How many of you were reading about the changes in the dugouts of both New York and St. Louis this weekend and thinking about the Tigers instead?
I was.
The Yankees fired half of their top coaches while there are rumors that their manager’s future is unknown. And things aren’t looking too good either for their GM, Brian Cashman.
Why? Because they won 92 games this year and “only” managed a wild card berth in the playoffs. And then lost the one-game contest.
Why? Because they lost in the playoffs in 2020 and the owner, GM, manager and players apologized to the fans for letting them down.
Why? Because the Yankees, for the first time ever, didn’t win a World Series in this last decade.
Why? Because the fans have had enough and have their pitchforks at the ready. They’ve learned to expect the best from their Bronx Bombers.
It’s not enough for them to experience playoff baseball every year. They are still upset over the ageing player issues of 2013 and 2014 that kept the team from playing in October. And even the 1-year rebuild of 2016. (Imagine that, a 1-year rebuild for a baseball team….) But otherwise, they saw the Yankees go to the playoffs every single year.
They are all upset that the Yankees haven’t won a World Series since 2009. Twelve years ago. NY fans call it a drought. They call it unacceptable.
Now, the Cardinals.
They fired their manager, Mike Schildt, of 3 (and a partial season) years. The same man who took them to the playoffs each of those 3 years. The same man who led them to 90 wins this year and a franchise record-setting win streak. The same man who was just recently NL Manager of the Year.
Part of the reason had to do with the perception of “underperformance.”
The Cards’ last losing year was 2007, but just barely. Since 2009, they made the playoffs for 9 years with 1 WS win.
What these 2 teams have in common is consistency. The ability to turn out a quality, winning product year after year. Fans don’t have to worry about rebuilds or unwatchable seasons in these 2 cities.
They also have a priority of practicing excellence. They don’t suffer fools or try to spin a bad product. Heck, they even refuse to put a bad product on the field.
They also don’t have a lot of patience. They set the bar high and expect superior results from everyone. And if it’s not there, then that person is gone. Doesn’t matter who it is.
Schildt had been a Cardinal for 18 years and had one year left on his contract.
That one year was just too long for St. Louis to wait any longer. Their goal, as they stated, is a World Series ring in 2022.
Because 8 years in-between hoisting the trophy is too long to wait.
These habits and expectations are why the Cards have won 11 World Series.
And why the Yankees have won 40 pennants and 27 World Series.
It’s also why the Detroit Tigers, one of baseball’s oldest teams, has only won 11 pennants and 4 World Series.
And why it’s been 37 years since they’ve won a World Series. If you’re keeping count, the Tigers average 1 World Series every 30 years. The Yankees, on the other hand, average a World Series win every 4.5 years.
You only need to look at recent history to understand why.
From the “glory years” of 2006 through 2016, the team only saw 5 years of playoffs in 11 years. In those 5 years, there were 2 World Series (both losses) and only 1 measly game win out of 9.
They haven’t sniffed October baseball since 2014 and it will probably be another 2-3 years at least before they do again. That will be yet another decade+.
Jim Leyland took the team to the World Series in his first year. But he rode those 2006 coattails for the next 7 years.
Under JL, the Tigers finished 1st three times in the easiest division in MLB. Three 2nd places, 1 3rd place and 1 last place. If you add in the first 3 years of Brad Ausmus’ tenure, the Tigers finished:
1st place – 4 times
2nd place – 4 times
3rd place – 1 time
Last place – 2 times
But let’s put this into context. During these glory years, the Tigers earned:
2 Rookie of the Year Awards
ERA King
Pitching Triple Crown
(Offensive) Triple Crown
2 Cy Young Awards
3 MVP Awards
These are an amazing collection of accomplishments. Yet, this is all they got? One World Series game win?
The rotation of Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez, Fister and Porcello was named by MLB TV/Radio as one of the top 5 rotations of all time in the history of baseball. And all of their analysts shook their heads over the results and the word “underperformance” was used more than once.
Yet Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez, Martinez, Porcello, Price and others all won WS rings with other teams.
The question to ask is exactly who is responsible when a team underperforms? The Yankees know. The Cardinals know.
Yet, the Tigers, after spending near the top for salaries in MLB, accumulating multiple future Hall of Famers and still not even getting close to raising that flag over Comerica, made no changes.
Not a single manager or coach was ever fired during these 11 years.
And that, folks, is the difference between teams like the Yankees and Cards – and the Tigers.
If either of those 2 teams had been in charge of Detroit back in 2008, they would have been brooming when the Tigers finished under .500 and 14.5 games back. A good chance even after 2007 when the team lost 7 more games and finished 8 games out.
They lost more games in 2009 and finished at .500 in 2010.
How many more clues did ownership and Dave Dombrowski need to see that significant changes needed to be made?
