 D-backs 3–8 Randolph (2–0) Bernero (1–11) — 27,682 18–59 L7 78 June 28 D-backs 0–7 Webb (4–2) Bonderman (2–12) — 20,804 18–60 L8 79 June 29 D-backs 3–5 Oropesa (2–1) Spurling (0–1) Valverde (9) 18,989 18–61 L9 80 June 30 Blue Jays 6–2 Maroth (3–12) Lidle (10–6) — 13,353 19–61 W1
July: 9–17 (Home: 6–5; Away: 3–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 81 July 1 Blue Jays 5–0 Roney (1–2) Hendrickson (5–6) Walker (1) 15,448 20–61 W2 82 July 2 Blue Jays 2–8 Halladay (12–2) Bernero (1–12) — 16,052 20–62 L1 83 July 3 @ Royals 2–3 Affeldt (5–4) Bonderman (2–13) MacDougal (22) 12,978 20–63 L2 84 July 4 @ Royals 8–9 Field (1–0) Cornejo (3–7) MacDougal (23) 39,920 20–64 L3 85 July 5 @ Royals 9–5 Maroth (4–12) Voyles (0–2) Walker (2) 19,030 21–64 W1 86 July 6 @ Royals 3–5 Lima (4–0) Roney (1–3) MacDougal (24) 12,844 21–65 L1 87 July 8 White Sox 2–1 Spurling (1–1) Garland (6–7) Mears (1) 13,643 22–65 W1 88 July 9 White Sox 4–2 Bonderman (3–13) Colón (6–8) Mears (2) 12,869 23–65 W2 89 July 10 White Sox 1–0 Cornejo (4–7) Loaiza (11–5) Mears (3) 18,206 24–65 W3 90 July 11 Red Sox 3–5 Burkett (7–4) Maroth (4–13) Kim (4) 26,538 24–66 L1 91 July 12 Red Sox 2–4 Jones (3–4) Rodney (0–1) Kim (5) 23,206 24–67 L2 92 July 13 Red Sox 3–0 Ledezma (3–2) Wakefield (6–4) Mears (4) 23,829 25–67 W1 93 July 17 @ White Sox 10–9 Maroth (5–13) Colón (6–9) — 17,060 26–67 W2 94 July 18 @ White Sox 5–7 Buehrle (8–10) Roney (1–4) Gordon (4) 18,868 26–68 L1 95 July 19 @ White Sox 2–6 Garland (7–7) Cornejo (4–8) Marte (5) 32,245 26–69 L2 96 July 20 @ White Sox 1–10 Loaiza (12–5) Ledezma (3–3) — 20,631 26–70 L3 97 July 21 @ Red Sox 5–14 Burkett (8–4) Bonderman (3–14) Fossum (1) 33,823 26–71 L4 98 July 22 @ Red Sox 4–7 Lowe (11–4) Maroth (5–14) — 33,570 26–72 L5 99 July 23 @ Indians 1–4 Anderson (8–7) Roney (1–5) Báez (22) 21,202 26–73 L6 100 July 24 @ Indians 7–4 Cornejo (5–8) Sabathia (8–6) Mears (5) 20,857 27–73 W1 101 July 25 Royals 3–8 Hernández (5–3) Ledezma (3–4) — 29,697 27–74 L1 102 July 26 Royals 5–1 Bonderman (4–14) Snyder (1–5) — 24,664 28–74 W1 103 July 27 Royals 1–5 Lima (7–0) Maroth (5–15) — 35,326 28–75 L1 104 July 29 @ Mariners 5–11 Meche (11–7) Roney (1–6) — 30,732 28–76 L2 105 July 30 @ Mariners 3–13 Moyer (14–5) Cornejo (5–9) — 35,800 28–77 L3 106 July 31 @ Mariners 0–4 Pineiro (13–5) Ledezma (3–5) — 43,596 28–78 L4
August: 6–23 (Home: 3–13; Away: 3–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 107 August 1 @ Twins 4–10 Lohse (7–9) Bonderman (4–15) Baldwin (1) 20,101 28–79 L5 108 August 2 @ Twins 9–2 Maroth (6–15) Reed (5–10) — 29,278 29–79 W1 109 August 3 @ Twins 2–7 Santana (5–3) Roney (1–7) — 27,613 29–80 L1 110 August 5 Athletics 2–7 Harden (3–0) Cornejo (5–10) — 13,263 29–81 L2 111 August 6 Athletics 3–9 Hudson (10–4) Ledezma (3–6) — 16,545 29–82 L3 112 August 7 Athletics 3–2 Bonderman (5–15) Zito (8–10) Patterson (1) 19,664 30–82 W1 113 August 8 Twins 3–4 Santana (6–3) Maroth (6–16) Guardado (26) 23,740 30–83 L1 114 August 9 Twins 4–8 Rincón (3–4) Mears (0–1) — 19,199 30–84 L2 115 August 10 Twins 3–4 Rogers (9–6) Cornejo (5–11) Guardado (27) 19,975 30–85 L3 116 August 11 @ Rangers 3–9 Benoit (7–5) Sparks (0–5) — 27,674 30–86 L4 117 August 12 @ Rangers 7–4 Bonderman (6–15) Dominguez (0–1) Patterson (2) 17,524 31–86 W1 118 August 13 @ Rangers 3–7 Dickey (7–5) Maroth (6–17) Cordero (9) 17,491 31–87 L1 119 August 14 @ Rangers 3–6 Thomson (10–10) Roney (1–8) Cordero (10) 17,019 31–88 L2 120 August 15 @ Angels 1–3 Lackey (8–11) Cornejo (5–12) Percival (26) 43,174 31–89 L3 121 August 16 @ Angels 7–11 Glover (2–0) Ledezma (3–7) — 42,337 31–90 L4 122 August 17 @ Angels 6–11 Ortiz (14–10) Bonderman (6–16) — 40,745 31–91 L5 123 August 18 Rangers 2–4 Mahay (2–0) Sparks (0–6) Dickey (1) 11,698 31–92 L6 124 August 19 Rangers 4–5 Thomson (11–10) Maroth (6–18) Shouse (1) 13,501 31–93 L7 125 August 20 Rangers 0–6 Dickey (8–5) Cornejo (5–13) — 13,788 31–94 L8 126 August 21 Angels 7–10 Sele (7–9) Roney (1–9) — 12,236 31–95 L9 127 August 22 Angels 5–6 Ortiz (15–10) Bonderman (6–17) Percival (27) 21,955 31–96 L10 128 August 23 Angels 8–14 Donnelly (2–2) Spurling (1–2) — 26,463 31–97 L11 129 August 24 Angels 10–9 Walker (3–2) Percival (0–4) — 17,382 32–97 W1 130 August 26 @ Indians 5–4 Cornejo (6–13) Traber (6–7) Walker (3) 16,972 33–97 W2 131 August 27 @ Indians 7–9 Cressend (2–0) Spurling (1–3) Riske (4) 16,457 33–98 L1 132 August 28 @ Indians 3–8 Lee (3–1) Bonderman (6–18) — 16,282 33–99 L2 133 August 29 White Sox 8–4 Robertson (1–0) Buehrle (11–13) — 15,828 34–99 W1 134 August 30 White Sox 2–5 Garland (10–10) Maroth (6–19) — 15,786 34–100 L1 135 August 31 White Sox 1–6 Loaiza (18–6) Cornejo (6–14) — 15,873 34–101 L2
September: 9–18 (Home: 7–8; Away: 2–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 136 September 1 Indians 4–7 Santiago (1–1) Walker (3–3) Riske (5) 10,986 34–102 L3 137 September 2 Indians 8–6 Schmack (1–0) Durbin (0–1) Rodney (1) 9,318 35–102 W1 138 September 3 Indians 6–5 Walker (4–3) Santiago (1–2) — 10,234 36–102 W2 139 September 4 Indians 2–1 Knotts (3–5) Westbrook (6–9) Patterson (3) 11,371 37–102 W3 140 September 5 @ Blue Jays 6–8 Sturtze (7–6) Maroth (6–20) López (9) 14,455 37–103 L1 141 September 6 @ Blue Jays 0–1 Halladay (19–6) Rodney (0–2) — 18,261 37–104 L2 142 September 7 @ Blue Jays 0–8 Towers (5–1) Mears (0–2) — 16,617 37–105 L3 143 September 9 @ Yankees 2–4 White (4–0) Rodney (0–3) Rivera (34) 31,826 37–106 L4 144 September 10 @ Yankees 5–15 Pettitte (18–8) Knotts (3–6) — 34,000 37–107 L5 145 September 11 @ Yankees 2–5 Clemens (14–9) Cornejo (6–15) Rivera (35) 31,915 37–108 L6 146 September 12 Royals 3–0 Maroth (7–20) Abbott (1–1) Rodney (2) 18,042 38–108 W1 147 September 13 Royals 0–7 Wright (1–1) Mears (0–3) — 15,966 38–109 L1 148 September 14 Royals 2–7 Gobble (4–4) Robertson (0–2) — 13,579 38–110 L2 149 September 15 Royals 4–10 Anderson (12–11) Knotts (3–7) — 9,342 38–111 L3 150 September 16 Blue Jays 6–9 Kershner (2–3) Cornejo (6–16) — 9,801 38–112 L4 151 September 17 Blue Jays 0–6 Halladay (21–6) Loux (0–1) — 11,240 38–113 L5 152 September 18 Blue Jays 6–10 Towers (7–1) Maroth (7–21) — 9,951 38–114 L6 153 September 19 @ Twins 2–6 Milton (1–0) Bonderman (6–19) — 30,013 38–115 L7 154 September 20 @ Twins 3–7 Santana (12–3) Robertson (1–2) — 26,903 38–116 L8 155 September 21 @ Twins 4–6 Radke (14–10) Cornejo (6–17) Guardado (39) 33,396 38–117 L9 156 September 22 @ Royals 6–12 Affeldt (7–6) Knotts (3–8) — 10,574 38–118 L10 157 September 23 @ Royals 15–6 Maroth (8–21) Lima (8–2) — 11,180 39–118 W1 158 September 24 @ Royals 4–3 Loux (1–1) Gobble (4–5) Rodney (3) 10,758 40–118 W2 159 September 25 Twins 5–4 Mears (1–3) Thomas (0–1) — 9,296 41–118 W3 160 September 26 Twins 4–5 Guardado (3–5) Germán (2–4) Hawkins (2) 16,518 41–119 L1 161 September 27 Twins 9–8 Rodney (1–3) Orosco (2–2) — 14,277 42–119 W1 162 September 28 Twins 9–4 Maroth (9–21) Johnson (0–1) — 18,959 43–119 W2

