Gehringer, "Charlie" (Charles L.)
Baseball
b. May 11, 1903, Fowlerville, MI
d. Jan. 21, 1993
Teammate and manager Mickey Cochrane once said of Gehringer, "He says hello on opening day and good-bye on closing day, and in between he hits .350." Nicknamed the "Mechanical Man" because of his durability and consistency, Gehringer hit over .300 in 13 seasons, scored 100 or more runs 12 times, drove in more than 100 runs 7 times, led AL second baseman in fielding percentage 7 times, and appeared in 150 or more games 9 times.
After brief appearances with the Detroit Tigers in 1924 and 1925, Gehringer became the team's starting second baseman in 1926 and stayed there for 16 seasons.
He hit .317 in 1927 and .320 in 1928 and then had a great season in 1929, batting .339 and leading the league in hits with 215, runs scored with 131, stolen bases with 27, doubles with 45, and triples with 19.
Gehringer hit .330 in 1930 and .311 in 1931, when an arm injury limited him to 101 games. After slipping to .298 in 1932, he hit .325, drove in 105 runs, and scored 103 to win a starting spot in the first All-Star Game in 1933.
Cochrane took over as manager in 1934 and guided the Tigers to two straight pennants. Gehringer hit .356, led the league with 134 runs and 214 hits, and drove in 127 runs in 1934. He batted .330 with 19 home runs, 123 runs scored, and 108 RBI in 1935, then led the league in doubles with 60 the following season, batting .354.
Gehringer won his only batting title with a .371 average in 1937, when he was named the league's most valuable player. In 1938, he hit .306 with a career high 20 home runs.
Injuries again limited his playing time in 1939, though he batted .325 in 118 games. The Tigers won another pennant in 1940, when Gehringer had a .313 average. He dropped to .220 in 1941 and announced his retirement, but was persuaded to stay with the team as a backup in 1942, because of the player shortage caused by World War II.
The following year, he entered the Navy. Gehringer returned to baseball as Detroit's general manager in 1951 and 1952, then became a vice-president of the team until 1959.