The 2019 Detroit Tigers will not finish with a worse record than 2003

With the win against the Yankees last night, the 2019 Detroit Tigers have tied their worst record of all time that was set in 2003.

With how bad the Detroit Tigers have been over the course of the 2019 season, there was some concern that they would finish with a worse record than the historically bad 2003 Detroit Tigers. Last night, the Detroit Tigers earned their 43rd win on the year to tie the win count in 2003, which means they will not finish worse, even if they lose all their remaining games.

A look back at the 2003 Tigers

Despite having such an awful record, there are definitely some notable names from the team in 2003. Dmitri Young led the team in batting average and WAR as a designated hitter. He had a career year, hitting .297 with 29 home runs and 85 RBI’s. There was also Craig Monroe, who is now a reporter for the Detroit Tigers. Monroe hit .240 with 23 home runs in 2003.

Whether some of the names are memorable or not, the stats don’t lie. The 2003 Tigers finished last in the American League in batting average, runs scored, stolen bases, and ERA. All things considered, this was the worst Tigers team that fans have ever seen. While their future star, Miguel Cabrera, was winning a world series with the then Florida Marlins, they were finishing the year with a 43-119 record.

Fast forward to the 2019 Tigers

A lot has changed since 2003 and the Tigers went through a number of down years as well as years where they were serious contenders, but they are back to rebuilding. 2019 seems to be another historic low point for the franchise and for a while, it looked like Detroit might have been on pace to even be worse than the 2003 Tigers.

The Tigers certainly don’t have much to be proud of this year, but they can at least boast that they didn’t finish with less than 43 wins. That being said, the Tigers definitely need to try to make some changes over the offseason so that they do not have another year like this. There are a number of good prospects in the organization that will likely see playing time, as well as potential free-agent signings that could help Detroit in 2020.

The Tigers have the rest of September to win one game to finish with a better record than the 2003 squad. It may be in their best interest to finish with the worst record in the MLB, however, because they have already had an awful season and finishing last would give them the first overall pick in 2020.