Detailed Records

American League
Opponent	Home	Away	Total	Pct.	Runs scored	Runs allowed
AL East
Baltimore Orioles	0–3	3–0	3–3	.500	31	33
Boston Red Sox	1–2	0–6	1–8	.111	25	60
New York Yankees	1–2	0–3	1–5	.167	22	42
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	1–2	1–2	2–4	.333	23	20
Toronto Blue Jays	2–4	0–3	2–7	.222	31	52
	5–13	4–14	9–27	.250	132	207
AL Central
Chicago White Sox	5–4	3–7	8–11	.421	55	93
Cleveland Indians	4–6	3–6	7–12	.368	77	109
Detroit Tigers	—	—	—	—	—	—
Kansas City Royals	3–7	2–7	5–14	.263	81	111
Minnesota Twins	3–7	1–8	4–15	.211	69	105
	15–24	9–28	24–52	.316	282	428
AL West
Anaheim Angels	1–3	0–3	1–6	.143	44	64
Oakland Athletics	2–4	1–2	3–6	.333	22	42
Seattle Mariners	0–3	1–5	1–8	.111	25	60
Texas Rangers	0–3	1–3	1–6	.143	22	41
	3–13	3–13	6–26	.188	113	207

National League
Opponent	Home	Away	Total	Pct.	Runs scored	Runs allowed
Arizona Diamondbacks	0–3	0–0	0–3	.000	6	20
Colorado Rockies	1–2	1–2	2–4	.333	31	38
Los Angeles Dodgers	0–3	0–0	0–3	.000	4	9
San Diego Padres	0–0	2–1	2–1	.667	9	10
San Francisco Giants	0–0	0–3	0–3	.000	14	19
	1–8	3–6	4–14	.222	64	96

