Chapter THIRTEEN

2003 Detroit Tigers

Won 43

Lost 119

Out with the Old

The Tigers closed a significant chapter in their history on September 27, 1999, when they said good-bye to their home of more than eighty years. Opened on the same day as Fenway Park in 1912, Tiger Stadium had stood jointly with Fenway as the oldest operating structure in the American League (AL). Fittingly, beloved broadcaster Ernie Harwell offered a stirring elegy, ending it with the words, “Tonight we say good-bye, but we will not forget.” Indeed, the building on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull had a rich history, playing host to nine World Series showdowns under various pseudonyms.

Detroit’s first major league entry was the Wolverines, a National League franchise that played from 1881 through 1888. In 1887, they claimed the league championship and beat the American Association St. Louis Browns in an exhibition World Series. Stories vary widely as to how the current club got its nickname, but it is believed that the first use of the name “Tigers” appeared in the Detroit Free Press in 1895. When the AL opened for business in 1901, the Tigers were among the original lineup. Over the years, the team has been represented by such luminaries as Ty Cobb (owner of the highest career batting average in history), Sam Crawford (all-time triples leader), and Al Kaline (member of the 3,000-hit club). Through the 2011 slate, the franchise had captured four world championships, the most recent in 1984.

In 1992, the Tigers were purchased by entrepreneur Mike Ilitch, owner of the Little Caesar’s Pizza chain. Ilitch had acquired the Detroit Red Wings ten years previous and turned the ailing club into a Stanley Cup juggernaut. Prioritizing hockey over baseball, he made few positive changes on the diamond, and the Tigers soon fell on hard times. In 2000, Ilitch attempted to seduce fans with the opening of a new stadium. With fewer seats than its predecessor, Comerica Park maintained an old-time intimate feel. Such modern amenities as a carousel, Ferris wheel, and massive waterfall served to set the facility apart from Tiger Stadium. But the outfield was a yawning abyss, and the Tigers failed to generate many home runs there. Complaints from players, fans, and the press abounded, as the structure was mockingly labeled “Comerica National Park.”

Looking for solutions to the club’s numerous problems, Ilitch hired Dave Dombrowski as general manager before the 2002 slate. Dombrowski had helped guide the Florida Marlins to their first world championship in 1997, but he had also been responsible for purging the roster of its high-priced veterans afterward—a move that set the club back significantly. On the heels of another losing season in 2002 (the Tigers’ ninth straight), Dombrowski dramatically shortened the left center field fence in Comerica Park. He also approved a series of acquisitions designed to lend some credibility to the long-suffering Detroit franchise.

Slim Pickins

Perennial fan favorite Alan Trammell was hired to manage the club for the 2003 season. Trammell had spent his entire twenty-year career as a shortstop in Detroit, hitting .285 while capturing four Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards. He also garnered World Series MVP honors in 1984, with a .450 showing at the plate. Many agree that he could have been a first ballot Hall of Famer had his career not coincided with those of preeminent shortstops Ozzie Smith, Robin Yount, Cal Ripken, and Barry Larkin (all Cooperstown inductees).

Trammell’s first decision before the 2003 campaign was to hire his old teammates, Lance Parrish and Kirk Gibson, as coaches. Parrish, a good defensive catcher with a strong arm, gave his best years to the Tigers from 1977 through 1986. He played on eight All-Star teams and slugged a career-best 33 homers during the 1984 championship season. Gibson had worn a Detroit uniform for twelve seasons. He is best known for his pinch hit walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 1988 Fall Classic. Playing for the Dodgers that year, Gibson had sustained crippling injuries to his hamstring and left knee. Footage of the slugger hobbling triumphantly around the bases pumping his fist has appeared in nearly every World Series video montage ever since.

