Detroit Tigers All-Time 25-Man Roster
By Matt Snyder
Catcher – Bill Freehan
As one of the best fielding catchers in MLB history, Bill Freehan was a five time Gold Glove award winner. His .9933 career fielding percentage stood as the Major League record for a catcher until 2002.
A quick look at his batting stats might suggest he was a glove-first catcher but he played in an era of depressed offensive statistics. A batting average below .300 might look pedestrian today, but Freehan’s .282 in 1967 placed him in the top ten in the American League.
He posted the best power numbers of his career during the Tigers’ championship season of 1968, hitting 25 home runs and driving in 84 runs – good enough to rank fifth and sixth respectively in the AL.
In 15 career seasons – all with the Tigers – Freehan was an 11-time All-Star, including a stretch of ten straight from 1964-1973, and finished in the top ten of MVP voting three times. Freehan ended his career as a .262 hitter with 200 home runs.
Next: First Base