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Dmitri Young	155	562	167	.297	29	85
Bobby Higginson	130	469	110	.235	14	52
Carlos Peña	131	452	112	.248	18	50
Ramón Santiago	141	444	100	.225	2	29
Craig Monroe	128	425	102	.240	23	70
Alex Sánchez	101	394	114	.289	1	22
Shane Halter	114	360	78	.217	12	30
Warren Morris	97	346	94	.272	6	37
Brandon Inge	104	330	67	.203	8	30
Eric Munson	99	313	75	.240	18	50
Kevin Witt	93	270	71	.263	10	26
Omar Infante	69	221	49	.222	0	8
Andrés Torres	59	168	37	.220	1	9
Matt Walbeck	59	138	24	.174	1	6
Gene Kingsale	39	120	25	.208	1	8
Ben Petrick	43	120	27	.225	4	12
Dean Palmer	26	86	12	.140	0	6
A. J. Hinch	27	74	15	.203	3	11
Danny Klassen	22	73	18	.247	1	7
Craig Paquette	11	33	5	.152	0	0
Hiram Bocachica	6	22	1	.045	0	0
Cody Ross	6	19	4	.211	1	5
Ernie Young	5	11	2	.182	0	0
Pitcher Totals	162	16	3	.188	0	0
Team Totals	162	5466	1312	.240	153	553

Note: Individual pitchers' batting statistics not included

Starting and other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Nate Cornejo	32	194.2	6	17	4.67	46
Mike Maroth	33	193.1	9	21	5.73	87
Jeremy Bonderman	33	162.0	6	19	5.56	108
Adam Bernero	18	100.2	1	12	6.08	54
Matt Roney	45	100.2	1	9	5.45	47
Gary Knotts	20	95.1	3	8	6.04	51
Wil Ledezma	34	84.0	3	7	5.79	49
Nate Robertson	8	44.2	1	2	5.44	33
Shane Loux	11	30.1	1	1	7.12	8

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W= Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF= Games finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	GF	ERA	SO
Jamie Walker	78	65.0	4	3	3	19	3.32	45
Chris Spurling	66	77.0	1	3	3	18	4.68	38
Franklyn Germán	45	44.2	2	4	5	15	6.04	41
Steve Sparks	42	89.2	0	6	2	24	4.72	49
Chris Mears	29	41.1	1	3	5	16	5.44	21
Fernando Rodney	27	29.2	1	3	3	11	6.07	33
Matt Anderson	23	23.1	0	1	3	10	5.40	13
Eric Eckenstahler	20	15.2	0	0	0	5	2.87	12
Danny Patterson	19	17.2	0	0	3	9	4.08	19
Steve Avery	19	16.0	2	0	0	5	5.63	6
Brian Schmack	11	13.0	1	0	0	1	3.46	4
Team Pitching Totals	162	1438.2	43	119	27	159	5.30	764

League Leaders and Awards

• Jeremy Bonderman: #2 in MLB in losses (19)
• Jeremy Bonderman: #2 in AL in wild pitches (12)
• Jeremy Bonderman: second youngest player in AL (20)
• Nate Cornejo: #5 in AL in hits allowed (236)
• Nate Cornejo: #3 in MLB in losses (17)
• Brandon Inge: AL leader in baserunners caught stealing (40)
• Brandon Inge: AL leader in double plays by a catcher (11)
• Mike Maroth: AL leader in home runs allowed (34)
• Mike Maroth: MLB leader in losses (21)
• Mike Maroth: MLB leader in earned runs allowed (123)
• Mike Maroth: AL leader in baserunners caught stealing (11)
• Mike Maroth: AL leader in baserunners picked off (7)
• Carlos Peña: AL leader in errors by a first baseman (13)
• Alex Sánchez: #2 in AL in stolen bases (44)
• Alex Sánchez: MLB leader in times caught stealing (18)
• Ramón Santiago: MLB leader in sacrifice hits (18)
• Jamie Walker: #2 in AL in games by a pitcher (78)
• Dmitri Young: Tiger of the Year Award
• Dmitri Young: #5 in AL in strikeouts (130)
• Dmitri Young: #4 in AL in intentional walks (16)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Larry Parrish
AA	Erie SeaWolves	Eastern League	Kevin Bradshaw
A	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	Gary Green
A	West Michigan Whitecaps	Midwest League	Phil Regan
A-Short Season	Oneonta Tigers	New York–Penn League	Randy Ready
Rookie	GCL Tigers	Gulf Coast League	Howard Bushong

See also

• List of worst Major League Baseball season records

Notes

a.^ Ryan was credited with the win without throwing a pitch. With two outs in the bottom of the 7th, he picked off Omar Infante at first to end the inning. The Orioles then took the lead in the top of the eighth, meaning Ryan would be in line for a win. Ryan was replaced with Buddy Groom before the bottom of the eighth. Baltimore kept the lead and Ryan was recorded with the win.

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com 2003 Tigers