| 2008 Detroit Tigers | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | Central |
| Ballpark | Comerica Park |
| City | Detroit |
| Record | 74–88 (.457) |
| Divisional place | 5th |
| Owners | Mike Ilitch |
| General managers | Dave Dombrowski |
| Managers | Jim Leyland |
| Television | Fox Sports Detroit (Mario Impemba,Rod Allen) |
| Radio | Detroit Tigers Radio Network (Dan Dickerson,Jim Price) |
| Stats | ESPN.com Baseball Reference |
TheDetroit Tigers 2008 season was the team's 108th season inMajor League Baseball'sAmerican League. After being picked by many to win theAmerican League Central and theWorld Series,[1][2] the Tigers started the season a disappointing 0–7 after being swept by theKansas City Royals andChicago White Sox. Their first victory of the season came against theBoston Red Sox. The Tigers did not reach a .500 winning percentage until their 80th game of the season.
Although they were eliminated from the pennant race by the season's final day (September 29), they nonetheless had to play a makeup game against the White Sox (who were trailing theMinnesota Twins by half a game), which Detroit had lost 8–2. The Tigers finished the season in last place in the AL Central for the first time since2003, trailing the White Sox (who won the division by beating Minnesota in a one-game playoff the following day) by 14.5 games. This was the Tigers' first losing season since2005.
Despite the disappointing performance, the Tigers drew a franchise-record home attendance of 3,202,645 for the season. The team ranked third in the American League and eighth in Major League Baseball for home attendance in 2008.
The Tigers started the offseason by trading prospectsJair Jurrjens andGorkys Hernández to theAtlanta Braves forshortstopÉdgar Rentería. Rentería took over the everyday shortstop job withCarlos Guillén moving tofirst base.
RelieverJoel Zumaya underwent surgery on October 31, 2007, for anAC joint reconstruction and was expected to miss half the 2008 season.[3]
The Tigers continued their offseason trading by acquiringMiguel Cabrera andDontrelle Willis from theFlorida Marlins in exchange for highly touted prospectsCameron Maybin andAndrew Miller, along withMike Rabelo,Eulogio De La Cruz,Burke Badenhop andDallas Trahern. Willis would sign a three-year, $29 million contract extension, while Cabrera would receive an eight-year, $152.3 million deal, the biggest contract in Tigers history.
During the offseason, the Tigers tradedOmar Infante to the Chicago Cubs forJacque Jones. They re-signedTodd Jones, andKenny Rogers to one-year contracts. The Tigers also signed free agentFrancisco Cruceta from theTexas Rangers organization to a one-year contract. Cruceta and Jacque Jones were eventually released during the season, and Todd Jones retired at the end of the season. The Tigers declined the option to sign Édgar Rentería at the end of the season.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | 89 | 74 | .546 | — | 54–28 | 35–46 |
| Minnesota Twins | 88 | 75 | .540 | 1 | 53–28 | 35–47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 81 | 81 | .500 | 7½ | 45–36 | 36–45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 75 | 87 | .463 | 13½ | 38–43 | 37–44 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 88 | .457 | 14½ | 40–41 | 34–47 |
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | – | 6–12 | 4–5 | 4–4 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 3–6 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 0–5 | 8–2 | 3–15 | 4–5 | 6–12 | 11–7 | ||
| Boston | 12–6 | – | 4–3 | 5–1 | 5–2 | 6–1 | 1–8 | 4–3 | 9–9 | 6–4 | 6–3 | 8–10 | 9–1 | 9–9 | 11–7 | ||
| Chicago | 5–4 | 3–4 | – | 11–7 | 12–6 | 12–6 | 5–5 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 5–4 | 5–1 | 4–6 | 3–3 | 1–7 | 12–6 | ||
| Cleveland | 4–4 | 1–5 | 7–11 | – | 11–7 | 10–8 | 4–5 | 8–10 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 5–2 | 6–4 | 6–1 | 6–12 | ||
| Detroit | 3–4 | 2–5 | 6–12 | 7–11 | – | 7–11 | 3–6 | 7–11 | 4–2 | 3–6 | 7–3 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 3–5 | 13–5 | ||
| Kansas City | 3–5 | 1–6 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 11–7 | – | 2–3 | 6–12 | 5–5 | 6–3 | 7–2 | 3–5 | 2–7 | 2–5 | 13–5 | ||
| Los Angeles | 6–3 | 8–1 | 5–5 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 3–2 | – | 5–3 | 7–3 | 10–9 | 14–5 | 3–6 | 12–7 | 6–3 | 10–8 | ||
| Minnesota | 3–3 | 3–4 | 10–9 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 3–5 | – | 4–6 | 5–5 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 0–6 | 14–4 | ||
| New York | 11–7 | 9–9 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 5–5 | 3–7 | 6–4 | – | 5–1 | 7–2 | 11–7 | 3–4 | 9–9 | 10–8 | ||
| Oakland | 5–0 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 9–10 | 5–5 | 1–5 | - | 10–9 | 3–6 | 7–12 | 4–6 | 10–8 | ||
| Seattle | 2–8 | 3–6 | 1–5 | 5–4 | 3–7 | 2–7 | 5–14 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 9–10 | – | 3–4 | 8–11 | 5–4 | 9–9 | ||
