LAKELAND, Fla. — The food sucked at TigerTown.
Not for the players in the major league clubhouse — that was fine. Better than fine, actually.
But the food was less than desirable at the cafeteria used by the minor leaguers.
“Miserable,” one player said.
“Like high school food,” another said.
And by that, we don’t mean to insult high school food.
“Just not good for you!”
“I didn’t mind the pasta bar!”
OK. So we had one vote for the pasta bar.
But most players grumbled about the food.
This, of course, didn’t make any sense. The Detroit Tigers were trying to develop the next wave of players, coaching them up, trying to shape their pitches and teach the latest techniques and improve their fielding and their hitting — but most of all, trying to improve their bodies — and they were feeding them like they were an afterthought in Lakeland.
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During the season, when the players played in Toledo or Erie or West Michigan, they would get food ordered by the strength coaches.
Sometimes, Chipotle. Or Chick-fil-A.
But there was no real plan in place. And it didn’t make any sense.
The whole idea is to get these young players bigger, faster and stronger. But it’s hard when they are eating fast food.
That’s not how first-class organizations work.
Make improvements behind the scenes
But the Tigers have changed course and are now investing more in minor league food and nutrition.
Which is no small thing.
Most of these players are in their late teens to early 20s. Right around the time they can eat you out of house and home.
When my two boys were that age, we were going through a gallon of milk a day. Our grocery bill was insane. And food wasn’t eaten; it was kind of devoured somewhere between Costco and the dinner table.
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“We’re just really appreciative to (Tigers owner) Chris Ilitch and (Tigers president) Scott Harris,” said Ryan Garko, who runs the Tigers’ development program. “Obviously, it was a big investment by the owner, and then Scott fought for it as well, and gave it to us, so I think it’s the biggest return on investment, to give the players fuel to keep them healthy, helping them recover. We’ve partnered with a great company; Sam Menzin, our assistant GM, played a really big role in it.”
The Tigers have also hired two trainers at each minor league affiliate this year.
“That’s another big investment that we went for and asked for,” Garko said. “When that trainer-to-player ratio is now cut in half, I think it will really offer our players so much. So much more care and time with the trainer during the season.”
Wait — they didn’t have these things before? Good grief.
The Tigers are also going to provide the players with nutritional supplements such as protein bars and creatine during spring training and the season. “Whatever they need,” Garko said.
Hmm. Does it feel like the light bulbs are suddenly going on?
This is part of Ilitch’s recently announced commitment to improve the organization.
In February, Ilitch spoke to the big-league club and revealed his plan for changing the player experience, which included a new team plane, revamping the clubhouse at Comerica Park and trying to improve every aspect of being a Tiger.
But it is now apparent those plans extend down to the minor leagues.
“We have also hired a nutrition coordinator as well, so a whole new position the first time for the Tigers,” Garko said. “She will have a nutritionist at each full-time affiliate as well. So West Michigan, Toledo and Erie will have a nutritionist on site that will order the meals and then also consult with the players just on their individual plans.”
Garko has been running the Tigers player development system for a year.
In Year 1, he focused on the baseball.
Now, he wants to change other things.
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“We’ve been here a year,” Garko said. “Took a year to kind of take stock of what’s going on. We have kind of turned our attention toward performance, the kind of the performance areas of strength, medical, our mental skills, our food supplements. Those are the kind of areas where we can close a lot of ground in Year 2. We are just trying to keep the players healthy, keep them on the field, keep them strong. That’s a major goal for us right now.”
It’s about time.
Nobody will benefit more than this guy
Consider Peyton Graham, one of the top Tigers prospects. He was tall and super skinny when he was picked in the second round of the 2022 draft.
A 6-foot-3 shortstop who was just skin and bones.
After playing 27 games at Single-A Lakeland, he weighed 168 pounds. Maybe, on a heavy day, he got up to 169.
Graham has tremendous potential — he is a fantastic defender and has an impressive bat — and the Tigers wanted him to gain weight. So he spent the offseason eating. And eating. And eating some more.
He was forcing down four to five meals a day. With snacks in between.
“Gained about nine pounds this offseason, so that was really good,” he said. “Somewhere around 179 and 180 now.”
“Is it going to be hard to keep it on?” I asked him, before I was aware of the new food.
“I think I have a better shot at gaining more weight during this season because these meals are really, really good for you now,” he said.
Yes, this is a happy ending.
But no Happy Meal.
Now, the Tigers minor league players are raving about the improved, nutritious, tasty food choices.
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“That’s free food and it’s really good,” Graham said. “Get as much as you want. The food last year wasn’t nearly as nutritious as the stuff we got now. And it’s a lot better food. It’s amazing. We have chicken and steak — the steak is really good. The green beans are phenomenal. Sometimes we’ll have a seafood day. Shrimp and fish. It’s amazing. If put the right stuff in your body, you’re gonna perform better, sleep better, all that stuff.”
The new Tigers front office knows what a first-class organization looks like. They know what they want to change.
“I think a lot of us know what we want,” Garko said. “We know what it looks like.”
And finally, they are getting closer to it.
One meal at a time.
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Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read Seidel’s recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.