12. Tommy Bridges

In the history of the Detroit Tigers, few players have personified "pound-for-pound" greatness quite like Tommy Bridges. A diminutive right-hander who stood barely 5'10" and weighed just 150 pounds, Bridges used one of the most devastating curveballs in the history of the sport to anchor the Detroit rotation for sixteen years.

Bridges’ time in Detroit was marked by relentless, high-frequency dominance, during which he became the franchise's primary strikeout threat for over a decade. He reached a peak between 1934 and 1936, a three-year stretch where he rattled off three consecutive 20-win seasons. During this span, he led the American League in strikeouts twice and in wins once (1936), establishing himself as a perennial All-Star and a foundational piece of a roster that featured four future Hall of Famers. His ability to miss bats was legendary; he retired with 1,674 strikeouts, a total that stood as the Tigers' franchise record for a right-hander for fifty years.

The most iconic chapter of his career unfolded during the 1935 World Series. After a gutsy performance in Game 2, Bridges took the mound for Game 6 with the championship on the line. In the ninth inning, with the score tied and a runner on third with nobody out, Bridges displayed what manager Mickey Cochrane famously called "150 pounds of courage." He proceeded to retire three straight Chicago Cubs, including a pair of strikeouts with his signature curveball, to keep the game tied, setting the stage for a walk-off victory in the bottom half. It was the performance that secured Detroit’s first-ever world title and cemented Bridges' reputation as one of the gutsiest performers of his generation.

Like many of his contemporaries, he saw his statistical totals interrupted by a commitment to duty; he missed the 1944 season and nearly all of 1945 due to military service in World War II. He returned just in time to make a relief appearance in the 1945 Fall Classic, earning his second championship ring and joining Hank Greenberg as the only players in franchise history to appear in four different World Series for the club.  He retired after the 1946 season.

With the Tigers, Bridges compiled 194 wins and 1,674 strikeouts while winning two World Series titles and leading the AL in strikeouts twice.