Thursday's Team: Detroit Tigers

Ty Cobb. Al Kaline. Miguel Cabrera. These players are the greatest, and probably most known, players that have played for the Detroit Tigers. 

The Tigers are one of the oldest teams in baseball, establishing in 1894. They’ve had 11 seasons in which their win percentage was above .600, going to 6 world series’ in those 11. They’ve won 11 pennants, including last year’s pennant, but have won only 4 titles. In the Cobb era, they went to 3 straight world series’, but went 0-3 (note, they went from 1907-1909. They lost twice to the Chicago Cubs in 1907 and 1908, but that was the last time the Cubs won the World Series). 

They also have had the worst seasons. In 2003, the Tigers lost more games than any other team in American League history. They went 42-119. That’s a .265 win percentage. They finished 47 games out of the first place Twins, and have been the worst team since the 1962 Mets (the worst team was the Cleveland Spiders in 1899, who went 20-134). 

They rebuilt, however, signing or trading guys like Fernando Vina, Ivan Rodriquez, Ugueth Urbina, Rondell White, and Carlos Guillen. They did play better, finishing 72-90. They hired Jim Leyland in 2005, and were on their way to the world series in 2006. They got players like Justin Verlander, Curtis Granderson, and Joel Zumaya, and Magglio Ordonez hit a walk off in the ALCS to sweep the A’s to get to the World Series. They would end up losing to the Cardinals, though. Historically, they’ve always been a pretty good team, with a few slow declines every once in a while. 

I like talking about the Tigers because I love Ty Cobb. Babe Ruth might have been the most well-known and best baseball player ever, but Cobb was just up there. He had a career .366/.433/.512, but he had some of the greatest years in his prime. In 1911 when he was 24,  he batted .420/.467/.621 with a 1.088 OPS, had 248 hits, 47 doubles, 24 triples, 127 RBI’s, 83 steals, and 147 runs. It was the only year where Cobb won the MVP Award (note: MVP awards were much different back then. 

There was no Cy Young award, no Silver Slugger, or Gold Gloves. Babe Ruth only won one as well). 

He didn’t hit for power as much as Ruth, but still was fast and hit for so much contact. He had a career 151.1 WAR, with his highest year in 1917 with a 11.4 WAR. He was a pretty good outfielder, having a career .961 fielding percentage, which isn’t bad for such a long career. 

Cobb was certainly an amazing player, that’s for sure. But the Tigers have moved on from Cobb and Kaline and Hank Greenberg. They now have a stacked team, led by Miguel Cabrera. 

In 2008 they traded Edgar Renteria, Miguel Cabrera, and Dontrelle Willis (why the Marlins would get rid of Cabrera I have no idea), but still struggled and finished with a 74-88 record. Renteria and Willis did not live up to hype, but Cabrera did. 

I don’t have to go through how good Miguel Cabrera is. He won the Triple Crown last year, and the MVP. This year he’s on track to break the RBI record, and will probably hit for the best batting average, but might not win the Triple Crown the way Chris Davis is playing. 

I don’t really have to talk about Justin Verlander, either. The Cy Young and MVP winner two years ago, Verlander is still an incredible player. He has a 3.72 ERA now, which is much different from previous years, but still is a very good player. 

The team that won the pennant last year got embarrassed by the Giants, blanking Miggy to win the title in a sweep. The Tigers are staying strong, though. They still have that amazing offense, having the best batting average and on base percentage in the MLB. Their pitching is still incredible, though. They have the 3^rd best WHIP at 1.19, 4^th best Batting Average Allowed at .239, and have 48 quality starts.

 

There is Miggy, Jhonny Peralta, Omar Infante, Prince Fielder, and Victor Martinez that have continued to be a strong force for their offense. They added Torrii Hunter this year too, who just recently hit his 300^th career home run. Pitching wise, Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer have been strong. Sanchez has the starting pitching team best 2.76 ERA, while Scherzer is tied with the most wins in the MLB with 10. Sanchez, however, just went on the 15-Day DL. They also have a good relieving core, with Joaquin Benoit, Drew Smyly, and Jose Valverde as the closer. 

Right now the Tigers are 39-31, with a 3.5 game lead against Cleveland. They are great against their division, but are just ok with everyone else. I still like them as my favorites for the AL Pennant. Statistically, they are a well-balanced team that is well above average. You can give me all the crap in the world if they don’t, but I think they have a good chance.

Email me at statsbuddy42@yahoo.com if you want me to write about your favorite team.

-Evan Boyd