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4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meet the Detroit Tigers' All-21st Century Team (so far): Who is the ace?
You never know when history is going to strike at a Detroit Tigers game. Well, let's walk that back a bit … if Tarik Skubal is on the mound, you have to at least be on the lookout for history. And, of course, the Tigers ace didn't disappoint on Sunday, May 25, with his first career MLB shutout (not to mention his first complete game in ) … complete with a historic punctuation mark. Advertisement His first 'Maddux' (a complete-game shutout with fewer than 100 pitches). The fastest pitch by a starting pitcher to finish off a strikeout in the Statcast era (dating back to 2008): Skubal's 102.6 mph four-seamer to set down Gabriel Arias And, finally, the first Maddux (out of 443 that Baseball Reference has pitch counts for) with at least 13 strikeouts. (Anytime you can pass Cliff Lee AND Sandy Koufax for one record, you're doing OK.) Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal celebrates after defeating the Cleveland Guardians with a complete game shutout, 5-0, at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Hello, and welcome back to the Purr-fect Game Newsletter, brought to you this week by the number 2 and the letter K(KKKKKKKKKKKK). Skubal's Maddux was also the 207th such game this century, which brings us around to our main topic. Advertisement Pablo Picasso has been cited as saying, 'Good artists copy, great artists steal,' and folks, we aim to bring you the greatest newsletter possible. And so, we're going to steal … well, borrow an idea from the good folks at The Athletic, who last week dropped a list of the top MLB player at every position over the past quarter-century — an All-21st Century team, as it were — 25% of the way in (give or take a few games). In case you missed it, a couple of Tigers made the cut — right-handers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander — and another one — Miguel Cabrera — was snubbed. Celebrate 125 epic seasons of the Tigers with our new book! Advertisement But it got us thinking about what the Tigers' All-21st Century Team would look like. (Spoiler alert: Miggy made the cut for this one.) Let's run through it, position by position … MGR: Jim Leyland The Tigers' most recent Hall of Famer (though he went in without a logo on his cap) starts us off with 700 wins in 1,297 games over eight seasons, plus four playoff berths (including three AL Central titles), two World Series appearances and, entertainingly, 30 mid-game ejections (including one featuring a pause for "God Bless America"). Honorable mention: A.J. Hinch — the current skipper needs just 58 more wins this season to become the eighth manager in franchise history with 400 victories. His peers consider him among the best managers in the game. C: Iván Rodríguez Detroit Tigers' Ivan Rodriguez celebrates after hitting a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit on Friday, Aug. 4, 2006. The Tigers won, 4-3. We'll start the position players with another Hall of Famer, as 'Pudge' (who was inducted into Cooperstown in 2017 on the first ballot, with 76% of the vote) posted a .298/.328/.449 slash line over 4½ seasons (2004-08) with the Tigers. He also gets bonus points for signing a five-year (eventually), $53 million free-agent deal with the then-worst team in baseball. Advertisement As 'Pudge' told reporters in February 2004: 'I didn't come here to lose games," Rodriguez said. "We're going to see this Detroit Tigers team in the playoffs very soon." And sure enough, the Tigers rebounded from a then-AL-record 119 losses in 2003 to AL pennant winners in 2006. Honorable mention: Alex Avila — no Tigers catcher has more games played (760) or home runs (77) hit in the 2000s. 1B: Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers designated hitter Miguel Cabrera (24) makes his last play at first base as a Tiger on Sunday, Oct. 1 2023. Cabrera is one of the greatest players in Detroit Tigers history and one of the best right-handed hitters of all time. He played for the Tigers from 2008 to 2023. What, you were expecting Spencer Torkelson? Over 16 seasons (2008-23) with the Tigers, Cabrera — who'll have to wait till 2029 for his trip to Cooperstown — put up a .304/.380/.510 slash line, with an OPS of .890 that ranks sixth in franchise history. Oh, and while he was a Tiger, he led the AL in home runs twice, doubles twice, RBIs twice, batting average four times, won two AL MVPs (though both came in his two seasons starting at third base to make room for Prince Fielder), made eight All-Star teams and was the first AL hitter with a Triple Crown (2012) since 1967. Advertisement Honorable mention: Prince Fielder — the son of Tigers great Cecil Fielder mashed 55 homers in his two nacho-stealing seasons in the D. (Tork has 62, but in about 3½ seasons.) ENJOYING THIS NEWSLETTER? Sign up for a weekly email delivery of The Purr-fect Game, a dose of Tigers news, numbers and analysis for Freep subscribers. 2B: Plácido Polanco ALCS MVP Placido Polanco shows off his trophy to the fans in Comerica Park to celebrate after winning Game 4 in dramatic fashion and advance to the World Series on Magglio Ordonez's three-run homer on October 14, 2006. This is probably the closest call, with Polanco's 4½ seasons (2005-09) of a .773 OPS just edging out Ian Kinsler's .764 over four seasons (2014-17). Head to head, Kinsler gets the edge in triples (18-13), homers (78-37) and slugging percentage (.436-.418), while Polanco had a better batting average (.311-.275) and on-base percentage (.355-.328). Polanco has has the edge in awards, with two Gold Gloves to Kinsler's one, and the 2006 ALCS MVP award. Advertisement Honorable mention: Ian Kinsler — his 28 homers in 2016 are tied for the franchise's single-season record for a second baseman (with Lou Whitaker in 1989). 