offense, the 1921 Tigers finished in sixth place in the American League at 71–82, 27 games behind the New York Yankees. On August 19, 1921, Cobb collected his 3,000th career hit off Elmer Myers of the Boston Red Sox. Aged 34 at the time, he is still the youngest player to reach that milestone, also reaching it in the fewest at-bats (8,093). 1922–1926 The Tigers continued to field good teams during Ty Cobb's tenure as player-manager, finishing as high as second in 1923, but lack of quality pitching kept them from winning a pennant. Harry Heilmann hit .403 in 1923, becoming the last AL player to top .400 until Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. In 1925, Heilmann collected six hits in a season-ending doubleheader to win the batting title, finishing at .393 to Tris Speaker's .389. Cobb announced his retirement in November 1926 after 22 seasons with the Tigers, though he would return to play two more seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. The Tigers break through (1927–1940) 1927–1933 Though the Tigers struggled with mediocre records in the seven years following Cobb's departure, they were building a solid foundation, adding slugging first baseman Hank Greenberg and pitchers Tommy Bridges and Schoolboy Rowe to a lineup that already included second baseman Charlie Gehringer. In 1927, Harry Heilmann flirted with a .400 batting average all year, eventually finishing at .398 and winning his fourth AL batting title. Following the 1933 season, the Tigers added perhaps the final piece of the puzzle, acquiring catcher Mickey Cochrane from the Philadelphia Athletics to serve as player-manager. 1934 American League Champions The Tigers won the 1934 AL pennant with a 101–53 record, at the time a team record for wins, and still the best win percentage (.656) in team history. The Tigers infield (Hank Greenberg and Charlie Gehringer, along with shortstop Billy Rogell and third baseman Marv Owen) accumulated 462 runs during the season, with Gehringer (214 hits, .356 average) leading the way. Schoolboy Rowe led a strong pitching staff, winning 16 straight decisions at one point of the season and finishing with a 24–8 record. The Tigers would fall in the 1934 World Series in seven games to the "Gashouse Gang" St. Louis Cardinals. After winning a tight battle in Game 5 with a 3–1 decision over Dizzy Dean, Detroit took a 3–2 series lead, but would lose the next two games at Navin Field