Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — Two of the most revered milestones in baseball — 3,000 hits and 500 home runs — are of the utmost importance to future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera, entering his 19th season in the majors and 14th with the Detroit Tigers. Currently, the 37-year-old is 134 hits and 13 homers shy of reaching
It feels like Tyler Alexander’s historic nine-straight-strikeout performance on August 2, 2020, for the Detroit Tigers against the Cincinnati Reds was an eternity ago; but just six months prior, fans were wondering if the Detroit Tigers may have found a long-man bullpen arm.
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — Every morning, pitching coaches Chris Fetter and Juan Nieves make themselves available to any pitcher who wants a little extra time, time that’s not already budgeted into their busy practice schedules, to work on their mechanics. Just about every morning, Michael Fulmer has taken them up on
Miguel Cabrera shared his thoughts on the upcoming season, including how he’ll approach the big milestones moments that are on the horizon – 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Manager A.J. Hinch also checks in with his thoughts on the future hall of famer, and the need to not tip-toe around the greatest players in
Lakeland, Fla. — It’s not the same, it really isn’t. Sure, every spring he’s in the best shape of his career. Every spring, he’s brimming with energy and enthusiasm. Every spring with Miguel Cabrera, hopes and high spirits abound. All that is true again as Cabrera, soon to be 38 years old, embarks on his
Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — For the first time since last year’s spring training was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, Joker Marchant Stadium — the home of Detroit Tigers spring training — felt baseball’s presence. Miguel Cabrera at first base. Spencer Torkelson at third base, with Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal on the mound. They went through
LAKELAND, Fla. — The sound from the back fields at Tigertown this week was unmistakable, even beyond the outfield fences. There was no mistaking where the yelling was coming from. Miguel Cabrera was back on the field, egging guys on in practice, helping guys through the humdrum of a Spring Training workout. “I love to
One of my favorite traditions of when the Detroit Tigers head to Lakeland to start spring training is the storylines that are formed and in certain cases, attached to a Hall of Famer or forgotten about.
Detroit Tigers prospects like Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson are so skilled and physically impressive it can sometimes be easy to forget how young they still are. Torkelson was six when the first iPhone was released. Greene can’t drink legally for another seven months.
Tony Paul | The Detroit News Brandon Inge spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, played in one World Series, was part of a team that made another, once was an American League All-Star, signed enough autographs to fill the Library of Congress, and for a time was regarded as one of the most athletic players
They’ve come up together through the Tigers system, forming a bond as teammates and friends. Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal both hope to officially shed their “prospect” status this season after getting a taste of the major leagues last season, and they’re excited to be doing it together. We hear from the promising pair of
Speed. It’s one of those tools that can’t be taught, but how to use it effectively on the basepaths can. There have been plenty of players who could flat-out fly who never learned to properly steal a base, and plenty of players with good speed who were more effective at that nuance of the game.
LAKELAND, Fla. — Don Kelly last played for the Tigers in 2014. Andrew Romine played all nine positions for Detroit four years ago. The spirit of their versatility appears to be alive and well under new manager A.J. Hinch. While the Tigers took live batting practice on the workout fields behind Joker Marchant Stadium on
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — It didn’t take but a day or two for new Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch to figure out what previous managers already learned: If you don’t schedule Miguel Cabrera off the baseball field, he won’t ever leave. Cabrera, a month and a half shy of 38, has been his
Tigers lefty Gregory Soto tells our Matt Shepard he’s looking for consistency, then everything else will flow. #TigersST
Tigers infielder Zack Short, acquired in a trade with the Cubs in August, likes the vibe in Lakeland: “Everybody’s a good person.” #TigersST
The Detroit Tigers among both AL and NL Central teams were among one of the more active teams in terms of making personal moves. As a collective, the AL Central spent $180.25 million dollars. The division that spent the least? The NL Central at $67.95 million.
Tigers prospect Riley Greene has wowed many in his quick rise through the farm system, but A.J. Hinch isn’t interested in skipping any steps with the talented prodigy. For now, Greene is taking advantage of every opportunity to learn from the veterans in Lakeland, while reminding all watchers of his potential with every fluid swing.
Jeff Seidel | Detroit Free Press LAKELAND, Fla. — This strange, restricted, distant spring training has been reduced to this: Standing behind a chain-link fence, looking through binoculars, gazing across the field and trying to figure out if Spencer Torkelson has a wrap around his injured finger on his throwing hand. Torkelson, one of the Tigers
Chris McCosky | The Detroit News Lakeland, Fla. — There aren’t many more intriguing and potentially pivotal players on the Tigers pitching staff than lefty Gregory Soto. The baseball world got a taste of that last year when he didn’t allow a run over his first 10 innings, posting a 14-2 strikeout-walk mix. With his elite two-seam fastball