Charles Leonard Gehringer (May 11, 1903 – January 21, 1993), nicknamed "The Mechanical Man", was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons (1924–42) for the Detroit Tigers. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest second basemen of all time, Gehringer, who batted left-handed and threw with his right, compiled a .320 batting average and had seven seasons with more than 200 hits. He was the American League batting champion in 1937 with a .371 average and was also named the American League's Most Valuable Player. He was among the Top 10 vote recipients in the Most Valuable Player voting for seven straight years from 1932 to 1938. He was the starting second baseman and played every inning of the first six All Star Games.

Gehringer's career totals of 2,839 hits and 574 doubles both rank 19th in major league history. Gehringer also led the Tigers to three American League pennants (1934, 1935, and 1940) and one World Series Championship (1935). Gehringer hit .379 in the 1934 World Series, and .375 in the 1935 Series.

Gehringer was also one of the best-fielding second basemen in history, having led all American League second basemen in fielding percentage and assists seven times. His 7,068 assists is the second highest total in major league history for a second baseman. He also collected 5,369 putouts as a second baseman (the 6th highest total for a second baseman) and 1,444 double plays (the 7th highest total for a second baseman).

Known for his consistency as a hitter and fielder, Gehringer was given the nickname "The Mechanical Man" by Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez. Teammate Doc Cramer quipped: "You wind him up Opening Day and forget him." A durable player, Gehringer had two consecutive game streaks of more than 500 games—one from 1927 to 1931 and the other from 1931 to 1935.

...
Wikipedia