On Friday night, Justin Verlander will take the next step in his remarkable season by starting Game 1 of the World Series against the Phillies. For all that he’s accomplished in a career that will likely gain him first-ballot entry into the Hall of Fame, success in the Fall Classic has eluded him, but not for lack of opportunity. He does have a World Series ring from the Astros’ 2017 championship (tainted though it is by subsequent revelations of the team’s illegal electronic sign-stealing), but on a personal level, his Series history has combined some bad luck with a few real clunkers.

A nine-time All-Star with three no-hitters and two Cy Young awards under his belt (with a third probably on the way), Verlander is the active leader in wins (244), strikeouts (3,198, 12th all-time), and S-JAWS (64.0, 20th all-time). That’s the resumé of a surefire Hall of Famer, and we’re talking about one who’s still near the peak of his powers. At 39 years old, he’s coming off an historic season (the best for any Tommy John surgery recipient in the back half of his 30s), and that after missing nearly two full seasons. Despite losing 18 days late in the season to a right calf injury, he led the AL in ERA (1.75), xERA (2.66), and WAR (6.4), ranking third in FIP (2.49) and fifth in K-BB% (23.4%). After getting tagged for six runs and 10 hits by the Mariners in the Division Series opener, he dominated the Yankees by strking out 11 and allowing just one run in six innings in the ALCS opener. He’s still lighting up the radar gun at 98 mph when he needs it.

But while he’s pitched some postseason gems in his career — including a complete-game, four-hit shutout against the A’s in the deciding game of the 2012 Division Series; a 13-strikeout, one-run complete game against the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS (the last postseason complete game); and five other starts with at least 10 strikeouts and at most one run allowed — he’s never come close to a dominant World Series start. In fact, he’s 0–6 with a 5.68 ERA in seven starts totaling 38 innings, with a whopping nine homers (2.1 per nine) allowed. Those numbers stand out for all of the wrong reasons.

For one thing, those six losses are more than any other World Series pitcher besides Whitey Ford, who lost eight times, albeit in a record 22 starts, and the Chairman of the Board offset that with 10 wins, also a record. You know how we feel about pitcher wins and losses around here; they’re imperfect barometers of performance that greatly depend upon the support one receives from their offense, defense, and bullpen. But they are a subject of discussion in this context.

As you can probably surmise, Verlander has the most World Series starts of any pitcher without a win:

That list has some pretty good pitchers, but no Hall of Famers; Brown is probably the closest besides Verlander, but for all of the work he did in helping the Marlins and Padres get to the World Series (four postseason wins in six starts including a two-hit shutout in NLCS Game 2 in 1998), three of his four stats there were ugly. Newcombe had a great debut in 1949 (eight innings, 11 strikeouts, one run) but wound up on the wrong end of a 1–0 score and thereafter made it past the fourth inning just one time in four tries. Root gave up Babe Ruth’s “Called Shot.” Williams was one of the eight players permanently banned from baseball for helping to fix the 1919 World Series.

Meanwhile, Verlander has the eighth-highest ERA of any pitcher with at least 20 innings in World Series starts:

My, but that’s a lot of Dodgers; six of the 15 highest starter ERAs are linked to the franchise, including four from their 1947–56 run of six pennants. They lost five of those World Series (1947, ’49, ’52, ’53, and ’56) but won in 1955, with Newcombe, Erskine, Craig, and Loes all making one start; only Craig’s netted a win or was any good. It was left up to Johnny Podres, whose two starts included a Game 7 shutout, to play the hero.

Note that several of these pitchers also made relief appearances that aren’t included within the data above, including Kershaw, whose four shutout innings under desperate circumstances in Game 7 of 2017 (after Yu Darvish was chased) lowers his overall World Series ERA to 4.46. It took two very good starts in the 2020 World Series, where he was instrumental in securing that elusive World Series ring, to get him down from 5.40 — a reminder that so much of this is just a matter of repeated opportunities, not an inability to perform at his peak at this level.

For as bad as the overall numbers are, not all of Verlander’s World Series starts have been dreadful. Here’s the game log, followed by a quick summary of each start.

