The Tigers Had Tradition

The Tigers Are at a Crossroads

“The Tigers have tradition / And Sparky’s main ambition / Is to get them to the classic in the fall.”

Guy Named Sparky Arrives

Sparky Anderson indeed got the Tigers to the 1984 World Series. It was his fifth full season at the helm. He inherited some good players when he arrived, but convinced the GMs, Jim Campbell and Bill Lajoie, to make some changes -- even sacrificing talent for character and stability. For years, I considered that Sparky just didn’t want anyone who would get the limelight more than he. In retrospect, I think he just didn’t like showboaters.

Two Legends. Ernie Harwell in the front, Sparky Anderson in the back. 

Les Moss We Hardly Knew Ya

Sparky replaced Les Moss, who hadn’t done a bad job when he took over for Ralph Houk. Moss, however, wasn’t Anderson and didn’t last until the end of June. Legend has it that after Anderson was let go from the Reds after the ‘78 season, he was going to take a year off. The Cubs as 1979 rolled on started making noise about approaching Anderson; in a move unlike himself, Jim Campbell reached out to Anderson. Anderson joined the Tigers in June 1979. He lasted until after the 1995 season in Detroit. Many feel he was blacklisted because he supported the players during the strikes in 1994 and 1995. He refused to manage replacement players. That was quite a stand to take, but he probably figured, “What do I have to lose?” Sparky wasn’t that great a manager in his last couple years, but he also had run out of talent. A good managing job was 1993, when he took a team of also rans and never weres and made them competitive. I think the team scored 20 runs twice in the first couple weeks of the season.

Buddy Bell ... Larry Parrish ... Phil Garner ... Luis Pujols?

Sparky gave way to Buddy Bell who was run out of town by his assistant coach Larry Parrish. Parrish didn’t last long and was replaced by Phil Garner. Dave Dombrowski came to town and decided to fire Garner and hire … ummm, Luis Pujols. That experiment went about as expected and Alan Trammell came to town beginning in 2003. He lasted through 2005, when real talent seemed to be developing. Dombrowski brought in a gentleman who had been retired since 1999. Jim Leyland said he was burnt out after his one season in Colorado in 1999; he hadn’t managed or even interviewed since. Leyland was the right person for the job. He was a Tiger minor league manager in the 70s and early 80s before departing to be a coach on new White Sox manager Tony LaRussa’s staff. In 1986 he took over as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and their brash young star, Barry Bonds. Leyland was awesome throughout his tenure.

Leyland for Governor

Granted, everyone bitched. He couldn’t do this right or that right. He certainly couldn’t manage a bullpen -- but what about the bullpen that Dombrowski gave him. I mean, come on, Ryan Perry was a future closer, right? A series of botched draft choices and ill-advised signings constantly led to the bullpen being the white whale to Leyland’s Captain Ahab. Ah, Captain Hook, the former Tigers manager created the modern bullpen. Sparky Anderson diminished the role of the starter and dramatized the role of the bullpen. Leyland turned out to be genius in the end. Those who complained would have welcomed him back by July of Ausmus’ first year.

"Bad" Ausmus

Ausmus was a colossal failure. His first month was great but after that, not so much. Ausmus brought a different approach for a month. The Tigers were stealing bases and being agressive, but a moratorium was placed on the aggressiveness on May 1. And from then on out, Ausmus’ Tigers teams were more like a ‘70s era Baltimore Orioles team: looking for that three-run home run. This is not necessarily all Ausus’ fault, though. During his second season in Detroit, the Tigers owner at the time, Mike Illitch, suddenly fired longtime GM Dombrowski and replaced him with his longtime assistant Al Avila.

What Really Happened?

I would still like to read a novel about WHAT HAPPENED! Dombrowski, despite his inability to put together a good bullpen, turned around an organization that was moribund for several years. Randy Smith was the umpteenth in a series of inept General Managers, so when Illitch paid the money to bring in Dombrowski to run the organization, the fan base was fired up. The jury is still out on Avila. His first offseason signings left a great deal of confusion (Zimmermann — only team bidding for him; Pelfrey — really a two-year package?; Mark Lowe — okay, maybe this one sort of made sense; Justin Upton — paid a lot of money). After the 2015 August reboot, the offseason was confusing, especially when the Tigers suddenly signed Upton. Upton was a good ballplayer, but didn’t necessarily fit at the time and situation of the rebooting team.

Next Era

Currently, Avila is still on as the GM; however, Ausmus is out as manager. The Tigers turn the page, seemingly. They have a young cast of characters and virtually no chance of signing any free agents of note in the offseason. The youngsters could make a difference. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tigers deal both Ian Kinsler and Jose Iglesias this winter. That would be a good move for the team and its history. The numbers they wear, #3 and #1 respectively, could finally be retired for Tigers legends Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker. This deserves to happen. This has to happen at this point! It could be a tough couple of years for the Tigers, but the long-term outlook could be good. No question, though, they missed the boat on a World Championship in the best era of Tigers baseball.

Comerica National Park

The Tigers have to build the team for the stadium. The team plays in one of baseball’s largest parks, so they need to do five things to compete and finally win a Championship.

1. Build an outfield that has speed and can chase the ball down. The new era of Tigers baseball has to focus on defense. A defensive team in Comerica Park makes more sense than a power team. While you’re at it, build a defensive infield, as well. Defense will win a Championship.
2. Don’t focus only on a pitching staff with the so-called “power arms.” Build a pitching staff that will keep opponents off balanced in a three-game series. Focus on quality pitchers who can win games. The Dombrowski power arm era didn’t lead to a title.
3. Build a bullpen organically. Find and develop people within the organization who can be relievers and make it work. They did it with Drew Smyly and can do it with others.
4. Harken back to the ‘80s and swipe bases. Make this team different from all others and exploit the stadium. Build a team that can run, run, run and keep opposing defenses completely off balance. Make the other teams make mistakes.
5. Hire a manager who can develop a team and is willing to hire teachers as coaches who can build a team for the long run.

Let’s hope the Tigers can turn it around. Right now, they have the worst record in baseball.