The Minor League Ballpark Guides series spotlights each stadium across baseball’s affiliated ranks. Each edition provides ballpark highlights, from concessions to seating options to in-game entertainment to mascots. Ballpark Guides also take travelers through each facility’s surrounding area, encompassing the best places in town to eat or drink, nearby tourist attractions and more. Plan your
Welcome to Lakeland’s Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, where Detroit faithful have been gathering since the 1960s to see the Tigers of the future under the Florida sun. Lakeland Flying Tigers (Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers since 1963)Established: 1960 (as Lakeland Indians in Florida State League)Ballpark: Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium (since
The Detroit Tigers held their first workouts of spring camp on Monday. Baseball is back, my friends. Expectations aren’t high, but with so much change in the organization over the last six months, they can’t help but be more interesting, at the least. While pitchers and catchers are already working out, the official first workout
LAKELAND, Fla. — Outside the Detroit Tigers spring training headquarters, Nick Maton walked up to two doors and froze — unsure which one to take to the clubhouse. “Right or left?” he asked on Monday afternoon. Maton, one of the newest Tigers, wasn’t sure. He arrived in Lakeland on Sunday night. By Monday morning, he
The Tigers added right-hander Michael Lorenzen on a one-year, $8.5MM guarantee earlier this offseason. He’ll add some depth to a Detroit rotation that’ll be without Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to start the season (likely the whole year in the former’s case), joining Eduardo Rodriguez, Spencer Turnbull, Matt Manning and Matthew Boyd in the presumptive season-opening rotation. The 31-year-old indicated today he’s
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JUNE 07: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes (back) of the Kansas City Chiefs hits a ball during the Big Slick celebrity softball game prior to a game between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on June 07, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. MLB news, David Ortiz, Cubs (Photo…
LAKELAND, Fla. — Time will tell if Alex Lange is ready to step in as the Tigers’ closer. But the young right-hander was at least ready for the question Monday morning. “Yeah, there’s going to be a closer for sure,” Lange said. To twist the oft-used Spring Training phrase, Lange has reported to camp in the
If you were a diehard Yankees fan or prospect watcher about 15 years ago, you likely know the name Humberto Sanchez. A native of the Bronx, Sanchez was a 31st round pick by the Tigers in 2001, signing for $1MM as a draft-and-follow. Sanchez started for the World Team in the Futures Game in 2006,
LAKELAND, Fla. — A reporter laughed as right-handed pitcher Michael Lorenzen, who signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract this offseason, revealed his desire to compete as a two-way player, in some capacity, with the Detroit Tigers. Only Lorenzen wasn’t kidding around. “We’ll see,” he said. “I have four bats coming.” Lorenzen has a long history
Lakeland, Fla. — It turned out for the best. That is how Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo is looking at it, anyway. He thought he might be playing for Team Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic next month. His parents are from the nations of Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago, formerly under British rule. But
Lakeland, Fla. — Michael Lorenzen is here to pitch. First and foremost. The Tigers are paying the 31-year-old veteran right-hander $8.5 million, with $1.5 million in reachable incentives, to help stabilize their starting rotation. But, if he had his way, he’d be a two-way player. “I’m obsessed with the game of baseball,” Lorenzen said Monday
The Tigers and right-hander Matt Wisler are in agreement on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press. Wisler, 30, is coming off a strong season of results with the Rays, posting a 2.25 ERA over 44 innings. Despite keeping earned runs off the board
LAKELAND, Fla. — Another reliever is coming to spring training. The Detroit Tigers and right-handed reliever Matt Wisler, who pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays last season, have agreed to a minor-league contract with a non-roster invitation to MLB camp, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The details of the deal are being finalized.
The immediate future of broadcast rights for 14 major league baseball teams, including the Detroit Tigers, is up in the air as Diamond Sports group is expected to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. With a $140 million payment due to cover the interest on Diamond’s $8.6 billion debt, the company finds itself unable
LAKELAND, Fla. — The first wave of pitchers and catchers have reported to the Detroit Tigers‘ spring training facility. Finally, baseball is back. Pitchers and catchers participating in the World Baseball Classic, which begins March 8, officially reported Monday. Non-WBC pitchers and catchers must report Wednesday, followed by WBC position players Thursday and non-WBC position
Patrick Mahomes’ ties to baseball are well known, as the NFL superstar is the son of longtime big league reliever Pat Mahomes. However, the future Chiefs quarterback was himself a standout high school baseball player, and was even a 37th-round pick for the Tigers in the 2014 draft. As Tigers scout Tim Grieve told 12Up’s
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was once a three-sport high school athlete. MLB organizations wish he chose baseball. Patrick Mahomes eventually went to Texas Tech, where he starred as the team’s starting quarterback and played on the baseball team — at least for a few years.
Lakeland, Fla. — Let’s talk about two pitchers who, as we sit here just days away from the first official pitcher-catcher workout, are going to be counted on to play pivotal roles in the Tigers’ bullpen this season. Start with lefty Tyler Alexander. Imagine trying to navigate through a big-league season the way he had
Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows had a frustrating season in 2022, missing time due to vertigo-like symptoms, COVID-19, strains in each of his Achilles tendons and mental health struggles that he was open about. He was only able to get into 36 games on the year and had diminished results when on the field. However, he
Five months ago, Austin Meadows told the world what was happening in a 192-word statement. The former All-Star revealed on social media he would step away from baseball for the final month of the 2022 season due to his mental health struggles. “We just knew it was time,” he said. Meadows, 27, joined the Detroit