3B: Brandon Inge Detroit Tigers' Brandon Inge dives for the ball but cannot handle the ball hit by Scott Rolen in the first inning of Game 2 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park in Detroit, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006. Uh, can we put Miggy — who, again, won two MVPs playing the hot corner — at 3B, too? No? OK, then we guess we'll go with Inge, whose .724 OPS as a third baseman is merely fourth among Tigers third-sackers (behind Eric Munson's .748, Nick Castellanos' .755 and Cabrera's 1.025). Still, Inge's glove does a lot of work here, as his 18.6 bWAR as a Tiger includes 9.7 defensive bWAR at third base. Honorable mention: Nick Castellanos — though we'll note his OPS was nearly 70 points lower as a 3B than when he was playing anywhere else, with a glove to match. SS: Carlos Guillén Carlos Guillen throws from his knees to home plate, forcing Cleveland Indians' Jamey Carroll into a rundown back to third base, where Guillen applied the tag for the second out of the ninth inning and the game tied 6-6 at Comerica Park on July 9, 2008. Guillén — not the Tigers' Spanish-language broadcaster — absolutely raked over his first four seasons (2004-07) with the Tigers, with a .311/.377/.508 slash line while playing short. That included a pair of All-Star nods (2004, 2007) and a 10th-place finish in AL MVP voting in 2006, and his .885 OPS at short was the best in baseball — ahead of Hanley Ramirez (.884), Miguel Tejada (.869) and, yes, Derek Jeter (.855) — over that span. Advertisement His final four seasons in Detroit weren't as stellar, though; moved away from short, he had a .766 OPS in 2008-11. Honorable mention: Jhonny Peralta — the misplaced 'H' stood for 'hitter,' as he had a .760 OPS while playing short for the Tigers and earned a pair of All-Star nods (2011, 2013). LF: Bobby Higginson Detroit Tigers outfielder Bobby Higginson hits a triple scoring 2 runs in the 7th inning against the Minnesota Twins during Opening Day at Comerica Park in Detroit on Thursday, April 8, 2004. Yeah, we're surprised, too. Though Higginson's talents didn't quite translate from Tiger Stadium to the CoPa — his .884 OPS at The Corner became an .807 mark in the early days of an even more spacious "Comerica National Park" — his slash line of .286/.363/.470 in his 405 games in left from 2000-05 were better than we remembered in the revolving door of the Tigers' roster (with 14 different players suiting up for at least 100 games in left since the start of 2000). Advertisement Honorable mention: Justin Upton — Not even two full seasons with the Tigers, thanks to a 2017 trade deadline deal, but he made an All-Star team and won a Silver Slugger (both in 2017) with an .846 OPS over 270 games in left. CF: Curtis Granderson Detroit Tigers' Curtis Granderson hits an RBI double in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox in Detroit on July 25, 2009. The Grandy Man patrolled center for 663 games (just four fewer than Austin Jackson) from 2004-09 and posted an .830 OPS that included 102 homers and 57 triples — the latter tops among MLB center fielders over that span — and had an underrated glove while finishing 10th in AL MVP voting in 2007 and making the 2009 All-Star squad. Honorable mention: Austin Jackson, who arrived from the Yankees in the three-team deal that sent Granderson to New York and landed another member of our team from Arizona (more on him in a bit), finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2010 and was worth 6.3 WAR on defense, nearly 1½ wins more than Granderson. RF: Magglio Ordóñez Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez hits a 3-run, walk-off home run to defeat the Athletics, 6-3, in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Comerica Park on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006. OK, THIS is the toughest call, as I typed Ordóñez and J.D. Martinez here several times each. It's that close by the numbers, with Ordóñez and Martinez each accumulating 13.5 bWAR over their runs in the Tigers outfield (though Ordóñez played nearly 400 more games in left). Advertisement Martinez had the better OPS (.908-.865), but we'll give Ordóñez the edge thanks to his, er, Magg-ical 2007 in which he led the AL with a .363 batting average and finished second in AL MVP voting. (Also, his homer to end the 2006 ALCS and send the Tigers to the World Series is arguably the most iconic Tigers hit of the century.) Honorable mention: J.D. Martinez — he hit 99 homers in just 458 games as a Tiger, going from a waiver-wire pickup in March 2014 to an All-Star in 2015. DH: Victor Martinez Victor Martinez #41 of the Detroit Tigers hits a RBI-single against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Comerica Park on August 21, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. V-Mart's .785 OPS as a DH with the Tigers is actually 40 points behind the leader, Dmitri Young (albeit in an extra 630 or so games), but we're still giving him the nod on the strength of his three great seasons (out of six as a Tiger). Advertisement Martinez had three incredible seasons, including his 2014, when he led the AL in OBP (.409), the majors in OPS (.974) and finished second in AL MVP voting. He also had three other seasons that , uh, probably shouldn't come up in an All-21st Century list. Honorable mention: Dmitri Young — Did you know he had 10 triples as a DH with the Tigers? That's as many as the next three Tigers DHs (Luis Polonia, Brennan