| Tampa Bay | 15–3 | 10–8 | 6–4 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 6–3 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 6–3 | 4–3 | – | 6–3 | 11–7 | 12–6 | ||
| Texas | 5–4 | 1–9 | 3–3 | 4–6 | 3–6 | 7–2 | 7–12 | 5–5 | 4–3 | 12–7 | 11–8 | 3–6 | – | 4–4 | 10–8 | ||
| Toronto | 12–6 | 9–9 | 7–1 | 1–6 | 5–3 | 5–2 | 3–6 | 6–0 | 9–9 | 6–4 | 4–5 | 7–11 | 4–4 | – | 8–10 | ||
| Legend | ||
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| Tigers win | Tigers loss | Game postponed |
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April (13–14)
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May (10–17)
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June (19–8)
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July (13–13)
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August (11–17)
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September (8–18)
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Note: Pos. = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | Pos. | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dusty Ryan | C | 15 | 44 | 14 | .318 | 2 | 7 |
| Magglio Ordóñez | RF | 146 | 561 | 178 | .317 | 21 | 103 |
| Plácido Polanco | 2B | 141 | 580 | 178 | .307 | 8 | 58 |
| Mike Hessman | 3B | 12 | 27 | 8 | .296 | 5 | 7 |
| Iván Rodríguez * | C | 82 | 302 | 89 | .295 | 5 | 32 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 1B, 3B | 160 | 616 | 180 | .292 | 37 | 127 |
| Carlos Guillén | 3B, 1B, LF | 113 | 420 | 120 | .286 | 10 | 54 |
| Clete Thomas | LF, CF, RF | 40 | 116 | 33 | .284 | 1 | 9 |
| Ramón Santiago | SS, 2B, 3B | 58 | 124 | 35 | .282 | 4 | 18 |
| Curtis Granderson | CF | 141 | 553 | 155 | .280 | 22 | 66 |
| Édgar Rentería | SS | 138 | 503 | 136 | .270 | 10 | 55 |
| Michael Hollimon | 2B, SS | 11 | 23 | 6 | .261 | 1 | 2 |
| Jeff Larish | DH, 1B, 3B | 42 | 104 | 27 | .260 | 2 | 16 |
| Matt Joyce | LF, RF | 92 | 242 | 61 | .252 | 12 | 33 |
| Marcus Thames | LF, DH, 1B | 103 | 316 | 76 | .241 | 25 | 56 |
| Ryan Raburn | LF, RF, 2B, 3B, CF | 92 | 182 | 43 | .236 | 4 | 20 |
| Gary Sheffield | DH, LF | 114 | 418 | 94 | .225 | 19 | 57 |
| Brent Clevlen | LF, CF, RF | 11 | 24 | 5 | .208 | 0 | 1 |
| Brandon Inge | C, 3B, CF, LF | 113 | 347 | 71 | .205 | 11 | 51 |
| Jacque Jones * | LF | 24 | 79 | 13 | .165 | 1 | 5 |
| Dane Sardinha | C | 17 | 44 | 7 | .159 | 0 | 3 |
| Pitcher totals | — | 162 | 16 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Team totals | — | 162 | 5641 | 1529 | .271 | 200 | 780 |
Note: Individual pitchers' batting statistics not included
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armando Galarraga | 30 | 178+2⁄3 | 13 | 7 | 3.73 | 126 |
| Freddy García | 3 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 4.20 | 12 |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 12 | 71+1⁄3 | 3 | 4 | 4.29 | 44 |
| Justin Verlander | 33 | 201 | 11 | 17 | 4.84 | 163 |
| Eddie Bonine | 5 | 26+2⁄3 | 2 | 1 | 5.40 | 9 |
| Kenny Rogers | 30 | 173+2⁄3 | 9 | 13 | 5.70 | 82 |
| Nate Robertson | 28 | 168+2⁄3 | 7 | 11 | 6.35 | 108 |
| Dontrelle Willis | 8 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 9.38 | 3 |
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | HLD | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Grilli * | 9 | 13+2⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.29 | 10 |
| Denny Bautista * | 16 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3.32 | 10 |
| Joel Zumaya | 21 | 23+1⁄3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3.47 | 22 |
| Aquilino López | 48 | 78+2⁄3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3.55 | 61 |
| Freddy Dolsi | 42 | 47+2⁄3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3.97 | 29 |
| Clay Rapada | 25 | 21+1⁄3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.22 | 15 |
| Zach Miner (13 starts) | 45 | 118 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4.27 | 62 |
| Gary Glover * | 18 | 20+1⁄3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4.43 | 15 |
| Bobby Seay | 60 | 56+1⁄3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4.47 | 58 |
| Francis Beltrán | 11 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.85 | 9 |
| Fernando Rodney | 38 | 40+1⁄3 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 4.91 | 49 |
| Todd Jones | 45 | 41+2⁄3 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 4.97 | 14 |
| Francisco Cruceta | 13 | 11+2⁄3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5.40 | 11 |
| Casey Fossum | 31 | 41+1⁄3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5.66 | 28 |
| Chris Lambert (3 starts) | 8 | 20+2⁄3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.66 | 15 |
| Kyle Farnsworth * | 16 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6.75 | 18 |
| Yorman Bazardo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.00 | 3 |
| Team Pitching Totals | 162 | 1445 | 74 | 88 | 34 | 61 | 4.90 | 991 |
* Statistics only include games with Tigers
| 2008 Detroit Tigers | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
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