Tommy Bridges
The curveball was Tommy Bridges' calling card, and it made him one of the American League's most reliable starters for a decade and a half. His 1674 strikeouts were impressive for the era, when hitters made more contact and power pitchers were rarer. That 194-138 record tells the story of consistent excellence — he won more games than he lost in 11 of his 16 seasons.
Bridges peaked during Detroit's championship runs in the mid-1930s, posting a 147 ERA+ in 1936 that ranked among the league's best. Six All-Star selections from 1934 to 1942 underscore his sustained dominance. His career 114 ERA+ proves he was consistently above average throughout his tenure, a remarkable feat for a pitcher who threw nearly 2,800 innings across 17 seasons.
The Tennessee native's longevity was his greatest asset. While he never threw a no-hitter or won a Cy Young Award, Bridges gave the Tigers exactly what championship teams need: 200 innings of quality work, year after year.
Career · Hitting
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | DET | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | .300 | — | — |
| 1931 | DET | 35 | 54 | 0 | 1 | .148 | — | — |
| 1932 | DET | 34 | 67 | 0 | 4 | .164 | — | — |
| 1933 | DET | 33 | 78 | 0 | 5 | .205 | — | — |
| 1934 | DET | 36 | 98 | 0 | 10 | .122 | — | — |
| 1935 | DET | 36 | 109 | 0 | 10 | .239 | — | — |
| 1936 | DET | 39 | 118 | 0 | 15 | .212 | — | — |
| 1937 | DET | 34 | 96 | 0 | 8 | .240 | — | — |
| 1938 | DET | 25 | 54 | 0 | 3 | .130 | — | — |
| 1939 | DET | 29 | 71 | 0 | 6 | .197 | — | — |
| 1940 | DET | 29 | 68 | 0 | 4 | .176 | — | — |
| 1941 | DET | 25 | 47 | 0 | 1 | .085 | — | — |
| 1942 | DET | 23 | 63 | 0 | 2 | .095 | — | — |
| 1943 | DET | 25 | 64 | 0 | 3 | .219 | — | — |
| 1945 | DET | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — |
| 1946 | DET | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — |
| Career | 424 | 1003 | 0 | 72 | .180 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | DET | 8 | 37.7 | 3 | 2 | 4.06 | 118 | 17 | 1.354 |
| 1931 | DET | 35 | 173.0 | 8 | 16 | 4.99 | 82 | 105 | 1.676 |
| 1932 | DET | 34 | 201.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.36 | 123 | 108 | 1.458 |
| 1933 | DET | 33 | 233.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.09 | 125 | 120 | 1.296 |
| 1934 | DET | 36 | 275.0 | 22 | 11 | 3.67 | 117 | 151 | 1.284 |
| 1935 | DET | 36 | 274.3 | 21 | 10 | 3.51 | 124 | 163 | 1.422 |
| 1936 | DET | 39 | 294.7 | 23 | 11 | 3.60 | 128 | 175 | 1.371 |
| 1937 | DET | 34 | 245.3 | 15 | 12 | 4.07 | 107 | 138 | 1.459 |
| 1938 | DET | 25 | 151.0 | 13 | 9 | 4.59 | 95 | 101 | 1.517 |
| 1939 | DET | 29 | 198.0 | 17 | 7 | 3.50 | 122 | 129 | 1.247 |
| 1940 | DET | 29 | 197.7 | 12 | 9 | 3.37 | 125 | 133 | 1.310 |
| 1941 | DET | 25 | 147.7 | 9 | 12 | 3.41 | 116 | 90 | 1.341 |
| 1942 | DET | 23 | 174.0 | 9 | 7 | 2.74 | 130 | 97 | 1.293 |
| 1943 | DET | 25 | 191.7 | 12 | 7 | 2.39 | 147 | 124 | 1.148 |
| 1945 | DET | 4 | 11.0 | 1 | 0 | 3.27 | 112 | 6 | 1.455 |
| 1946 | DET | 9 | 21.3 | 1 | 1 | 5.91 | 61 | 17 | 1.500 |
| Career | 424 | 2826.4 | 194 | 138 | — | — | 1674 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.