Afterall, Leyland had a year-by-year handshake agreement to manage. There was no multi-year contract to complicate matters.
And what happened?
Loyalty got in the way. Fear of making changes got in the way. The inability of seeing things clearly got in the way. The inability to pull the trigger got in the way.
Not having a clearly-defined bar that outlined the level of performance and expectations was the problem.
Not practicing excellence in every endeavor got in the way.
That’s why this team hasn’t won a ring since 1984.
It doesn’t matter how much money or talent you throw into the roster if you don’t have people running the organization upholding the highest standards.
The first sign that things are changing is A. J. Hinch’s comments:
“If the Tigers’ organization does a good job, we’re going to reestablish ourselves as a winning franchise and develop a winning culture. If you want to be a part of it, then you’ll come. If you don’t, then we’ll beat you.”
If you read his comments carefully, you’ll notice that he doesn’t indicate that the Tigers even had a winning culture at one point. He’s saying that developing one – finally – is a goal.
Let’s hope every single person within the Detroit Tigers organization is listening.
When you boil all of this down, it’s about the corporate culture.
The Tigers need one. And they should be looking at the Yankees and Cardinals.
What did you miss on our Twitter feed yesterday?
- Final results of Saturday’s poll about the quality of the tv broadcast team.
- Final results of our Twitter poll about whether fans want a new broadcast team.
- Totally Tigers personal plea to Bally Sports Detroit to make changes to their tv broadcast team – with evidence.
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You could add the Dodgers to your list and it looks like the Tigs are eyeing them very closely. There’s even more hope with the FO changes and the fact that AJ is more than just a manager; he’s a man with more than just a vision he’s got a plan in his analytical mind to make them real. Whether he likes him or not he’s got AA ‘s attention and ear.
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Very well thought out article showcasing typically extensive research which is why I love TT. The upshot is that the Tigers have not had competent leadership in decades, beginning with the owner.
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I disagree with the “corporate culture” angle here, and maybe I am splitting straws, but I think it is all about ownership. John Fetzer and the pizza guys have not demanded results from their front offices. Mike Illitch definitely got the bug after letting the Tigers languish and building a hockey juggernaut. But he just spent wildly for a time. in my lifetime, general managers have been given very long leashes to build or destroy baseball teams in Detroit.
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Hi, Hughie – We’re actually on the same page. Corporate culture almost always starts at the top, with ownership. But in some cases, it can start below. Not often, but it can. Theo Epstein did it with the Cubs, Farhan Zaidi did it with the Dodgers. A. J. Hinch could potentially do it with the Tigers. In most cases, owners cannot see how their thoughts and behaviors impact everyone else around them but once they get someone new who makes the right changes, they then buy in. – Holly
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Another great article.TT comes up on my homepage every day. It would be nice to see the old boys network trimmed down some.
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Its amazing this legendary team has been so blind to what was needed all these past years. Its been a disaster since Monaghan,to the Ilitches. Only now have they awaken to see what is needed. Thank you AJ Hinch!
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Sorry T. Lange and Holly. Nothing has awaken. Make no mistake – please – The almighty dollar is the only thing Illich is accountable to. It certainly is not the fans, nor the city. We are all part of the “financial plan”, full stop. At the least, I can co-exist under Illich ownership and invest my time and $ in support of a quality product. They are not there yet. Getting there – sorta. Let’s see how the next 2-3 go.
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Hi, Matt – Not sure how you came to the conclusion that I believe things have changed with the Tigers. In fact, my blog is a criticism of how the team has operated and fared poorly by not changing. What I did state is that I hope Hinch can effect some change at least at some level. – Holly
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I worked for a company that was basically the same. As long as they were making money it seemed like they were afraid of firing anybody unless it was for obvious reasons. It’s awful hard for supervisors to tell someone they no longer have a job even if their performance is not up to their expectations.
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Accountability is great, but I think the Cards and Yankees were a rash this year. Not everybody is going to win when they get to the playoffs. Bad bounces, injuries, and lousy calls can knock a good team out. Imagine the “blood bath” if every team that failed to make (or advance in) the playoffs fired its manager and coaching staff- yikes!
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Hi, McWatt – Your last statement is exactly the point I was making. In most scenarios, teams won’t fire managers and coaches for losing in the playoffs. Especially when they have such great records and have regular playoff records. These 2 teams take it up a notch and have higher standards than most teams. And this is why their winning records and playoffs occur with regularity. But the playoff losses were only the final straw. Both teams saw a series of little red flags throughout the year and sought to make changes now instead of waiting. Thanks for adding to the conversation! – Holly
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You nailed it Holly, the corporate culture for so many years was so entrenched in the “old boys network”, not to mention MI’s total focus on the Wings while letting the Tigers sink. DD was a good move at the time but looking back he gutted the farm system. But until CI actually spends $ on the “team” as opposed to all the development I’m skeptical but a great article
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