1963–1967 Wert reached the major leagues in
1963 at the age of 24 and became the Tigers' regular
third baseman in
1964. He remained their starting third baseman through the
1970 season. Though never a strong hitter, Wert earned a reputation as one of the best fielding
third basemen. He also led the team with 159
hits, had a .341
on-base percentage fueled by a career-high 73
walks, and even showed some power with hit 12
home runs. Wert had his best season as a batter in
1966, when he had a .268
batting average, .342
on-base percentage, 20
doubles, 11
home runs, and 70
runs batted in. The pitch split Wert's
batting helmet. He was carried off on a stretcher, spent two nights in the hospital, missed several games, and "was never the same hitter after that". He had never hit lower than .257 in five prior seasons, but his
batting average dropped to a career-low .200 in 1968, as he managed only 107 hits in 536 at bats. He recorded a ninth inning, game-winning hit on September 17 to clinch the American League
pennant. Wert also singled in Detroit's final
run of the 1968 World Series, driving in
Dick Tracewski with two out in the top of the ninth inning in St. Louis, completing the Tigers' comeback to top the defending Series champs, 4–1, winning the series, 4 games to 3. On July 9,
1970, Wert was involved in a bizarre play when
Dalton Jones hit a
fly ball into the upper deck with the bases loaded. What should have been a
grand slam ended up being three-RBI single, as Jones passed Wert between first and second base. Jones was called
out. Jones later blamed Wert, noting that Wert should have been halfway to second base, prepared to advance if it was a home run, and prepared to return to first if it was caught. Instead, Jones recalled that Wert was returning to first to tag up, and Jones passed Wert one or two steps past first base. On October 9, 1970, the Tigers traded Wert and
Denny McLain to the
Washington Senators in an eight-player deal that brought
Ed Brinkman,
Aurelio Rodríguez, and
Joe Coleman to the Tigers. Wert played 20 games for the Senators in 1971. He was batting .050 (two hits in 40 at bats) when he was released on June 24, 1971. Over nine seasons in the major leagues, Wert played in 1,100
games and had a .242
batting average, 929 hits, 417 runs scored, 389 walks, 366 runs batted in, 129 doubles, and 77 home runs. Wert played 1,043 of his games at third base and collected 914
putouts, 1,987
assists, and 173
double plays. ==Death==