With three established stars now running the show on the field, there was plenty of work to be done elsewhere. Baseball writer Paul Hoynes overestimated the club’s abilities in his 2003 season preview for Baseball Digest, picking the Tigers to finish fourth in the AL Central. Others had a better idea of how the team would fare. Detroit’s newly appointed vice president in charge of roster management compared the players to unwanted candy handed out by elderly people at Halloween. SB-Nation editor Grant Brisbee equated the club to an entry in the World Baseball Classic from some obscure country. The Baseball Prospectus 2004 ranked Trammell’s squad as the “worst team without an excuse” in a century. None of those statements were greatly exaggerated.

Entering the 2003 slate, the Tigers were stuck with several expensive players who were at the tail end of their careers. Slugger Dean Palmer had enjoyed multiple 100-RBI and 30-homer campaigns in the late 1990s. He hit .140 for the Tigers in 2003 before retiring. Outfielder Bobby Higginson had been in a statistical free fall for quite some time and continued that downward trend on Trammell’s watch. At one time a reliable defensive infielder with a steady bat, veteran Damian Easley was released during spring training. Attempting to strengthen various other roster deficiencies, Randall Simon—the most dependable hitter from the 2002 squad—was traded for pitchers Adrian Burnside and Roberto Novoa. Neither went on to have a positive impact on the club. In another deal involving pitchers, lefty Mark Redman was shipped to the Marlins in exchange for Gary Knotts and Nate Robertson. Redman went on to post a respectable 14–9 record with the world champions. Knotts and Robertson collectively averaged more than 5 earned runs per 9 frames for the appalling Tigers.

Around the horn, the Tigers did have some prospects for the future. A first-round pick in the 1999 amateur draft, third baseman Eric Munson was set to begin his first full season in the majors. And twenty-four-year-old first baseman Carlos Peña had demonstrated occasional power in his sophomore effort of 2002. Catcher Brandon Inge was solid defensively, despite his shortcomings with a bat. A final glimmer of hope, highly regarded shortstops Omar Infante and Ramon Santiago were slated to compete for the starting job. A semioptimistic Dave Dombrowski commented during spring training that several of his players would eventually become household names. By September, he would be whistling a different tune.

A Whimper, Not a Roar

The season began somewhat less than ostentatiously with a nine-game losing streak. During that span, the Tigers were shut out three times and managed just a single run twice. On April 2, Detroit became the first team to debut four rookie pitchers in the same game—Jeremy Bonderman, Wilfredo Ledezma, Chris Spurling, and Matt Roney. The outcome was far from shocking, as the Tigers fell to Minnesota, 8–1. Four days later, the Detroit bull pen blew a 2–1 lead in spectacular fashion, allowing the White Sox to bat around in the eighth inning en route to a 10–2 thrashing. A 5–0 defeat at the hands of Chicago on April 11 distinguished the Tigers as the only major league team to lose their first nine games in consecutive seasons.

But the show was only beginning. On the heels of a 4–3 win over the White Sox, the Tigers assembled another eight-game skid. By the end of April, the club was already more than 14 games out of first place. In typical stand-up fashion, Alan Trammell took the brunt of it, telling the Associated Press that he wasn’t performing his job adequately. Searching for ways to promote their faulty product to the masses, Trammell, along with Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish, were featured in a series of local television ads encouraging fans to come out to Comerica Park. A vast majority of the general public were not swayed, as the club averaged less than 17,000 customers per game—down 2,000 from the previous season.

Some improvement was noted in the season’s second month. Dmitri Young emerged as the most reliable hitter on the club, enjoying his finest offensive performance of the year, with two homers and a pair of triples in a May 6 win over Baltimore. The Tigers poster their highest monthly win total of the campaign, with 11 victories, but they gained no ground on division leaders. Criticism poured in from every direction, not all of it aimed at the team itself. Wayne Coffey of the New York Daily News wrote that the Tigers had become a “poor stepchild” of Mike Ilitch’s favored franchise, the Detroit Red Wings. With no remedy forthcoming for the team’s plight, the observation seemed particularly incisive.

