The Tigers won the American League pennant with a record of 101–53, the best winning percentage in team history.
On December 12, 1933, the Tigers announced that they had purchased Mickey Cochrane from Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics in exchange for Johnny Pasek and cash.
In 1934, he won the American League's Most Valuable Player award, batting .320 with a .428 on-base percentage, 76 RBIs, and 32 doubles.
He was the first catcher to win the American League MVP award[3] Aside from his contributions as a player, Cochrane was invaluable as a manager and leader.
Second baseman Charlie Gehringer later said: "When Mickey was managing the Tigers from behind the plate I can't remember him ever fouling up anything.
Guest expressed the general opinion in a poem titled "Speaking of Greenberg", in which he used the Irish (and thus Catholic) names Murphy and Mulroney.
The complete text of the poem is at the end of Greenberg's biography page at the website of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Known for his consistency as a hitter and fielder, Gehringer was given the nickname "The Mechanical Man" by Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez.
He spent much of the season batting fifth, frequently hitting after Cochrane, Gehringer, and Goslin and ahead of Greenberg, all four of whom were future Hall of Famers.
After driving in a run with a single to right in the fourth inning of Game 4, Spud Davis was replaced by Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean as a pinch runner at first base.
Dean, always known for his quick wit and humorous nature, remarked after a visit to the hospital, "The doctors X-rayed my head and found nothing."
As the fan reaction escalated, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ordered Medwick removed from the game.
In the outfield, Hall of Famer Goose Goslin played in left field, Pete Fox was the primary right fielder, and the speedy Jo-Jo White and Gee Walker shared most of the responsibility for center field, with White playing in 92 games there (and 100 total games in the outfield).
Goose Goslin had a good year with a .305 batting average, 100 RBIs, 106 runs scored, 187 hits, and 38 doubles.
After leading the Washington Senators to American League pennants in 1924, 1925, and 1933, owner Clark Griffith traded Goslin to Detroit before the 1934 season.
Center fielder Jo-Jo White hit .313, scored 97 runs, had a .419 on-base percentage, and led the team with 28 stolen bases.
The pitching staff was led by starters Tommy Bridges, Schoolboy Rowe, Elden Auker, and Alvin Crowder, who joined the team in August.
While appearing on the Eddie Cantor radio show, Rowe famously asked his fiancée, "How'm I doing, Edna honey?"
Infielders Other batters Coaches Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg.
= Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Note: pitchers' batting statistics not included Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; W= Wins; L= Losses; SV = Saves; GF = Games Finished; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts The 1934 World Series was a match-up between the St. Louis Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" and Detroit's "G-Men" (so named because of stars Gehringer, Greenberg, and Goslin).
Even nearly 50 years later, Charlie Gehringer (interviewed in 1982) felt the Tigers were robbed of the 1934 championship by umpire Brick Owens.
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."
In the sixth inning of Game 7, Joe Medwick slid hard into Marv Owen, the Tigers' third baseman, after hitting a triple.