Scott Harris tempers expectations for Detroit Tigers players who are discussing winning the division in 2024.
The Detroit Tigers are embarking on their second full season under the leadership of President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris. Harris has emphasized that his focus for the franchise in the 2024 season is to maintain their progress as a team and to facilitate the development of the young players on the roster. However, he didn’t echo the sentiments of his players who are thinking about the Tigers winning the division crown for the first time in a decade.
Scott Harris says that the Detroit Tigers haven’t earned the right to discuss a playoff berth or division crown
Harris acknowledges the talent within the group of players but emphasizes that they have not yet earned the right to discuss playoff berths.
“The goal right now has to be the step in front of us,” Harris said. “This is a talented group, but it’s a young group. It’s going to be one of the youngest position-playing groups in all of baseball. Candidly, we haven’t earned the right to talk about division titles or playoff berths yet.
“We have to focus on getting a lot better over the next six weeks. We have to focus on outlining for our players how they can get better as individuals. Because if they get better as individuals, we’re going to stack those games and get a lot better as a team.”
Earlier today, Spencer Torkelson joined 97.1 The Ticket and explained that it was the team’s mindset to win the American League Central.
“I think everyone knows we can win this division,” Torkelson said. “And I don’t think it even matters what the other teams in the division are doing in the offseason. It doesn’t matter what names they have on their roster, anyone can be beat. Just going in with that mindset and definitely setting that expectation that this is our division.”
But for Harris, winning the division and earning a playoff spot isn’t a common topic of discussion that he has with his staff.
“We have to focus on what we’re doing right in front of us,” Harris said. “We can’t get caught up in division titles and playoff berths or the AL Central or all of the narratives that are out there. It’s fun to see them, but we just don’t really talk about that internally.”
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Tigers are embarking on their 2nd full season under the leadership of President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris
- In comments made earlier today, Harris stated that his goal for the team this season is to continue in the right direction and for the young players to take the next step
- Harris also stated that the Tigers haven’t earned the right to discuss winning the division or earning a playoff berth yet
Bottom Line: Is Harris preaching patience?
We’ve witnessed a notable example of a team executive preaching patience, as Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman has reiterated numerous times that his team’s rebuilding process will require patience and that fans should temper their expectations regarding progress until the team is truly prepared.
It appears that Harris is following a similar approach to Yzerman by attempting to temper the expectations of Detroit Tigers players and even fans who are eagerly anticipating the Tigers earning the division title in 2024.