So Much Losing to Do, So Little Time

After an abysmal June, there was little doubt as to where the Tigers would wind up at season’s end. The Tigers won just 5 contests all month, while assembling individual losing streaks of 8 and 9 games. This included two consecutive drubbings at Fenway Park in Boston, which were lost by a combined score of 21–3. Things got fairly heated in the second contest, played on June 25, when Bobby Higginson and Alan Trammell were both ejected for arguing a called third strike. Boston’s staff ace Pedro Martinez had trouble spotting his pitches, but plate umpire Bill Miller was exceptionally generous that evening. Higginson vented his frustration after the game, openly referring to the Tigers as a “bad” club and implying that even umpires were against them.

Higginson wasn’t the only player afflicted by summer doldrums. By mid-June, left-hander Mike Maroth was on pace to lose well over 20 games. The last man to accomplish the dubious feat was Brian Kingman, who piled up exactly 20 losses for Oakland in 1980. Kingman, a big right-hander who notched a 23–45 record over five uneventful big-league seasons, was quite covetous of his status, confiding to Hal Bock of the Associated Press that he was prepared to use voodoo dolls if Maroth came within a loss or two of the mark. Apparently, the eccentric hurler had resorted to supernatural practices in the past whenever his record was threatened. It must have come as some consolation when Maroth told reporters he preferred not to be remembered in an unfavorable light. But the unlucky southpaw reluctantly stole Kingman’s thunder anyway (hex or no hex), dropping a total of 21 decisions that year.

With a record of 19–61, the Tigers stood apart as the only team in baseball history to lose 60 games before July. Soldiering on, they played .500 ball for two weeks prior to the All-Star break. When the Midsummer Classic was held on July 15 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Dmitri Young was the sole Detroit delegate. At that point, Young was hitting a solid .283, with 42 extra-base hits and 49 RBIs. His presence proved to be little more than a formality, as he never even entered the game. The AL did just fine without him, rallying for 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth to edge the Nationals, 7–6.

One of the most dramatic Detroit victories of the season occurred in the same park two days later. The Tigers jumped all over White Sox starter Bartolo Colon, chasing him from the game in the fourth inning. David Sanders wasn’t much better in relief, as Trammell’s troops opened up a 9–1 lead after 5 frames. They barely hung on as Mike Maroth began to tire in the seventh, serving up a 3-run homer to catcher Miguel Olivo. Carlos Peña’s RBI double in the eighth held up as the game-winner after the Tiger bull pen nearly blew it. Right-hander Chris Mears yielded a 3-run homer to White Sox slugger Carlos Lee in the bottom of the ninth. Carl Everett followed with a circuit blast to left field. With two out and the entire Detroit bench holding its collective breath, Paul Konerko launched another deep drive to left. It stayed in the park for a change, as the Tigers escaped with a 10–9 triumph. They went on to win just 17 more games all year.

Avoiding Infamy

August was a particularly frustrating month, as the Detroit bull pen failed to carry its weight, especially in extra innings. On August 9, Motor City firemen squandered a 4–0 lead and then allowed a 4-run Minnesota outburst in the top of the tenth. Jamie Walker was charged with a blown save, while Chris Mears was saddled with the loss. Less than two weeks later, the Tigers went toe-to-toe with Texas for 16 frames, only to have knuckleballer Steve Sparks cough up a decisive 2-run homer to Alex Rodriguez. Polishing off a slew of botched opportunities, Chris Spurling failed to preserve an 8–7 ninth-inning lead over Anaheim on August 23. When Spurling loaded the bases with Angels in the tenth, he was replaced by Wil Ledezma. The Venezuelan southpaw promptly surrendered a 2-run single to Garret Anderson and a 3-run double to Scott Speizio. When the smoke cleared, the Angels had managed to bat around for a convincing 14–8 come-from-behind victory.

