Editing Detroit Tigers (section)

===The war years (1941–1945)===
[[File:Hal Newhouser Leaf.jpg|thumb|[[Hal Newhouser]]]]
With Hank Greenberg serving in [[World War II]] for all or parts of the 1941–1944 seasons, the Tigers struggled to recapture the glory of 1940.<ref>{{cite web|first=Dan|last=Holmes|title=Remembering Hank Greenberg's service in World War II|url=https://www.vintagedetroit.com/blog/2016/01/01/remembering-hank-greenbergs-service-in-world-war-ii/|website=Vintage Detroit|date=January 1, 2016|access-date=January 15, 2020|archive-date=January 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115222120/https://www.vintagedetroit.com/blog/2016/01/01/remembering-hank-greenbergs-service-in-world-war-ii/|url-status=live}}</ref> They finished no higher than fifth place in 1941–1943, but did manage a second-place finish in [[1944 Detroit Tigers season|1944]], largely on the strength of pitchers [[Hal Newhouser]] and [[Dizzy Trout]], who won 29 and 27 games, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=1941 American League Season Summary|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1941.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811032204/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1941.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1942 American League Season Summary|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1942.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811032517/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1942.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1943 American League Season Summary|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1943.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811033130/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1943.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="1944 standings">{{cite web|title=1944 American League Season Summary|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1944.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603080440/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1944.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="1944 Tigers">{{cite web|title=1944 Detroit Tigers Statistics|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/1944.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811032806/https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/DET/1944.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Newhouser, who was 29–9 with a 2.22 ERA, won the first of his two consecutive AL MVP awards this season.<ref name="1944 Tigers"/><ref>{{cite web|first=Richard|last=Goldstein|title=Hal Newhouser, 77, a Hall of Fame Pitcher|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/11/sports/hal-newhouser-77-a-hall-of-fame-pitcher.html|website=The New York Times|date=November 11, 1998|access-date=August 10, 2018|archive-date=August 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811032644/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/11/sports/hal-newhouser-77-a-hall-of-fame-pitcher.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Tigers were in first place as late as September 18, but would finish one game behind the [[1944 St. Louis Browns season|St. Louis Browns]] for the AL pennant.<ref name="1944 standings"/><ref name="Blown lead">{{cite web|first=Dan|last=Holmes|title=These Tiger teams blew leads late in the season|url=https://www.vintagedetroit.com/blog/2016/07/05/these-tiger-teams-blew-leads-late-in-the-season/|website=Vintage Detroit|date=July 5, 2016|access-date=January 15, 2020|archive-date=January 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116045010/https://www.vintagedetroit.com/blog/2016/07/05/these-tiger-teams-blew-leads-late-in-the-season/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====1945 World Series Champions====
{{Main|1945 Detroit Tigers season}}
With the end of World War II and the timely return of Hank Greenberg and others from the military, the Tigers won the AL pennant by just 1.5 games over the [[1945 Washington Senators season|Washington Senators]] with an 88–65 record.<ref>{{cite web|first=John|last=Rosengren|title=The Return of Hank Greenberg|url=https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/baseball-history/hank-greenberg-return|website=Baseball Hall of Fame|access-date=August 17, 2018|archive-date=August 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817225532/https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/baseball-history/hank-greenberg-return|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=1945 American League Season Summary|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1945.shtml|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 28, 2018|archive-date=August 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830124210/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1945.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Virgil Trucks]] returned from the U.S. Navy in time to pitch {{frac|5|1|3}} innings of 1-run ball in the pennant-clinching game, with starter [[Hal Newhouser]] pitching the final {{frac|3|2|3}} innings in relief. Newhouser won the [[Triple Crown (baseball)#Pitching Triple Crown|pitching triple crown]], leading the AL in wins (25), ERA (1.81) and strikeouts (212).<ref>{{cite web|first=Ed|last=Eagle|title=Triple Crown in Pitching|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/triple-crown-in-pitching/c-266118846|website=MLB.com|date=March 1, 2018|access-date=August 28, 2018|archive-date=August 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828203255/https://www.mlb.com/news/triple-crown-in-pitching/c-266118846|url-status=live}}</ref> He became the first pitcher in the history of the AL, and still the only pitcher as of 2024, to win the MVP Award in two consecutive seasons.<ref>{{cite book|first1=David|last1=Nemec|first2=Scott|last2=Flatow|title=Baseball Feats, Facts and Firsts|year=2008|page=[https://archive.org/details/greatbaseballfea00davi/page/153 153]|publisher=Berkley|isbn=978-0451223630|url=https://archive.org/details/greatbaseballfea00davi/page/153|edition=2008}}</ref>

With Newhouser, Trucks and Dizzy Trout on the mound and Greenberg leading the offense, Detroit responded in a World Series Game 7 for the first time, staking Newhouser to a 5–0 lead before he threw a pitch en route to a 9–3 victory over the [[1945 Chicago Cubs season|Cubs]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1945 World Series|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ws_recaps.jsp?feature=1945|website=MLB.com|access-date=August 28, 2018|archive-date=August 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819023821/http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ws_recaps.jsp?feature=1945|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Stephen V.|last=Rice|title=October 10, 1945: Newhouser leads Tigers to Game 7 victory|url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-10-1945-newhouser-leads-tigers-game-7-victory|website=Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=August 28, 2018|archive-date=August 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828203257/https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/october-10-1945-newhouser-leads-tigers-game-7-victory|url-status=live}}</ref> Because many stars had not yet returned from the military, some baseball scholars have deemed the [[1945 World Series]] to be among the worst-played contests in World Series history. For example, prior to the World Series, Chicago sportswriter [[Warren Brown (sportswriter)|Warren Brown]] was asked who he liked, and he answered, "I don't think either one of them can win."<ref>{{cite web|first=Marc|last=Lancaster|title=Last World Series at Wrigley Field was hardly a fall classic|url=https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/last-world-series-at-wrigley-field-1945-cubs-tigers-world-war-ii/1bp6z2wgjbar91px5nnu6yumsc|website=Sporting News|date=October 27, 2016|access-date=August 28, 2018|archive-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007004111/http://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/last-world-series-at-wrigley-field-1945-cubs-tigers-world-war-ii/1bp6z2wgjbar91px5nnu6yumsc|url-status=live}}</ref>