Boesch and Kerry Carpenter) have, combined. Rotation: RHP Justin Verlander, LHP Tarik Skubal, RHP Max Scherzer, RHP Doug Fister, RHP Aníbal Sánchez Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander pitched the first no-hitter in Comerica Park history, striking out a career-high 12, as the Tigers won 4-0 on June 12, 2007. Verlander played for the Tigers from 2005 to 2017. Verlander's résumé during his 13 seasons (2005-17) with the Tigers : 183 wins, 3.49 ERA, 2,373 strikeouts, two no-hitters, AL Rookie of the Year (2006), an AL Cy Young and AL MVP (2011), five other top-10 Cy Young finishes (not counting the one split between Detroit and Houston) and six All-Star nods. Whew. Skubal is behind in the counting stats and no-hitters (though his start Sunday suggests he might have a shot at catching J.V. there) but could pick up his second Cy Young this season. Advertisement Scherzer, meanwhile, struck out 1,081 in 1,013 innings, made two All-Star teams and won one Cy Young (2013). Fister spent just 2½ seasons (2011-13) as a Tiger, but owns the second-best ERA (3.29, just behind Skubal's 3.28) among 2000s Tigers starters with 300 innings, as well as the best FIP. We'll close out the rotation with Sánchez on the strength of his 2013 ERA title (when he finished fourth in Cy Young voting behind Scherzer) and his Comerica Park strikeout record (17 against the Braves on April 26, 2013). Honorable mention: David Price — he spent parts of just two seasons in Detroit — arriving at 2014's trade deadline and departing at the 2015 deadline — for essentially just one full season of work … but what a run: a 2.90 ERA, a 1.222 WHIP and 220 strikeouts in 223⅔ innings. So there's our starting staff; but who's going to close things out for this Tigers super-squad? Well, we'll get to that in a bit. But first … Odds and evens The All-21st Century Tigers are one thing. But what about the 2025 squad? Let's go to the algorithms … Advertisement Baseball Reference: This model is working off the final 45 games of last season and the first 55 of this one (meaning it's still including the 31-13 finish of 2024), a span in which the Tigers have gone 66-34 — a 107-win pace over 162 games. And thus, bbref's 1,000-simulation projection still LOVE the Tigers — the average projected record is still 100-62, with the Tigers still on pace for the top seed in the AL, a 99.8% chance of making the playoffs (down from 99.9% last week — guess that's what losing three straight for the first time since March will do) and an 20.3% chance at winning the World Series, tops in baseball. Baseball Prospectus: Eight games, with a 4-4 record (including a 3-1 mark vs. NL teams), and still PECOTA's individual player projections merged with playing time projections and then a lot of simulations —so much math — have the Tigers winning 90.5 games (down from last week's 91.8-win projection), though that;s just one game up on the Twins' 89.4-win projection. BP's playoff chances for the Tigers also dropped slightly, to 88% from 90.1% last week), though the World Series victory odds jumped to 7.1% (from 6.9% last week). FanGraphs: Their projections —based on 20,000 sims, as always — saw the Tigers' postseason odds plummet from 93.1% to … 93%. Still, the Tigers' projected cushion in the Central over the Twins grew to five games, even as their odds of a World Series title dropped to 7.6% (from 8.4% last week). Mark your calendar Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) looks into home plate before throwing a pitch in the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. It's a mere six-game week, of which the Tigers have already played (and won) one, topping the Giants, 3-1, on Monday, May 26. The rest of the week features two more games vs. the G-Men squeezed into approximately 21 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a three-game set against the Royals in Kansas City, Missouri, beginning Friday. And if you're looking for your next chance at witnessing history (on TV, at least) — that is to say, the next Skubal start — it should arrive on Saturday with a pleasant 4:10 p.m. start. Advertisement Tigers birthdays this week: Jhonny Peralta (43 on May 28), Kirk Gibson (68 on May 28), Brenan Hanifee (27 on May 29), John Brebbia (25 on May 30) and Dean Chance (would have been 84 on June 1; died in 2015). Two Tigers relievers celebrating birthdays this week? That brings us back to … Closer: RHP Jose Valverde Detroit Tigers pitcher Jose Valverde celebrates the final out of the game during ninth inning action against the Baltimore Orioles at Comerica Park, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012. The Tigers defeated the Orioles 5-3. DIANE WEISS/Detroit Free Press He's not No. 1 in saves (that would be Todd Jones, at 146) or innings (Fernando Rodney, at 330) or ERA (Tyler Holton, at 2.36, among the Tigers relievers with at least 100 appearances this century), but 'Papa Grande' — that's 'Big Potato' in English — is arguably the best to close out games as a Tiger in the 21st century, with 3.22 ERA, 119 saves and 199 strikeouts in 223⅔ innings over four seasons (2010-13). That stint includes two All-Star nods and a ridiculous 2011 season in which he converted all 49 of his save attempts and finished fifth in Cy Young voting. Advertisement Honorable mention: Todd Jones — Just one pitcher in Tigers history (Mike Henneman, 154) has more saves than the 146 the 'Roller Coaster' racked up in the 21st century, and no one can beat his 235 in his Tigers career. Contact Ryan Ford at rford@ Follow him on X @theford and on BlueSky at @ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers All-21st Century Team: Justin Verlander or Tarik Skubal as ace?