Desperate for live arms, the Tigers actually offered a tryout to golfer Phil Mickelson. Ranked tenth in the world, Mickelson tossed batting practice to eighteen members of the AAA affiliate Toledo Mud Hens. A lefty golfer but right-handed pitcher, Mickelson referred to the opportunity as a “lifetime dream.” Making things interesting, he offered $300 to any player who could hit a homer off of him. None did, leaving Dave Dombrowski somewhat impressed with the performance. After careful consideration, however, the Tigers declined Mickelson’s services. They would find plenty of ways to lose without him.

A ten-game skid from September 13 to September 22 put Detroit within easy striking distance of the modern record for losses in a season with six games still left. They had been compared to the holders of that record—the 1962 New York Mets—all season long. Things couldn’t get much worse for Alan Trammell, who was called away unexpectedly to attend the funeral of his mother. In his absence, the team was suddenly left with something to play for. And so began the most important week of baseball in Detroit all year.

Like a team reborn, the Tigers crushed the Royals on the strength of an 18-hit barrage. They followed with 2 narrow victories, a 4–3 decision over Kansas City and a 5–4 nod over the Twins at home. A loss to Minnesota on September 26, the result of yet another bull pen meltdown in extra innings, brought them within one game of tying the Mets with two contests remaining. Anxieties were running high in the Motor City. Infielder Shane Halter told a reporter from the New York Times that the experience was weighing heavily upon his mind.

On September 27, Trammell’s crew fought valiantly against Ron Gardenhire’s Twins again. Starter Gary Knotts and reliever Matt Roney staked Minnesota to an 8–0 lead after five, but the surging Tigers chased four different hurlers from the mound to tie the score. In the ninth, they stole the winning run off of veteran Jesse Orosco on a wild pitch. There was no time to gloat, as they still needed to win the season finale to avoid being co-owners of the dreaded loss record. They did exactly that the next day, pushing 7 runs across in the sixth inning on the way to a stirring 9–4 victory. Having already clinched the AL Central, Ron Gardenhire pulled most of his starters, but the jubilant Comerica Park crowd could have cared less, dancing enthusiastically to Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration” after the final out was recorded. The Tigers had now won 5 of their last 6 games. Trammell expressed “relief” at how the season had ended.

The 2004 version of the club was a bit stronger, as Mike Ilitch finally reached into his wallet and hired some big-name players. Fresh from a World Series appearance with the Marlins, superstar Ivan Rodriguez was signed, along with ultra-reliable shortstop Carlos Guillen (obtained from Seattle). Rodriguez predicted that the club would turn things around, and his forecast proved accurate, as the Tigers battled the Cardinals in the 2006 Fall Classic. After a brief setback in 2008, the club went on to clinch the AL Central Division three years later.

Bright Spots of 2003

Eric Munson

A University of Southern California alumnus, Eric Munson was the Tigers’ first-round pick in the 1999 amateur draft. He starred in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup but flopped for Team USA in the World Cup the following year. A late-season call-up every year from 2000 to 2002, he remained a highly touted prospect before the 2003 campaign. A lefty hitter, the big third baseman was enjoying a breakout season when a thumb injury put him out of action in August. He hit below .250 but slugged 18 homers and drove in 50 runs despite missing a month and a half of playing time. The Tigers were forced to give up on Munson when he hit .212 in his 2004 return, while striking out 90 times in just 321 at bats. The rest of his career was nomadic, as he played for three clubs between 2005 and 2009. He was still in minor league action at the end of the 2011 slate.