2006 Game 1, Tigers vs. Cardinals

After debuting the previous September, the 23-year-old Verlander won AL Rookie of the Year honors (17–9. 3.63 ERA), but he was erratic in the postseason — able to hit triple digits but lacking in command. He scuffled in his Division Series start against the Yankees and ALCS start against the A’s, lasting 5.1 innings in both and allowing a total of seven runs. Facing the Cardinals, who had gone just 83–78 but who had a star-studded lineup, he needed 18 pitches to get through the first inning, striking out Albert Pujols to end it. He surrendered a solo homer to Scott Rolen in the second, and Pujols exacted revenge with two-run homer in the third, that after Chris Duncan had doubled home a run. Verlander didn’t retire any of the three batters he faced in the fifth, allowing one run before departing (via a Jim Edmonds single) and getting charged with two, one unearned, after leaving. Not pretty.

2006 Game 5, Tigers vs. Cardinals

Verlander got the ball again with the Tigers trailing three games to one, and he certainly pitched better than in the opener, but he couldn’t hold out against the team of destiny and was outpitched by former Tiger Jeff Weaver. The Cardinals singled the rookie into submission, with David Eckstein driving in a run in the second and another in the fourth, the latter of which gave St. Louis a 3–2 lead. Before that run, a Verlander throwing error on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Weaver — his second error of the series and the fifth by a Tigers hurler — kindled a Tim McCarver lecture about the importance of pitcher fielding practice that some say is still going.

2012 Game 1, Tigers vs. Giants

After allowing just two runs in 24.1 innings across three starts in the first two playoff rounds against the A’s and Yankees (with pitch counts of 121, 122, and 132), Verlander had a full seven days of rest before his World Series start after the Tigers swept the Yankees. Maybe the rust was to blame for this one. He served up a solo homer to Pablo Sandoval in the first, then a two-run shot to Sandoval in the third after Marco Scutaro drove in a run. In the fourth, opposite number Barry Zito even drove in a run. Sandoval would homer again to complete the trifecta, but it came against Al Alburquerque in the fifth, with Verlander having already hit the showers. He never got a second chance in this series, as the Tigers were swept.

2017 Game 2, Astros vs. Dodgers

Traded to the Astros on August 31 after a 12-year run with the Tigers, Verlander was stellar down the stretch, pitching to a 1.06 ERA in five starts and striking out 43 in 34 innings. He carried that momentum in to the playoffs, even winning ALCS MVP honors against the Yankees by allowing just one run in 16 innings, striking out 21.

For the first time, Verlander pitched pretty well in a World Series game, retiring the first nine Dodgers and not surrendering a hit until Joc Pederson’s solo homer in the fifth. He found trouble with two outs in the sixth, walking Chris Taylor and then yielding a two-run homer to Corey Seager before departing on the short end of a 3–1 score. The Astros got him off the hook, scoring runs off Kenley Jansen in the eighth and ninth, and wound up winning a wild one — featuring a total of five homers in the 10th and 11th — in 11 innings.

2017 Game 6, Astros vs. Dodgers

After the Astros won Game 5, 13–12, Verlander took the mound with a chance to clinch a championship. He hung zeroes through the first five frames, with a second-inning single by Yasiel Puig the only blemish. Meanwhile, George Springer’s homer off Rich Hill put the Astros up 1–0. But after Austin Barnes led off the sixth with a single, the Dodgers’ lineup went to town in its third look at Verlander. After Chase Utley was hit with a pitch, Taylor hit a game-tying RBI double, and Seager followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Dodgers the lead. Verlander departed after stranding Taylor at third, but the Dodgers held on to win, 3–1, and extend the series to Game 7.

2019 Game 2, Astros vs. Nationals

This time around, Verlander reached the World Series after two very good and two not-so-good starts in the Division Series against the Rays and ALCS against the Yankees. He got off on the wrong foot here, as the first three Nationals reached safely, with Anthony Rendon smacking a two-run double on an 0–2 pitch to put Verlander in the hole immediately. Alex Bregman‘s two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg tied the game in the bottom of the first, and while Verlander didn’t throw a 1-2-3 inning until the sixth, he did his part to keep the game tied until serving up a solo homer to Kurt Suzuki to lead off the seventh. He departed after walking Victor Robles, which kindled a five-run rally on Ryan Pressly’s watch. The game ended as a 12–3 rout, but for those first six innings, it was a tight one.

