Let's face it. The 2017 Detroit Tigers season has been, to put it nicely, a train wreck. Heading into the season, not many were picking them to beat out the Cleveland Indians for the American League Central Division crown, but even fewer picked them to be one of the worst teams in the worst teams in baseball.
But that's exactly what they are with just 30 games remaining in the season. At 58-74 (.439 winning %), the Tigers currently have the 5th worst winning percentage in Major League Baseball, despite having a HUGE payroll.
This week, the Tigers sent their season ticket holders a letter admitting it's been a “frustrating” and “difficult” season. But that “apology” was over before the end of the first paragraph of the letter. The rest of the letter sounded more like a car salesman doing their best to stop a potential buyer from walking out the door.
The rest of the letter, which was signed by Tigers Al Avila (Executive VP of Baseball Operations and GM) and Duane McLean (Executive VP of Business Operations), sounded more like a car salesman doing their best to stop a potential buyer from walking out the door.
“As you know, the franchise is transitioning into a new era, and that transition is well under way. For starters, the construction of our Major League roster is taking on a more “home-grown” approach. We have committed to spending and investing significant resources in player development – including the addition of domestic and international scouts, minor league instructors, support programs for players, world-class facilities in Lakeland and renovations to our Dominican Academy. Further investment has been made in the aggressive build-out of our analytics department, and the introduction of Caesar, a decision-support program that houses reports from our talent evaluators, as well as baseball analytics.”
What do you think, Nation? If you are a season ticket holder for the Tigers, is this letter enough to get you to renew for the 2018 season?
H/T to Detroit Free Press for photo of letter