Dmitri Young

Dmitri Young was chosen by the Cardinals in the first round of the 1991 amateur draft. He didn’t see major league action for another five years. When the Tigers picked him up in 2002, he was coming off of four consecutive .300 campaigns for the Reds. He saw limited action that first year in Detroit but was arguably the Tigers MVP in 2003, reaching career-highs in homers (29) and hits (167). Popular with fans, he was given the nickname “Da Meat Hook.” Used most often as a cleanup man in 2003, he was a tough two-out hitter, accruing a .310 average in those situations. He also hit at a reliable .298 pace with runners in scoring position. The year 2006 was a rough one for Young, as he faced domestic violence charges and missed a month of the season due to a clinical rehab stint for alcoholism and depression. He won Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2007 while playing for Washington. A two-time All-Star selection, he played his last big-league game in July 2008. At the time, he was suffering from diabetes induced by weight control problems. In the spring of 2012, he embarked on another comeback attempt.

Alex Sanchez

The Cuban-born Alex Sanchez had plenty of speed and proved it in his first full season, stealing 37 bases for the Brewers in 2002. One of few useful in-season transactions during the 2003 slate, the lefty-hitting center fielder was acquired by Detroit in late May for a pair of minor leaguers. He was a bit error-prone but gave the Tigers a boost at the top of the batting order. He stole 44 bags and was successful in 71 percent of his attempts. He also hit at a solid .289 pace for Detroit that year. During his five big-league seasons, Sanchez made many stops, logging time with four different clubs before leaving the majors in 2005. Almost exclusively a singles hitter, he managed just 84 extra-base hits (only 6 of them homers) in more than 1,500 plate appearances. In 2005, he suffered the ignominy of being the first major leaguer suspended for steroid use.

Jamie Walker

Jamie Walker simmered in the minors for portions of six seasons before landing a job with Kansas City in 1997. The Royals released him when he proved ineffective the following year and didn’t develop fast enough in the minors. Ever the bargain hunters, the Tigers scooped him up in 2002. He was used in short relief situations 57 times that year, posting a modest 3.71 ERA. An excellent fielder, he led the AL with an errorless season. In 2003, he was practically a daily fixture for Detroit, making 78 appearances. One of few effective bull pen members, he posted a 4–3 record and 3.32 ERA. Walker was quite busy for the Tigers in the 2006 postseason. He put up mediocre numbers in the AL Division Series against the Yankees but allowed no runs in two subsequent appearances. Last active in 2009, the lefty hurler worked at least 50 games in eight of ten big-league seasons. His 81 assignments in 2007 were tops in the AL.

Warren Morris

With bright spots hard to come by in 2003, Warren Morris stood out comparatively for his solid but not spectacular play all-around. Before arriving in Detroit, the Los Angeles native had already created several flashbulb memories on the ball field, helping the United States capture a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics, while also starring in the College World Series that year. His 2-run walk-off homer for Louisiana State University clinched the game and the championship. Morris’s major league tour was a brief one, beginning in 1999 and ending in 2003. He enjoyed a promising rookie campaign with Pittsburgh, hitting .288 and collecting 73 ribbies, but his numbers tapered off gradually over the next several seasons. In 2003, he hit at a competent .272 clip in 97 games. He also held his own defensively, placing fourth among AL second baseman with a .987 fielding percentage. Morris enjoyed his best month of the season in August, as he hit .302 and ran his cumulative average up to .291. His best day at the plate came on June 14, against Colorado, when he gathered 4 hits (one of them a solo homer) and scored three times. After leaving baseball behind of his own volition in 2005, he reportedly became a banker.

Toothless Tigers

Bobby Higginson

A popular player for many years in Detroit, Bobby Higginson was drafted by the Phillies in 1991. He passed on the opportunity and signed with the Tigers the following year. By 1995, he was playing alongside Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, and Cecil Fielder. A corner outfielder, Higginson split time equally in right and left during his eleven-year big-league stint. He hit the peak of his career in 2000, slamming 30 homers while driving in 102 runs. After that, his numbers began to take a steady dive. By 2003, his batting average was down to .235, and his power numbers were fading. His frustration showed at times during the season, especially on August 10, when he argued a strike call with umpire Doug Eddings and then flung his bat in disgust following a pop-out. The bat landed near Eddings, who was forced to scramble out of the way. Higginson was suspended after irritably referring to Eddings as a “coward” after the game. Higginson had a strong arm, leading the league in outfield assists four times, but he also finished among the top five in errors on six occasions. An elbow injury put him out of action in 2005. He later retired and took out ads in major Detroit newspapers thanking fans for their support. A free-swinger, Higginson averaged 1 strikeout for every 6 at bats in his career.