2019 Game 6, Astros vs. Nationals

After the Nationals won Games 1 and 2 on the road, the Astros went to Washington and took the next three, so Verlander once again took the mound with a chance to clinch. As in Game 2, Rendon plated a first-inning run, this time with an RBI single. The Astros answered with two runs off Strasburg in the bottom of the first, but Verlander gave up the lead with solo homers by Adam Eaton and Juan Soto in the fifth and left trailing 3–2. Again, the Nationals broke the game open in the late innings, winning 7–2 and forcing a Game 7. Astros manager A.J. Hinch ruled out using Verlander, who had thrown 93 pitches, in relief but did not rule out using Game 5 starter Gerrit Cole. He didn’t get the call either as the Astros fell.

In all, that’s not a great track record. Verlander sometimes struggled early, and sometimes was dealing until he wasn’t. He’s made three quality starts out of seven and lost a fourth one by lingering past the sixth. He hasn’t gotten an out in the seventh or later in any of those starts and has only topped 100 pitches twice. To be fair, he also hasn’t had much margin for error, as his teams have scored just 20 runs in his seven starts; the one time they scored more than three (Game 2 in 2017), four of the runs came in extra innings. That he’s never left a World Series game with a lead isn’t entirely his fault.

The good news for Verlander is that he gets another shot; having another chance to pitch in a World Series is no doubt one of the reasons he re-signed with the Astros in the first place. If Reggie Jackson’s line, “When you have the bat in your hand, you can always change the story,” is true for a hitter in a big spot, then same thing is true for a pitcher taking the mound in a World Series opener. Just by doing so, Verlander, at 39 years and 250 days old, will become the fourth-oldest pitcher to start Game 1 of the Fall Classic:

Another rough start won’t break Verlander’s legacy any more than a great one will make it. He’s one of the all-time greats, regardless of what happens against the Phillies, but his career will feel that much more complete if he pitches up to his potential.

Director – Software Engineering

Job Summary:
The Detroit Tigers are currently seeking a Director, Software Engineering. This role will be responsible for the development and maintenance of software projects within Baseball Operations. This position will report to the Vice President, Assistant General Manager.

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform general development and maintenance tasks for the upkeep of internally developed software products.
• Use modern software techniques and best practices in all parts of the software life cycle.
• Supervise, provide feedback, and guide project work conducted by external consultants.
• Manage the integration of baseball analysis into our proprietary tools and applications.
• Provide coverage for the maintenance of software tools for other developers as situations arise.
• Assist with the design and development of new software products.
• Monitor, identify and recommend new or emerging techniques, technologies, and algorithms. 
• Meet with vendors and make recommendations for investment in new data and technology resources.
• Other projects as directed by the Baseball Operations leadership team.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• BS degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, similar technical field of study, or equivalent real-time experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge in developing in a Web-based object-oriented product environment.
• Minimum of four (4) years of programming experience in and strong knowledge of the following technologies:
• Java and Developing Java Web-based Applications
• JavaScript and CSS along with related front-end technologies.
• Full Stack Development experience is highly preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge in working with medium-to-large-scale relational databases.
• Expert level SQL Skills – Microsoft SQL Server experience is a plus.
• Ability to work in all phases of the product lifecycle, from requirements gathering to design, testing, and implementation.
• Experience deploying and managing web applications in the cloud, Azure preferred.
• Ability to learn new technologies and techniques as necessary.
• Familiarity with the sport of baseball, baseball-specific data, modern statistical techniques, and sabermetric analysis.
• Demonstrated leadership and self-direction.
• Demonstrated project management, problem-solving, and teaching abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate difficult and complex concepts to colleagues possessing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.
• Team player.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Experience with NoSQL Databases.
• Knowledge of streaming video.
• Experience or knowledge in any of the following technologies is a plus.
• Spring applications
• REST APIs
• GraphQL APIs
• Redis
• Service Bus messaging
• JUnit and Mockito for backend test cases
• Angular JS – Version 1.x a plus
• Bootstrap
• Build Tools (Maven, Gulp, and Bower)
• GIT/BitBucket
• DevOps Pipelines and CI/CD deployments
• Karma Test Cases
• Docker and Container Services
• Site Monitoring (Azure App Insights)

Working Conditions:

• Office environment; open to remote employees. 
• Evening, weekend, and holiday hours are required.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Detroit Tigers.

