Detroit Tigers’ Disappointing Season

The Detroit Tigers ended with a record of 47-114, finishing the season in last place as the worst team in the league.

How did the Tigers fall to this level, and is their any hope of them getting back on top?

One of the main reasons why the Tigers are underperforming is because the few veterans and key players that the Tigers currently have are on the injured reserve list. This season that included: Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Jordan Zimmerman, and Matt Moore. The Tigers this year had player who consistently played that batted over .300  and the average ERA for pitching was over 5.00. Because of this lack of talent, the team usually had little chance of winning many of its games.

The Tigers lost many of their starting pitchers to trades and injuries.

In addition, the Tigers are also stuck with Miguel Cabrera, who has haunted the Tigers with his contract.  He made $30 million this year, but was a shell of the former player he once was. He has been offered in trades, but with his age rising and talent diminishing, the money is not worth what he brings.

The Tigers have had a lot of busts in the last half decade with bad trades, missed draft picks, and missing out on all star potential trades. For example, Jordan Zimmermann may have been one of the worst ever free agent signings. The Tigers paid him almost a max salary because he was pitching at all-star performance, but he ended up being a waste of money, underperforming and getting injured. Zimmerman ended the season with a 1-13 record and a 6.91 ERA.

Although they are in the middle of a rebuild, a very large majority of a team has AAA talent, who have little to no Major League experience. The Tigers however, have many prospects to work with and have great potential for the future. This means there is some hope for the Tigers… in the future.

With many of these players gaining experience, the hope is that these players can continue to improve every day and eventually lead this team to the playoffs.

Milford Varsity Baseball Pitcher, Calvin Hait explained, “The pitchers are the key to a lineup and without them, the team can’t compete.”

If the Tigers can acquire some veteran or talented pitchers this offseason, they can likely move up to the middle/average teams and potentially scrape right into the playoffs in a couple of years.

David Hill, a season ticket owner says “Yea, they don’t look so good right now, I’m thinking about not purchasing my season tickets next year if they don’t get better.” This offseason is so important for the Tigers and their reputation.

However, their deconstruction is over and the actual rebuild starts this upcoming year. We’ll see if the Tigers can come back to their playoff form a few years down the road.