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Meet the Detroit Tigers' All-21st Century Team (so far)
Meet the Detroit Tigers' All-21st Century Team (so far) Picking the best Detroit Tigers since 2000 at every position isn't too tough, though there are some surprisingly difficult choices. Show Caption Hide Caption Pete Rose now eligible for Hall of Fame after years of ineligibility USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale discusses Pete Rose now being eligible for the Hall of Fame and what it means for the steroid era players. Sports Pulse You never know when history is going to strike at a Detroit Tigers game. Well, let's walk that back a bit … if Tarik Skubal is on the mound, you have to at least be on the lookout for history. And, of course, the Tigers ace didn't disappoint on Sunday, May 25, with his first career MLB shutout (not to mention his first complete game in ) … complete with a historic punctuation mark. His first 'Maddux' (a complete-game shutout with fewer than 100 pitches). The fastest pitch by a starting pitcher to finish off a strikeout in the Statcast era (dating back to 2008): Skubal's 102.6 mph four-seamer to set down Gabriel Arias And, finally, the first Maddux (out of 443 that Baseball Reference has pitch counts for) with at least 13 strikeouts. (Anytime you can pass Cliff Lee AND Sandy Koufax for one record, you're doing OK.) Hello, and welcome back to the Purr-fect Game Newsletter. Skubal's Maddux was also the 207th such game this century, which brings us around to our main topic. Pablo Picasso has been cited as saying, 'Good artists copy, great artists steal,' and folks, we aim to bring you the greatest newsletter possible. And so, we're going to steal … well, borrow an idea from the good folks at The Athletic, who last week dropped a list of the top MLB player at every position over the past quarter-century — an All-21st Century team, as it were — 25% of the way in (give or take a few games). In case you missed it, a couple of Tigers made the cut — right-handers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander — and another one — Miguel Cabrera — was snubbed. Celebrate 125 epic seasons of the Tigers with our new book! But it got us thinking about what the Tigers' All-21st Century Team would look like. (Spoiler alert: Miggy made the cut for this one.) Let's run through it, position by position … MGR: Jim Leyland The Tigers' most recent Hall of Famer (though he went in without a logo on his cap) starts us off with 700 wins in 1,297 games over eight seasons, plus four playoff berths (including three AL Central titles), two World Series appearances and, entertainingly, 30 mid-game ejections (including one featuring a pause for "God Bless America"). Honorable mention: A.J. Hinch — the current skipper needs just 58 more wins this season to become the eighth manager in franchise history with 400 victories. His peers consider him among the best managers in the game. C: Iván Rodríguez We'll start the position players with another Hall of Famer, as 'Pudge' (who was inducted into Cooperstown in 2017 on the first ballot, with 76% of the vote) posted a .298/.328/.449 slash line over 4½ seasons (2004-08) with the Tigers. He also gets bonus points for signing a five-year (eventually), $53 million free-agent deal with the then-worst team in baseball. As 'Pudge' told reporters in February 2004: 'I didn't come here to lose games," Rodriguez said. "We're going to see this Detroit Tigers team in the playoffs very soon." And sure enough, the Tigers rebounded from a then-AL-record 119 losses in 2003 to AL pennant winners in 2006. Honorable mention: Alex Avila — no Tigers catcher has more games played (760) or home runs (77) hit in the 2000s. 1B: Miguel Cabrera What, you were expecting Spencer Torkelson? Over 16 seasons (2008-23) with the Tigers, Cabrera — who'll have to wait till 2029 for his trip to Cooperstown — put up a .304/.380/.510 slash line, with an OPS of .890 that ranks sixth in franchise history. Oh, and while he was a Tiger, he led the AL in home runs twice, doubles twice, RBIs twice, batting average four times, won two AL MVPs (though both came in his two seasons starting at third base to make room for Prince Fielder), made eight All-Star teams and was the first AL hitter with a Triple Crown (2012) since 1967. Honorable mention: Prince Fielder — the son of Tigers great Cecil Fielder mashed 55 homers in his two nacho-stealing seasons in the D. (Tork has 62, but in about 3½ seasons.) ENJOYING THIS NEWSLETTER? Sign up for a weekly email delivery of The Purr-fect Game, a dose of Tigers news, numbers and analysis for Freep subscribers. 2B: Plácido Polanco This is probably the closest call, with Polanco's 4½ seasons (2005-09) of a .773 OPS just edging out Ian Kinsler's .764 over four seasons (2014-17). Head to head, Kinsler gets the edge in triples (18-13), homers (78-37) and slugging percentage (.436-.418), while Polanco had a better batting average (.311-.275) and on-base percentage (.355-.328). Polanco has has the edge in awards, with two Gold Gloves to Kinsler's one, and the 2006 ALCS MVP award. Honorable mention: Ian Kinsler — his 28 homers in 2016 are tied for the franchise's single-season record for a second baseman (with Lou Whitaker in 1989). 