Charlie Gehringer, the unassuming Detroit Tiger whose .320 career batting average was quietly overshadowed by his reputation as one of baseball's most accomplished second basemen, died on Thursday at a nursing home near his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

He was 89, and according to his wife, Josephine, had entered the nursing home after suffering a stroke last month.

Gehringer led the American League in hitting in 1937 with a .371 average, and was named its most valuable player that season. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949 and had been its oldest living member. Few Words, Many Hits

During his 19 seasons with the Tigers, Gehringer was known as a colorless, taciturn player who spent his free time reading and doing crossword puzzles.

Except for a "hello" on opening day and a "goodbye" at the end of the season, he never seemed to have much to say in between. But the man who attributed his smooth, rhythmic swing to the teachings of his former teammate and first manager, Ty Cobb, was uncommonly well spoken with a bat. And he was a fielder of such effortless grace that he was described as poetry in motion.

Still, for all his acclaim as a sure-handed fielder, Gehringer almost never made a spectacular play. Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of American League hitters, he would simply glide into position, making the most challenging plays appear routine.

He seemed as artful at the plate, so much so that when someone challenged Lefty Gomez to defend his opinion that Gehringer was the game's greatest second baseman, the great Yankee pitcher replied: "All I know is that whenever I'm pitching, he's on base."

His performance was so steady and seemingly automatic that his nickname in the Motor City was Mechanical Man.

Charles Leonard Gehringer was born on a farm in Fowlerville, Mich., about 60 miles north of Detroit, on May 11, 1903. Partly, perhaps, because the usual alternative was slopping pigs, he liked baseball so much as a child that he and his brother carved out a diamond on the farm so they could play every day.

After a year at the University of Michigan, where he played both baseball and football, he left school for professional baseball, playing initially in the Michigan-Ontario League. He made his first appearance with the Tigers for the last five games of the 1924 season, getting six hits in 13 at-bats. Then, after a full season with Toronto of the International League, he was called back to Detroit for the last eight games of the 1925 season and stayed until he joined the Navy in 1942.

In between, he hit above .300 for 13 seasons, had more than 200 hits seven times, had more than 100 runs batted seven times, led the league's second basemen in fielding eight times, hit .321 over all in three World Series and appeared in six All-Star Games, including the first one in 1933, compiling a .500 average.

He never made more than $35,000 a year playing baseball, but after four years as a Navy fitness instructor he became wealthy through an auto-accessories business.

Gehringer returned to the Tigers for a two-year stint as general manager at the end of the 1951 season, and later served as a Tigers vice president.

In addition to his wife of 43 years, Gehringer is survived by a sister, Josephine Touchette.

Charles L Gehringer