For those of you who have followed former Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler throughout his 12-year Major League Baseball career, there is a perfect word to describe his style of play.
That word is, “scrappy.”
After all, Kinsler is the type of player who seems to give his all on every pitch.
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So, it kind of caught us off guard a bit today when we read Kinsler’s most recent comments about being traded to the Los Angeles Angels, specifically his comment about having more intensity and focus when a player is on a good team.
From The Orange County Register:
“Last year was a tough year for the whole organization, myself included, in Detroit,” he said, “but when you get on a club where there’s excitement and you have a bunch of really good baseball players — besides the numbers, just guys that understand how to play baseball — it ups your intensity and focus. I’m excited and I look to perform the same way I have my whole career, minus last year.”
After batting .288 with 28 home runs and 83 RBIs in 2016, Kinsler took a big step back in 2017 as he hit .236 with 22 home runs and 52 RBIs.
As we know, Kinsler was not the only Tigers player to have a down year as Miguel Cabrera turned in the worst season of his career during the Tigers 98-loss campaign.
Ian also talked to the OCR about how former Tigers outfielder and current Angel Justin Upton helped him to make his decision to waive his limited no-trade clause, allowing the trade to get completed.
“Justin loved his time there so far, and I put a lot of trust in his opinion,” Kinsler said on a conference call with Southern California media. “It obviously made me real interested in the Angels.”
If Kinsler was not 100% focused in 2017, it is completely understandable as it was a very difficult season for the Tigers as an organization. We will just have to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one and look forward to watching him continue his amazing career.
Even if it is in the enemy’s uniform.