Additional Detroit Tigers job openings (Multiple Analyst Positions) are available here.

Product Manager

Location: Detroit, MI
Department: Baseball Operations

Job Summary:
The Detroit Tigers are currently seeking a Product Manager, Baseball Operations. This role will be responsible for owning the product roadmap for internal baseball systems. This position will report to the Director, Software Engineering, Baseball Operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Deliver products and features that drive baseball decisions
• Work with baseball stakeholders to understand and document user needs
• Work with software engineering team to implement software solutions
• Prioritize the roadmap for proprietary software systems
• Maximize product value

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• 3+ years of software product experience (Product Manager, Product Owner, Business Analyst, or similar title)
• Track record of delivering product value
• Ability to turn user stories into actionable technical requirements
• Ability to coordinate between technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organization and planning skills
• Ability to take initiative and make decisions
• Understanding of the complete software development lifecycle
• Passion for baseball and robust understanding of current baseball research

Preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• General familiarity with data, databases, data analytics, data science, and data modeling – SQL experience preferred
• Background in software development, understanding of technical design considerations and tradeoffs
• Experience creating feature mock-ups or wireframes
• Familiarity with issue tracking systems and workflows
• Experience with software testing or quality assurance
• Experience with technical project management and agile methodologies
• Experience in sports or supporting sports personnel – softball or baseball preferred

Working Conditions:

• Office environment
• Evening, weekend, and holiday hours required

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

UI/UX Engineer

Location: Detroit, MI
Department: Baseball Operations

Job Summary:
The Detroit Tigers are currently seeking a UI/UX Engineer, Baseball Operations. This role will be responsible for optimizing the user experience for internal baseball applications. This position will report to the Director, Software Engineering, Baseball Operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Implement consistent, easy-to-use interfaces for internal software systems
• Maximize user productivity using modern web design concepts
• Design web applications that work well for various users, in various scenarios, on various devices
• Conduct user behavior research and create usability metrics to help inform product decisions
• Communicate complex data concepts with intuitive, aesthetic designs

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• 2+ years of UI/UX experience on interactive web applications
• Demonstrated ability to implement web front ends in HTML/CSS/JavaScript
• Understanding of user interface design principles with ability to implement those principles in real-world applications
• Experience with responsive web design for multiple form factors and layouts, including mobile devices
• Creative problem-solving ability in an agile team environment
• Ability to own user experience, make decisions, and write clear documentation for both technical and non-technical users
• Ability to collect usability metrics and use data to drive decision-making
• Ability to balance design considerations for a wide range of users with different needs, workflows, and configurations
• Passion for baseball and robust understanding of current baseball research

Preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Experience working with modern JavaScript frameworks such as React or Angular
• Familiarity with data and statistics, especially visualization libraries such as D3
• Experience working on a cross-functional software development team using standard tools for source control, issue tracking, documentation, etc.
• Experience with databases and data concepts, especially SQL
• Ability to create reusable components or libraries and maintain style guidelines
• Familiarity with design tools for rapid prototyping
• Familiarity with public baseball websites, terminology, statistics, and visualizations
• Experience in sports and/or working with sports data, especially softball or baseball

Working Conditions:

• Office environment
• Evening, weekend, and holiday hours required

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

em>The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Detroit Tigers.

Additional Detroit Tigers job openings (Product Manager, UI/UX Engineer) are available here.