3B: Brandon Inge Uh, can we put Miggy — who, again, won two MVPs playing the hot corner — at 3B, too? No? OK, then we guess we'll go with Inge, whose .724 OPS as a third baseman is merely fourth among Tigers third-sackers (behind Eric Munson's .748, Nick Castellanos' .755 and Cabrera's 1.025). Still, Inge's glove does a lot of work here, as his 18.6 bWAR as a Tiger includes 9.7 defensive bWAR at third base. Honorable mention: Nick Castellanos — though we'll note his OPS was nearly 70 points lower as a 3B than when he was playing anywhere else, with a glove to match. SS: Carlos Guillén Guillén — not the Tigers' Spanish-language broadcaster — absolutely raked over his first four seasons (2004-07) with the Tigers, with a .311/.377/.508 slash line while playing short. That included a pair of All-Star nods (2004, 2007) and a 10th-place finish in AL MVP voting in 2006, and his .885 OPS at short was the best in baseball — ahead of Hanley Ramirez (.884), Miguel Tejada (.869) and, yes, Derek Jeter (.855) — over that span. His final four seasons in Detroit weren't as stellar, though; moved away from short, he had a .766 OPS in 2008-11. Honorable mention: Jhonny Peralta — the misplaced 'H' stood for 'hitter,' as he had a .760 OPS while playing short for the Tigers and earned a pair of All-Star nods (2011, 2013). LF: Bobby Higginson Yeah, we're surprised, too. Though Higginson's talents didn't quite translate from Tiger Stadium to the CoPa — his .884 OPS at The Corner became an .807 mark in the early days of an even more spacious "Comerica National Park" — his slash line of .286/.363/.470 in his 405 games in left from 2000-05 were better than we remembered in the revolving door of the Tigers' roster (with 14 different players suiting up for at least 100 games in left since the start of 2000). Honorable mention: Justin Upton — Not even two full seasons with the Tigers, thanks to a 2017 trade deadline deal, but he made an All-Star team and won a Silver Slugger (both in 2017) with an .846 OPS over 270 games in left. CF: Curtis Granderson The Grandy Man patrolled center for 663 games (just four fewer than Austin Jackson) from 2004-09 and posted an .830 OPS that included 102 homers and 57 triples — the latter tops among MLB center fielders over that span — and had an underrated glove while finishing 10th in AL MVP voting in 2007 and making the 2009 All-Star squad. Honorable mention: Austin Jackson, who arrived from the Yankees in the three-team deal that sent Granderson to New York and landed another member of our team from Arizona (more on him in a bit), finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2010 and was worth 6.3 WAR on defense, nearly 1½ wins more than Granderson. RF: Magglio Ordóñez OK, THIS is the toughest call, as I typed Ordóñez and J.D. Martinez here several times each. It's that close by the numbers, with Ordóñez and Martinez each accumulating 13.5 bWAR over their runs in the Tigers outfield (though Ordóñez played nearly 400 more games in left). Martinez had the better OPS (.908-.865), but we'll give Ordóñez the edge thanks to his, er, Magg-ical 2007 in which he led the AL with a .363 batting average and finished second in AL MVP voting. (Also, his homer to end the 2006 ALCS and send the Tigers to the World Series is arguably the most iconic Tigers hit of the century.) Honorable mention: J.D. Martinez — he hit 99 homers in just 458 games as a Tiger, going from a waiver-wire pickup in March 2014 to an All-Star in 2015. DH: Victor Martinez V-Mart's .785 OPS as a DH with the Tigers is actually 40 points behind the leader, Dmitri Young (albeit in an extra 630 or so games), but we're still giving him the nod on the strength of his three great seasons (out of six as a Tiger). Martinez had three incredible seasons, including his 2014, when he led the AL in OBP (.409), the majors in OPS (.974) and finished second in AL MVP voting. He also had three other seasons that , uh, probably shouldn't come up in an All-21st Century list. Honorable mention: Dmitri Young — Did you know he had 10 triples as a DH with the Tigers? That's as many as the next three Tigers DHs (Luis Polonia, Brennan Boesch and Kerry Carpenter) have, combined. Rotation: RHP Justin Verlander, LHP Tarik Skubal, RHP Max Scherzer, RHP Doug Fister, RHP Aníbal Sánchez Verlander's résumé during his 13 seasons (2005-17) with the Tigers : 183 wins, 3.49 ERA, 2,373 strikeouts, two no-hitters, AL Rookie of the Year (2006), an AL Cy Young and AL MVP (2011), five other top-10 Cy Young finishes (not counting the one split between Detroit and Houston) and six All-Star nods. Whew. Skubal is behind in the counting stats and no-hitters (though his start Sunday suggests he might have a shot at catching J.V. there) but could pick up his second Cy Young this season. Scherzer, meanwhile, struck out 1,081 in 1,013 innings, made two All-Star teams and won one Cy Young (2013). Fister spent just 2½ seasons (2011-13) as a Tiger, but owns the second-best ERA (3.29, just behind Skubal's 3.28) among 2000s Tigers starters with 300 innings, as well as the best FIP. We'll close out the rotation with Sánchez on the strength of his 2013 ERA title (when he finished fourth in Cy Young voting behind Scherzer) and his Comerica Park strikeout record (17 against the Braves on April 26, 2013). Honorable mention: David Price — he spent parts of just two seasons in Detroit — arriving at 2014's trade deadline and departing at the 2015 deadline — for essentially just one full season of work … but what a run: a 2.90 ERA, a 1.222 WHIP and 220 strikeouts in 223⅔ innings. So there's our starting staff; but who's going to close things out for this Tigers super-squad? Well, we'll get to that in a bit. But first … Odds and evens The