Adam Bernero

Signed as an amateur free agent in 1999, this tall right-hander spent most of 2000–2001 in the Tiger farm system. Bernero joined the parent club in 2002 and tried out various roles, with 11 starts, 12 middle relief, and 5 closing appearances. He was 4–7 with an ungainly 6.20 ERA overall. He got off to a rocky start in 2003 and was traded to Colorado in July for catcher Ben Patrick, a once-promising prospect who had fizzled in the majors. One of Bernero’s worst outings of the 2003 campaign came on May 15, when he was pulled in the fourth inning after serving up 8 runs on 8 hits to Oakland. By the time he joined the Rockies, he had accrued a 1–12 record. In Bernero’s defense, MLB.com reported in May that the Tigers were averaging just 1.22 runs whenever Bernero was the pitcher of record. Still, lefties hit .308 off of him, and his ERA was an unsavory 6.08. In all, Detroit lost 17 of the 18 games he appeared in.

Mike Maroth

Originally drafted by the Red Sox, Mike Maroth came to the Tigers in a 1999 trade for right-hander Bryce Florie. He slowly worked his way through the minors and earned a June call-up in 2002. On the heels of a mediocre debut (6–10/4.48 ERA), he led the majors with 21 losses the following year. His 123 earned runs and 34 homers surrendered were also tops in the AL during the 2003 slate. Maroth wasn’t much of a strikeout pitcher, but he did have decent command, issuing just 50 walks over 193.1 innings pitched in 2003. This did not stop him from becoming just the second hurler in Tiger history to lose his first 9 decisions. In six big-league seasons, Maroth finished .500 in the win column just twice. He was a member of the AL championship squad in 2006 but did not pitch in the postseason. He was out of the majors after the 2007 slate.

Franklyn German

Born in the Dominican Republic, this right-hander was an intimidating presence on the mound, listed at 6 feet, 7 inches and 260 pounds. His fastball was often clocked at 100-plus miles per hour, making his off-speed stuff quite difficult to hit. But that was only on a good day. In 2003, opponents rang up a .427 on-base percentage against him, as he converted just 5 of 11 save opportunities. German’s biggest problem was a tendency toward wildness. He walked 45 batters in 44.2 innings of work, while being charged with 8 wild pitches. He ended the season with a bloated 6.04 ERA. Used most often as a setup man, German’s ERA continued to spiral out of control in 2004, reaching an unmanageable 7.36. Released by Detroit in 2006, he played for Florida and Texas before leaving the big leagues in 2008.

Wil Ledezma

Some pitchers are built to go the distance, while others are more equipped for bull pen work. Wil Ledezma was definitely in the latter category, as he set an obscure record with 31 consecutive starts of 6 or fewer innings. The streak began in July of 2003, when Ledezma failed to last beyond 6 frames in 6 consecutive starts. By the end of the 2006 campaign, the left-handed Venezuelan had found his way into the record books. Ledezma kicked around the Red Sox farm system for several seasons before making his big-league debut with the Tigers in 2003. Pitching inconsistently all year, he faded down the stretch, with a 10.13 ERA after the All-Star break. He was deficient in multiple roles, as he accrued a 6.62 ERA in 8 starts and a 5.18 mark in 26 relief appearances. Lefties hit him especially well, with a .330 average and .415 on-base percentage. Ledezma left Detroit in 2007 and wore three different uniforms that year. As of December 2011, he was still active and had signed a contract with the Dodgers.