Principal Quantitative Analyst

Location: Detroit, MI
Department: Baseball Operations

Job Summary:
The Detroit Tigers are currently seeking a full-time Principal Quantitative Analyst in the Baseball Operations Department. This role will be responsible for performing analyses and conducting research within Baseball Operations. This position will report to the Director, Baseball Research & Development.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Develop and productionize Bayesian models to support Baseball Operations decision-making.
2. Assist with the integration of baseball analysis into our proprietary tools and applications.
3. Provide technical guidance to Analysts and Analytics Associates.
4. Complete ad hoc data queries and effectively present analysis through the use of written reports and data visualizations.
5. Monitor, identify and recommend new or emerging techniques, technologies, models and algorithms.
6. Other projects as directed by Baseball Operations leadership team.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. Ph.D. in statistics, mathematics, computer science, or a related quantitative field or equivalent professional experience (3-5 years).
2. Experience applying Bayesian statistical techniques (e.g. Bayesian hierarchical models) to real-world problems.
3. Demonstrated expert-level knowledge of baseball-specific data and sabermetric analysis.
4. Relevant work experience with statistical software (R, STATA, SPSS, SAS, or similar) and scripting languages such as Python.
5. Expertise with SQL and relational databases is required.
6. Experience with cloud computing preferred.
7. Self-starter.
8. Team player.
9. Ability to work evenings, weekends and holidays as dictated by the baseball calendar.

Working Conditions:

1. Office environment
2. Evening, weekend, and holiday hours required

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Analyst

Location: Detroit, MI
Department: Baseball Operations

Job Summary:
The Detroit Tigers are currently seeking a full-time Analyst in the Baseball Operations Department. This role will be responsible for performing analyses and conducting research within Baseball Operations. This position will report to the Director, Baseball Research & Development.

Key Responsibilities:

• Perform advanced quantitative analysis to support Baseball Operations decision-making, including predictive modeling and player projection systems.
• Complete ad hoc data queries and effectively present analysis using written reports and data visualizations.
• Assist with the integration of baseball analysis into our proprietary tools and applications.
• Contribute to baseball decision-making by generating ideas for player acquisition, roster construction and in-game strategies.
• Support the current data warehousing process within Baseball Operations.
• Monitor, identify and recommend new or emerging techniques, technologies, models, and algorithms.
• Other projects as directed by Baseball Operations leadership team.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated expert-level knowledge of baseball-specific data, modern statistical techniques, and sabermetric analysis.
• Expertise with SQL and relational databases is required.
• Relevant work experience with statistical software (R, STATA, SPSS, SAS, or similar) and scripting languages such as Python.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate difficult and complex concepts to colleagues possessing a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.
• Degree or equivalent experience in statistics, mathematics, computer science, or a related quantitative field.
• Self-starter.
• Team player.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends and holidays as dictated by the baseball calendar.

Working Conditions:

• Office environment
• Evening, weekend, and holiday hours required

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Biomechanist

Location: Detroit, MI
Department: Performance Science, Baseball Operations

Job Summary:
This role will assist with the delivery of performance science solutions within Baseball Operations. The biomechanist will be responsible for translating biomechanical data into applied, actionable outcomes to be used by staffs to optimize performance. This role will work closely with Baseball Analytics, Player Development, Strength and Conditioning, Sports Medicine and Coaching staffs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Collect, analyze, and report on data from various performance science sources, including in-game biomechanical data.
• Maintain data quality and integrity for all biomechanical data.
• Collaborate with coaching staffs and external consultants to design and develop metrics and reports aimed at maximizing player performance.
• Work closely with the Director, Performance Science to develop and disseminate information from performance science initiatives.
• Assist with data management, organization, and integration into the organization’s databases and athlete management system.
• Assist with implementation and maintenance of existing performance science initiatives across the organization, including data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Assist with the design, development, testing and support of new performance science initiatives.
• Effectively collaborate and communicate with player development, coaching, sports medicine, strength and conditioning and front office staff.
• Review research and technology updates relevant to baseball performance.
• Perform exploratory performance science research projects and analysis as directed.
• Assist with the maintenance, calibration, and upkeep of performance science related equipment.
• Other duties as directed by Director, Performance Science

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• A graduate level degree or 3+ years of experience in biomechanics or performance science is required.
• Demonstrated experience with the following technologies preferred: Force plates, IMUs, and motion capture.
• Demonstrated experience with modeling and analyzing 3D motion capture data required.
• Research or applied experience in professional sport strongly preferred.
• Experience using an athlete management system.
• The ideal candidate must have excellent computer skills. Proficiency in R highly desirable.
• The ideal candidate must have excellent communication skills. Candidate must be able to convey complex performance science findings to relevant staffs.
• The ideal candidate must have excellent attention to detail.
• The ideal candidate must have excellent organizational skills.
• Previous experience working with professional athletes and coaches a plus.
• The ideal candidate must be willing to work longs hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.
• The candidate must be available full-time.
• Willing and able to relocate to the Lakeland, FL area or Detroit metro area.