All-21st Century Tigers are one thing. But what about the 2025 squad? Let's go to the algorithms … Baseball Reference: This model is working off the final 45 games of last season and the first 55 of this one (meaning it's still including the 31-13 finish of 2024), a span in which the Tigers have gone 66-34 — a 107-win pace over 162 games. And thus, bbref's 1,000-simulation projection still LOVE the Tigers — the average projected record is still 100-62, with the Tigers still on pace for the top seed in the AL, a 99.8% chance of making the playoffs (down from 99.9% last week — guess that's what losing three straight for the first time since March will do) and an 20.3% chance at winning the World Series, tops in baseball. Baseball Prospectus: Eight games, with a 4-4 record (including a 3-1 mark vs. NL teams), and still PECOTA's individual player projections merged with playing time projections and then a lot of simulations —so much math — have the Tigers winning 90.5 games (down from last week's 91.8-win projection), though that;s just one game up on the Twins' 89.4-win projection. BP's playoff chances for the Tigers also dropped slightly, to 88% from 90.1% last week), though the World Series victory odds jumped to 7.1% (from 6.9% last week). FanGraphs: Their projections —based on 20,000 sims, as always — saw the Tigers' postseason odds plummet from 93.1% to … 93%. Still, the Tigers' projected cushion in the Central over the Twins grew to five games, even as their odds of a World Series title dropped to 7.6% (from 8.4% last week). Mark your calendar It's a mere six-game week, of which the Tigers have already played (and won) one, topping the Giants, 3-1, on Monday, May 26. The rest of the week features two more games vs. the G-Men squeezed into approximately 21 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a three-game set against the Royals in Kansas City, Missouri, beginning Friday. And if you're looking for your next chance at witnessing history (on TV, at least) — that is to say, the next Skubal start — it should arrive on Saturday with a pleasant 4:10 p.m. start. Tigers birthdays this week: Jhonny Peralta (43 on May 28), Kirk Gibson (68 on May 28), Brenan Hanifee (27 on May 29), John Brebbia (25 on May 30) and Dean Chance (would have been 84 on June 1; died in 2015). Two Tigers relievers celebrating birthdays this week? That brings us back to … Closer: RHP Jose Valverde He's not No. 1 in saves (that would be Todd Jones, at 146) or innings (Fernando Rodney, at 330) or ERA (Tyler Holton, at 2.36, among the Tigers relievers with at least 100 appearances this century), but 'Papa Grande' — that's 'Big Potato' in English — is arguably the best to close out games as a Tiger in the 21st century, with 3.22 ERA, 119 saves and 199 strikeouts in 223⅔ innings over four seasons (2010-13). That stint includes two All-Star nods and a ridiculous 2011 season in which he converted all 49 of his save attempts and finished fifth in Cy Young voting. Honorable mention: Todd Jones — Just one pitcher in Tigers history (Mike Henneman, 154) has more saves than the 146 the 'Roller Coaster' racked up in the 21st century, and no one can beat his 235 in his Tigers career. Contact Ryan Ford at rford@ Follow him on X @theford and on BlueSky at @
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Cubs Willing To Get Back To The Table With Pete Crow-Armstrong
While the acquisition of Kyle Tucker was the dominant storyline entering the season, the play of second-year center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has done more to help the Cubs to a 34-21 start, which through Tuesday was tied with the Dodgers and Mets for the second-best record in the National League. Crow-Armstrong has been arguably the most complete player in the majors over the first two months of the season. He's hitting .280 with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases while also delivering +8 Defensive Runs Saved. The two most used calculations of WAR both credit him for more impact than Tucker, who is having a strong season of his own (.285-12-39 with 15 stolen bases). Baseball Reference's algorithm a 2.9-2.1 edge over Tucker in WAR; Fangraphs has it 3.0-2.4. The biggest difference between the two, of course, is salary. The 23-year-old Armstrong is earning $771,000 while Tucker, at 28 and in his last year before free agency, is at $16.5 million. It's possible Tucker's next contract will approach, if not exceed, $500 million. Baseball's twin engines of arbitration and free agency will stop Crow-Armstrong from realizing his market value until 3031, when Tucker is in the sixth season of his next deal, but recent reports suggest he may have his own nine-figure deal before this season ends. The Cubs have managed Crow-Armstrong brilliantly since acquiring him from the Mets in the Javier Baez trade. The 2020 first-rounder played 240 games in the minors, honing his talents, before arriving at Wrigley Field to stay last April. He made a 13-game cameo in 2023 and played 123 games last season, giving him 170 days service time entering 2025. That's two days short of what's considered a full season, essentially giving the Cubs a seventh full season of control. Crow-Armstrong is guaranteed of being in the Super 2 class of arbitration-eligible players after 2026, meaning he'll be able to use that economic tool four times if he isn't signed to a multi-year contract. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has Super 2 status, has earned $70 million from Toronto for four arbitration seasons. Juan Soto ($31 million) and Shohei Ohtani ($30 million) settled on the two biggest salaries in their final seasons in arbitration. The Cubs are hoping to get some cost certainty with Crow-Armstrong. They did that with Anthony Rizzo (seven years, $41 million in 2013) while going year-to-year with Baez and Kris Bryant. Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has acknowledged having attempted to negotiate a long-term deal with Crow-Armstrong during spring training. He told the Athletic's Patrick Mooney the team is prepared to re-enter talks whenever Crow-Armstrong's representatives, Creative Artists Agency, is ready. 'Not talking during the season, to me, that's a player-focused thing,' Hoyer said on Tuesday. 'I'm not playing. I've got time to negotiation if they want.' The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported the Cubs offered Crow-Armstrong a guarantee in the range of $60-70 million in March before talks were tabled. He said the Cubs have indicated they are willing to increase that offer if Crow-Armstrong wants to return to the table. San Diego center fielder Jackson Merrill signed a nine-year, $135-million contract extension at the start of this season, setting a record for a non-arbitration player. Merrill was second to Paul Skenes in Rookie of the Year voting in 2024, racking up 5.3 f-WAR with 24 home runs, 90 RBI, 16 stolen bases and +0 DRS. Merrill had one full season of service time when he signed his deal, putting him one year closer to free agency than Crow-Armstrong at this point. The Cubs would love to keep Tucker and Crow-Armstrong alongside each other through 3030, if not beyond. But all indications point to Tucker's desire to let the free agent market determine his value next fall, when the Cubs will have to bid against baseball's biggest spenders.
New York Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Blue Jays All-Quarter Century Team: Toronto's best since 2000
Jayson Stark's MLB All-Quarter Century Team inspired me. What would a team of the best Blue Jays from the last 25 years look like? Sticking to production since 2000, I've compiled a roster of Toronto's top talent this century. There were some tough choices, having to weigh high peaks against lengthy runs, and you're going to disagree with a few, rightfully. Advertisement While The Athletic posted a ballot to vote for your own league-wide All-Quarter Century roster, feel free to express your dissenting Blue Jays opinions in the comment section. Sorry, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the next 25 years can be yours. This era belongs to Delgado. The Puerto Rican slugger leads the Blue Jays in all-time offensive WAR (according to Baseball Reference) and has the most total bases, RBI and runs scored in franchise history. Much of that came in the 1990s, but if you take only Delgado's 25.4 bWAR from 2000 through 2004, that's still the seventh most in franchise history and three more than Guerrero has racked up. Delgado twice finished in the top five in American League MVP voting with the Jays this century, including a 2003 season in which he led the AL with 145 RBI. He's the only Blue Jay to drive in more than 135 runs in a season, doing so twice. Delgado never got his playoff moment with the Blue Jays, but he deserves a spot on this list. It was the best summer fling the Blue Jays ever had. Semien's 45 homers in 2021 remain the most in a single season by any AL second baseman. Despite playing just one season in Toronto, Semien is the only Blue Jays second baseman to win a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger this century. If you're looking for longevity, Aaron Hill is your guy. He had seven solid seasons with the Jays, earning MVP votes in 2009. But Semien's peak, albeit short, earns my nod as Toronto's quarter-century keystone. I was surprised how easy this pick was. The other options were guys like Marco Scutaro, Yunel Escobar, José Reyes and Troy Tulowitzki. Bichette has doubled all their bWAR as a Blue Jay, sitting at 18.3 as of May 25. Bichette also has double the hits, homers and runs scored of any other Toronto shortstop since 2000. He's also the only Blue Jay, at any position, to lead the AL in hits twice. I'll hear debate on other selections, but this is not one. Eric Hinske, Troy Glaus and Matt Chapman had their moments, but this is another no-brainer. The Bringer of Rain helped capture the best Blue Jays seasons the franchise has seen since winning the World Series. There were other big bats and big personalities on Toronto's 2015 and 2016 AL Championship Series squads, but Donaldson was the biggest threat. Advertisement His 2015 season, Donaldson's first in Toronto, remains the greatest by a Blue Jays third baseman. He put up 7.4 bWAR and led the AL in runs, RBI and total bases. Donaldson earned 23 of the 30 first-place AL MVP votes that year, becoming the second Toronto player to win the award, alongside George Bell. His Toronto tenure ended with a whimper, but there were plenty of bangs when it mattered. This was the toughest pick. