Story by Sam Bell, Sports Editor
Image courtesy of pexels.com

With the Detroit Tigers 2017 season officially in the books, it’s safe to say it was not their best year. They ended the season with a 64-98 record, 34 games under .500.

Although the season was full of disappointment, there was at least one game that had fans from all walks of baseball in awe. On Sept. 30, Tigers super utility man Andrew Romine did something only four others had done before him; played all nine positions in one game. This happens even less than a perfect game or four homers in a game, and the last time it happened was Oct. 1, 2000 by Shane Halter.

Heartbreak would be the descriptive word to use for the season with the moves made both on and off the field by the organization. Throughout the summer months, Tigers fans were groaning as beloved players Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez, Alex Avila and Justin Upton were traded away.

Along with these permanent losses, the Tigers were plagued with key injuries throughout the season. Arguably the biggest hit they took was with Victor Martinez, who had to call it quits due to heart issues. Miguel Cabrera also seemed to not be at 100% throughout the whole season, and has not played since finding out he has two herniated disks on Sept. 25.

There might be a light at the end of the tunnel, however. The Tigers announced on Sept. 22 that they would not be bringing back manager Brad Ausmus, which was followed by cheers of joy throughout Michigan. It is unclear at this time if there are any front-runners as far as who will replace Ausmus at the helm next season, but what is for certain is the view of a need for change at all levels of the Tigers organization.

Also, some of the young guys that have joined the squad this season have shown some real progress throughout the season. For example Jeimer Candelario, whom the Tigers acquired when they traded Alex Avila to the Cubs, has shown the potential he has as a big-league star at just 23 years old. He ended the season leading the Tigers in batting average at .344.

So as we try to make it through another Michigan winter, we can look forward to a better season next year as well as the first overall pick in the MLB Draft. Be sure to keep up with the Tigers this offseason, and we will see them again in Feb. for Spring Training.