Working Conditions:

• Office environment
• Evening, weekend, and holiday hours required

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Detroit Tigers.

Riley Greene was 18 years old and only three months removed from being drafted fifth-overall when he was first featured here at FanGraphs in September 2019. Harking back to our earlier conversation, I asked the Detroit Tigers rookie outfielder what he knows now that he didn’t know then.

“When I first started, I didn’t really think about much,”replied Greene, who celebrated his 22nd birthday four days ago. “I kind of just went up there, and was free-swinging almost. I was a young kid who didn’t really know anything. Since then, I’ve come up with a routine and am more educated on what I need to do at the plate. I have a plan. Whether it works or not is up the baseball gods.”

The extent to which the baseball gods have been on his side is relative. Greene isn’t exactly setting the world on fire — he has a 100 wRC+ and five home runs in 400 plate appearances — but again, he’s been old enough to take a legal drink for barely over a year. He also came into the season with just 198 professional games under his belt, only 55 at the Triple-A level. His potential far exceeds his present.

In some respects, Greene is much the same player Detroit drafted in the first round out of Oviedo, Florida’s Paul J. Hagerty High School. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in the 1950s, Hall of Fame slugger Ralph Kiner famously said that “singles hitters drive Fords and home run hitters drive Cadillacs.” Michael Massey’s grandmother may or may not have been familiar with the quote, but she did her best to send the 24-year-old Kansas City Royals rookie down the right road. I learned as much when I asked Massey about his first big-league blast, which came on August 18 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

“What I thought of when I hit it was my nana,” said Massey, who grew up in the Chicago area and went on to play his college ball at the University of Illinois. “She passed away toward the end of last season — she was 93 — and growing up she’d always give me a hundred bucks for every home run I hit. She loved it when I hit home runs, and did that for every league I played in.”

Massey has never tallied up his earnings from over the years, although he does acknowledge that the benevolence was bountiful. Along with his homers in youth leagues, high school, and college, he left the yard 21 times in High-A last year.

His grandmother — his mother’s mother — escaped Illinois winters by vacationing in Florida, and eventually became a snowbird. That the Sunshine State became her “favorite place in the world” made Massey’s first MLB home run even more special. And the memories include much more than money. The family matriarch regularly played whiffle ball with him when he was growing up, and she wasn’t just a fan of her grandson. She loved baseball. Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 993

On this episode of the podcast, we sit down with a veteran major league manager before considering the latest Triple Crown chase.

• To kick things off, David Laurila welcomes A.J. Hinch, former catcher and current manager of the Detroit Tigers. Hinch recently passed Rogers Hornsby on the all-time managerial wins list, and he isn’t upset to hear the comparison. We learn what it is like to work with pitching coach Chris Fetter and vice president of player development Ryan Garko as they lead this group of young Tigers and try to prepare the team’s next competitive core. We also get insight into Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Alex Faedo, Beau Brieske, Joey Wentz, Matt Manning, and more. And although this segment was recorded just before the Tigers announced their new president of baseball operations, we hear why Hinch wasn’t interested in the role and instead has his focus on the field. Hinch also shares his thoughts on how important it is for pitchers to get strikeouts, the fences moving at Comerica Park and elsewhere, bench coach George Lombard’s potential future in managing, and the rule changes that will limit defensive shifting starting in 2023. [4:40]
• In the second half, Ben Clemens is joined by Dan Szymborski to banter about the latest baseball happenings, highlighted by the possibility of a Triple Crown-winning hitter. Aaron Judge is within reach of the goal, and while Paul Goldschmidt is unlikely to nab it in the National League, he does find himself in an MVP race with teammate Nolan Arenado. Ben and Dan discuss the top-heavy Yankees and Cardinals, the rebuilding and still-intriguing Detroit Tigers, J.P. Feyreisen’s under-the-radar achievement, and why it is really difficult to believe reports out of front offices. Finally, Dan shares why he enjoys (playfully) misleading his friends and family, and why he has ended up with more snacks than he needs. [34:42]

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Audio after the jump. (Approximate 74 minute play time.)