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has a case. Alex Rios would've been the easy selection if he played even a moment of left field for Toronto. I almost talked myself into an Adam Lind/Reed Johnson platoon. Ultimately, Stewart's start to the century was the best run in left the Jays have had since Bell left town. In three full seasons after 1999, Stewart hit over .300, tallied at least 10 homers and stole at least 14 bases. After four seasons away from Toronto, he came back to the Blue Jays for one final season in 2008. From Toronto's weakest position this century, Stewart stands out. Wells was the bright spot in a dark era of Blue Jays baseball, both in jersey colour and result. He logged 12 seasons in Toronto, never sniffing the playoffs or suiting up for a team that won more than 85 games. But Wells undeniably belongs on this list, sitting second in franchise bWAR this century with 29.1. He also leads the Blue Jays in hits, doubles and RBI since 2000. On a better team, Wells may have earned more MVP love, getting votes just twice and never finishing higher than eighth. At the very least, he's earned the coveted centre field spot on Toronto's Quarter-Century Team. Bautista was a baseball vagabond, playing for five different franchises in his first five MLB seasons. If not for a 2010 swing change, he's probably one of those deep-cut names you throw out when trying to impress other baseball fans. Instead, Bautista became a six-time All-Star and two-time home run leader, and his name rests forever on Toronto's Level of Excellence. Advertisement There are many individual moments that could've earned Bautista a spot on this team — the bat flip, the franchise-record 54 homers, throwing out Billy Butler at first base or the Darren O'Day beef. But the totality of Bautista's decade in Toronto makes it obvious. He sits atop the post-2000 Blue Jay leaderboards in bWAR, runs, homers and walks. He found a home and became one of the most iconic players in Blue Jays history. Either Wells or Bautista top basically every Blue Jays hitting leaderboard over the last 25 years. But sitting there in third place, almost across the board, is Encarnación. Breaking out alongside Bautista, Encarnación went from middling to masher for the 2010s Blue Jays. He became the perfect lineup protector for Joey Bats and the cleanup hitter on Toronto's ALCS teams. He put the parrot on his arm 239 times as a Blue Jay, sitting third in franchise home runs. Encarnación is the franchise leader in games at DH and the easy pick to represent this quarter century. Can we agree on Halladay and move on? He was Toronto's lone representative on Stark's MLB Quarter-Century Team and remains the only recent Blue Jays pitcher to get in the Hall of Fame. After that, things get messy. I feel you feverishly scrolling down to the comments to make cases for Ricky Romero, Marcus Stroman, A.J. Burnett, Mark Buehrle and maybe even R.A. Dickey. But to fill out this rotation, I prioritized peak. Estrada is probably the most underrated member of Toronto's ALCS teams, allowing the AL's lowest hits per nine innings in 2015 and 2016. He also added a 2.16 ERA across six postseason outings. Gausman still has one year left to polish off one of the best big contracts in Blue Jays history, and Ray is the only non-Halladay starter to win the Cy Young this century. The toughest pick was Happ, but go back and look at his 2016 season. He posted a 3.18 ERA, racked up 20 wins and was sixth in AL Cy Young voting that year. Maybe Aaron Sanchez and Romero had slightly better top years, but when you combine Happ's two Toronto tenures, he also sits second in strikeouts among all Blue Jays starters since 2000. Advertisement If B.J. Ryan stopped after his 2006 season, he might be locking down the ninth for this team. Instead, the lights go down and Tsunami's thumping beat blares over the speakers for Romano. Even if you include the righty's dud 2024, he posted a 2.90 ERA across six seasons with the Blue Jays. The Markham, Ontario, native converted 105 of 118 save opportunities for Toronto, sitting third in franchise history in saves. He's not the Blue Jays closer anymore, but Romano is the best they've had in the last 25 years.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Royals designate Hunter Renfroe for assignment
The Royals announced they have designated outfielder Hunter Renfroe for assignment and have called up infielder Nick Loftin from Triple-A Omaha. Renfroe was hitting just .182/.241/.242 with no home runs in 35 games and was worth -1.5 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. The Royals originally signed Renfroe to a two-year, $13 million deal before the 2024 season. He has enjoyed five 25+ home run seasons in his career, and the Royals were hoping he could provide power in the middle of the lineup. Although his offensive numbers were declining, he was coming off a 20-home run season when the Royals signed him. Advertisement But he struggled in 2024, hitting .229/.297/.392 with 15 home runs, the lowest total in a full season in his career. This year his power seemed zapped, and he had just six extra-base hits in 108 plate appearances. Even worse, he was a defensive liability and his plus arm had deteriorated. The Royals have seven days to trade Renfroe, or place him on waivers, although with $7.5 million owed him this year, it seems unlikely anyone would take him. The Royals will be obligated to pay his remaining salary minus the minimum wage should any team pick him up after clearing waivers. The Royals cut ties with struggling reliever Chris Stratton earlier this week. Loftin is a former first-round pick who has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Royals, hitting .229/.307/.295 in 75 games. He was hitting .295/.451/.468 with four home runs in 40 games for Triple-A Omaha and his 39 walks are the fourth-most in all minor leagues. More from
