CATS OF A DIFFERENT STRIPE

by Holly Horning

New President of Baseball Operations (PoBO) Scott Harris has only been on the job for 5 weeks, yet he has made more changes to the team during that time than the past 3 owners combined.

Welcome to the 21^st Century, Detroit Tigers!

There is much that needs to be done but I believe it’s safe to say that we can now say “buh bye” to the Tigers of old.   You know – the ones who were always last to adopt anything new (like analytics) or stay at the forefront (the importance of the bullpen) of the sport’s trends and strategies. 

The Tigers now aren’t just simply hiring new people to take the places of the ones who are no longer there.  They are creating and expanding the structural and procedural parts of the franchise and taking the Tigers where they have never been before.

In fact, it appears that they are leading the way in several categories within MLB.

Shocker, right?

But before we discuss what is going on, we need to examine the past in order to fully understand the extent of the changes.

The Tigers were never innovators so we have to look instead at their investment pattern when it came to the organization.  Not the investment in the roster.  The investment in the franchise.

And it’s been an ugly and almost non-existent path ever since Jim Campbell retired.  Owner John Fetzer was a hands-off owner and left every decision to Campbell who was notoriously cheap.  However, JC focused much of his time on the farm system.  He is credited with bringing up the greatest collection of home-grown prospects too numerous to mention and this is why he is still considered to be Detroit’s best GM.  He is directly credited for bringing not 1, but 2 World Series championships to Detroit.

(For the record, Dave Dombrowski ignored the farm system with only a couple home grown players to his credit.  In lieu of development, he bought players from other teams.)

After Campbell’s departure, the farm system fell into disrepair and so did the teams the Tigers fielded.  We won’t even delve into the Monaghan years.  Suffice it to say that this ownership and management did absolutely zero to make this team better behind the scenes or on the diamond.

Enter Mike Ilitch.  It is a tale of 2 different behaviors.  The first 13 years in which the team was left alone to rot.  The second, a spending spree in an attempt to buy a World Series.

It’s important to remember that for all the money Ilitch spent on the roster, not a single nickel was spent on the organization to make it a stronger, better franchise.  Or even self-sufficient.  The money was poured on top and not allowed to sink below where it would keep the organization productive.

People were brought out of retirement to manage and coach.  An entire Front Office was transplanted from Miami to Detroit rather than crafting one that would fit the Tigers better. 

The farm system was neglected and continually ranked either #29 or #30 for almost the entire time Mr. I owned the team. 

Analytics and technology were ignored.  Every single penny was poured into the roster to the detriment of everything else.

There were no attempts to establish pipelines of supplies and prospects for the team.  Everything was bought.  Nothing was created.

Eventually, when the expenses got too high and the bones picked clean, there was nothing left to build upon.

The Tigers had a system that depended upon lots of money, not talent, to survive. A perfect example of the phrase “to throw money at the problem.” And when that money dried up, there were no resources left.

And it happened during MLB’s most technologically-driven time period.  Every team, but the Tigers, had been working now for years creating and building analytics departments and using high-tech to analyze their players’ movements.  Specialists were being hired while the Tigers kept up their track record of hiring older men who only had MLB playing experience on their resumes.

The most pathetic example was manager Brad Ausmus’ plea to add analytics.  After some perseverance in begging Dave Dombrowski, he was given exactly 1 employee.  In comparison, the top teams already had 25-37 analysts.

Enter Chris Ilitch.  No matter what you think about him, he deserves credit for starting the modernization of this team after tearing it down and making the Tigers once again profitable.  The Tigers operated in the red every year for over a decade when his father was in charge.

He could have been safe and entertained the thought of hiring a traditional manager after Ron Gardenhire’s departure. Afterall, Detroit prefers the traditional and safe. The expected. 

But Chris didn’t.  He knew what A. J. Hinch was about and Hinch was called within seconds of the World Series – and his suspension – ending.

Within hours of the first day, Ilitch asked Hinch to stay in Detroit for what turned out to be a marathon interview session spread out over 3 days.  An offer was made and the Tigers interviewed no one else.  They appeared to have been all in on hiring someone who was a modern manager – and potentially even more.  Make no mistake, this was Ilitch-not-Avila driven.

What you don’t hear about is how much money Ilitch started pouring into the organization behind the scenes starting last year.  He became the first Tigers owner to do such.

Lots of technology, new machines, super computers and high speed cameras were just some of the toys.  And then the analytics department started expanding last year and continues to this day.  The Tigers now have double digit numbers inhabiting that department.

For the first time in almost 40 years, the farm system also started being addressed.  It was finally an important piece of the organization.  Ryan Garko came in with a slew of new directors who specialized in specific areas.  They revamped areas of the farm system, broomed a majority of the minor league managers and coaches and finally, finally developed a Tigers Way.

Fast forward to this year.  Ilitch could have decided to simply hire another GM.  But he didn’t.  The Tigers now are following the footsteps of many teams in having a President of Baseball Operations.  One can presume it’s an additional investment of 3-5 years at easily $3+ mill per year.

And it’s also an additional position, newly created, given that the Scott Harris says they will also be hiring a GM.

As we dig further, the Tigers have made a commitment now to hiring beyond the standard coaching staff.  There is speculation that they could emulate the 13-man coaching staff of the Dodgers. There are rumors to expect a number of new hires who will work under Hinch.

The scouting department, also long-ignored, is now being overhauled with the hiring of Rob Metzler as VP/ Asst. GM and his Director of Amateur Scouting, Mark Connor.

They have also added an additional asst. pitching coach with Robin Lund.  It appears the Tigers may have 3, not just 2, going forward.

But Lund is different.  He is a professor of kinesiology which is the study of a body’s movement that can be used to help players improve and recover their athletic careers.  It doesn’t hurt that he was also a college baseball coach who is credited with sending 7 of his pitchers to MLB.

And yesterday, the Tigers added yet another brand new position with the hiring of John DeRouin.  He will be the Rehab Pitching Coordinator and he’s well-known for his stellar work with baseball prospects.  He is coming from Hops Athletic Performance.

The Tigers are also finally addressing the fitness and injury prevention that has dogged them for years. Protecting the investments. Imagine that!

These are not your old predictable Tigers who worked their way up from the minors to the majors and inherited managerial and coaching jobs as a result. Men who knew little about creating a winning atmosphere beyond actually playing the game.

It is the dawn of a new era.

And best of all is that this new group of execs, managers and coaches no longer resemble the group of plug-and-play that was simply airlifted from Florida to Michigan with no thought given as to how well they would fit.

It’s all new people from all new organizations with all new thoughts and skills about how to create a successful product.  There are no red flags about the decisions being made so far.

Who will be hired next?  Chances are that it will be someone who has no ties to Detroit but instead to organizations that are known for consistent winning.

And it’s something we haven’t seen since………..  well, something we’ve never seen.

And that is the great news.  We don’t recognize this organization anymore.

Could it be that this franchise is finally putting the pieces in place that will allow it to become a leader instead of a reluctant follower?

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