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Jackson Jobe has a bright future. Currently first in our Detroit Tigers prospect rankings, the 20-year-old right-hander is coming off a first full professional season during which he logged a 3.94 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 77-and-a-third innings spent between Low-A Lakeland and High-A West Michigan. Drafted third overall last year out of Oklahoma City’s Heritage Hall High School, he pairs an array of plus offerings with elite athleticism. What’s more, according to our own Eric Longenhagen, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Jobe “would have been a Day Two pick as a position player.”

Jobe discussed his early-career development, as well as the pitches in his power arsenal, at the conclusion of the Midwest League season.

———

David Laurila: Along with pitching, you showed a lot of promise as a position player. At what point did it become clear that your future was on the mound?

Jackson Jobe: “I’ve always pitched a little bit. Growing up, I always had a good arm — obviously, you’ve got to have a good arm to play shortstop — but I want to say it was my junior year. My junior year spring was COVID, so I only got one outing before our whole season got banged. At that point, I just kept training. Then summer came around, and they were still doing some of the showcases.

“Perfect Game had a showcase — I want to say it was PG National — and I got invited there to play shortstop and pitch a few innings. I ended up throwing really well. It kind of just clicked, I guess. I threw harder than I’d ever done before. The slider was good. From that point forward, my phone was blowing up with agents and scouts. That was kind of the beginning for me as far as pitching goes.” Read the rest of this entry »

Ty Madden has established himself as one of the top pitching prospects in the Detroit Tigers system. Drafted 32nd overall last year out of the University of Texas, the 22-year-old right-hander has a 2.92 ERA to go with 119 strikeouts and just 88 hits allowed in 114 innings between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie. Moreover, he’s been especially impressive since earning an early-August promotion. Over his last four starts, Madden has fanned 29 Eastern League batters while surrendering just three runs in 22-and-a-third innings.

Earlier this summer, I asked Madden how much the organization’s analytics-driven pitching program has impacted his development.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot since coming to pro ball,” said Madden, who was still in High-A when we spoke. “Before, I knew a good amount of the information, but I didn’t really know what to do with it. The staff here has kind of taught me what these numbers mean — when they’re good versus when they’re bad — and there are also the analytics for hitters. Along with knowing your own stuff, there is the game plan and how to go against that particular lineup.” Read the rest of this entry »

On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers fired general manager Al Avila. Mired in last place in the American League Central in what was supposed to be a resurgent season, the firing fit the mood around Detroit. This was meant to be the Tigers’ triumphant return to postseason contention, a culmination of seven years of stockpiling and honing. Instead, it’s been another lost season, adding to the gulf that separates today’s Tigers from the perennial World Series contenders of a decade ago.

It didn’t have to happen this way. Going into the year, we projected the Tigers as a 76-win team. That projection felt conservative; they won 77 games in 2021 and added Javier Báez and Eduardo Rodriguez to a promising core of young talent. Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Matt Manning all stood ready to anchor the rotation. Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene, two of the top prospects in all of baseball, would give the offense a boost. On the eve of the season, they added Austin Meadows. All of the arrows were pointing up.

Four months later, all of that optimism has disappeared. Báez is having one of his worst years as a professional. Rodriguez got hurt early in the year and then hit the restricted list while dealing with a personal matter. He last pitched in the majors on May 18; when he took the mound for Single-A Lakeland this past Saturday, it was his first game action since June 9. Meadows, the third piece of the team’s major league talent trifecta, has missed extended time with a laundry list of injuries, and playing hurt when available has resulted in sub-replacement-level production.

That alone would hurt the offense, but it gets worse. Torkelson, who came into the season as our fifth-ranked prospect overall, made the Opening Day roster. To put it mildly, things haven’t gone according to plan since. His .197/.282/.295 line led to a demotion to Triple-A, where he’s also scuffled. Greene broke his foot in spring training and hasn’t lit the world on fire since joining the big league club in June. Read the rest of this entry »